Case study report - Linz

Linz is the capital city of the federal state of Upper Austria. As the third-largest city in Austria, Linz has a population of 214,987 (2026). It has grown moderately by about 17% and approximately 30,000 people in the last 25 years. Population growth was primarily driven by immigration from non-Austrian citizens, whereas on average, Austrian citizens moved to areas surrounding Linz rather than moving into the city. The share of non-Austrian citizens, therefore, increased from 13% in 2005 to around 31% in 2025. Linz has evolved from an industrial city focused on steel production in the post-war period to a city with a diversified economic base, aiming to combine its industrial orientation with the development of digital technologies and creative industries. The city’s economic strategy aims to promote and demand climate-neutrality, digitalisation, and resource-efficiency from leading industrial and manufacturing businesses, framed as a green new deal, to reduce city-wide emissions. In terms of employment, a large proportion of people still work in manufacturing (15%) and in health and social work activities (16%). Other important sectors include wholesale and trade (10%), administrative and support service activities (including personal leasing, 9%), and public administration (8%). This also mirrors the educational structure of the City, with about 23% having attained compulsory-only education, 41% having attained basic vocational training, 20% having attained higher (vocational) education, and 16% having attained post-secondary and tertiary educational levels . At the same time, non-Austrian citizens are clearly overrepresented in the lower education classes.