Three working days a month for health insurance: how long a domestic worker at the minimum wage cleans to pay her premium

The ranking: 31.1 hours in Ticino, 16.6 in Zug

Example: an unqualified domestic worker, at least five hours a week with the same employer, at the binding minimum wage without holiday pay. She lives and works in the same canton and pays her canton's mean premium.

#			Hours/month
1	TicinoPremium CHF 582.60 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		31.1 h
2	VaudPremium CHF 527.10 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		28.1 h
3	Basel-CountryPremium CHF 521.50 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		27.8 h
4	NeuchâtelPremium CHF 529.00 · minimum wage CHF 21.35		26.9 h
5	Basel-CityPremium CHF 545.10 · minimum wage CHF 22.20		26.6 h
6	JuraPremium CHF 520.40 · minimum wage CHF 21.40		26.4 h
7	GenevaPremium CHF 586.00 · minimum wage CHF 24.59		25.9 h
8	BernPremium CHF 470.30 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		25.1 h
9	SolothurnPremium CHF 466.70 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		24.9 h
10	ZurichPremium CHF 451.60 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		24.1 h
11	SchaffhausenPremium CHF 443.90 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		23.7 h
12	FribourgPremium CHF 443.20 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		23.6 h
13	AargauPremium CHF 439.70 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		23.4 h
14	ValaisPremium CHF 439.10 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		23.4 h
15	GlarusPremium CHF 417.40 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		22.3 h
16	ThurgauPremium CHF 414.00 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		22.1 h
17	St. GallenPremium CHF 406.90 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		21.7 h
18	Appenzell Outer RhodesPremium CHF 405.50 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		21.6 h
19	LucernePremium CHF 402.80 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		21.5 h
20	GrisonsPremium CHF 400.80 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		21.4 h
21	SchwyzPremium CHF 398.30 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		21.2 h
22	NidwaldenPremium CHF 376.10 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		20.1 h
23	ObwaldenPremium CHF 371.30 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		19.8 h
24	UriPremium CHF 363.30 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		19.4 h
25	Appenzell Inner RhodesPremium CHF 322.80 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		17.2 h
26	ZugPremium CHF 311.50 · minimum wage CHF 20.35		16.6 h

Mean premium for adults aged 26 and over (BAG 2026, all deductibles and models), divided by the net hourly wage at the binding minimum for unqualified workers (NAV Hauswirtschaft CHF 20.35 or a higher cantonal minimum wage), after AHV/IV/EO, ALV and NBU. Before premium reduction.

Download PNGCopy imageData (CSV)

The map: the south and the west work longest

The most hours are needed where high premiums meet the federal minimum: Ticino, Vaud, Basel-Country. Where the canton has its own, higher minimum wage, it softens the bill.

The Geneva paradox: highest premium, yet not at the top

At CHF 586.00, Geneva charges the highest mean premium in the country. But because a cantonal minimum wage of CHF 24.59 applies there, a domestic worker works 25.9 hours for it. In Ticino, where the premium is almost as high at CHF 582.60, only the federal minimum applies: 5.2 hours more a month.

2027: what the next premium round means

The BAG announces the 2027 premiums at the end of September. Forecasts range from +3.7 % (Comparis) to 4.5 to 5 % (BAG, May 2026). With an unchanged minimum wage, on the Swiss average that means:

Clino will update the ranking on the day of the BAG announcement with the official 2027 premiums for all 26 cantons.

Premium reduction: anyone earning this little should check it

The figures are before premium reduction. In 2024, 2,661,114 people received a reduction, 29.5 % of all insured persons, CHF 2,484 a year on average. A domestic worker on 20 hours a week at the minimum wage earns about CHF 1,760 gross a month and is likely to be entitled in many cantons. But the reduction only comes if you apply for it, and the rules differ from canton to canton.