The steepest municipalities in canton Geneva
National ranking →Chancy is the steepest municipality in canton Geneva: its terrain averages 7.2° of slope. Next come Avully (7°) and Onex (4.7°). This is the mean gradient across the whole municipal area, measured on a 40 m elevation grid — a figure for ordering, not an absolute gradient. Source: swisstopo swissALTIRegio 2025.
Ranking
swisstopo · swissALTIRegio 2025| Rank | Municipality | Mean slope | Residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chancy | 7.2° | 1'651 |
| 2 | Avully | 7° | 1'757 |
| 3 | Onex | 4.7° | 18'886 |
| 4 | Avusy | 4.5° | 1'408 |
| 5 | Dardagny | 4.5° | 1'853 |
| 6 | Aire-la-Ville | 4.4° | 1'160 |
| 7 | Cartigny | 4.2° | 1'046 |
| 8 | Russin | 4° | 524 |
| 9 | Vandœuvres | 4° | 2'958 |
| 10 | Laconnex | 3.8° | 670 |
| 11 | Confignon | 3.7° | 4'552 |
| 12 | Veyrier | 3.6° | 11'917 |
| 13 | Bernex | 3.5° | 10'864 |
| 14 | Chêne-Bougeries | 3.5° | 13'876 |
| 15 | Lancy | 3.5° | 36'229 |
| 16 | Perly-Certoux | 3.4° | 3'194 |
| 17 | Soral | 2.7° | 961 |
| 18 | Bardonnex | 2.6° | 2'548 |
| 19 | Satigny | 2.6° | 4'577 |
| 20 | Collex-Bossy | 2.5° | 1'685 |
| 21 | Genthod | 2.5° | 2'896 |
| 22 | Plan-les-Ouates | 2.5° | 12'221 |
| 23 | Troinex | 2.5° | 2'858 |
| 24 | Vernier | 2.5° | 37'460 |
| 25 | Carouge | 2.3° | 22'311 |
| 26 | Geneva | 2.1° | 206'635 |
| 27 | Chêne-Bourg | 2° | 9'450 |
| 28 | Bellevue | 1.9° | 4'104 |
| 29 | Céligny | 1.9° | 874 |
| 30 | Choulex | 1.9° | 1'247 |
| 31 | Meyrin | 1.9° | 26'882 |
| 32 | Pregny-Chambésy | 1.8° | 4'035 |
| 33 | Presinge | 1.8° | 726 |
| 34 | Le Grand-Saconnex | 1.7° | 12'806 |
| 35 | Jussy | 1.6° | 1'173 |
| 36 | Thônex | 1.6° | 16'690 |
| 37 | Versoix | 1.6° | 13'846 |
| 38 | Meinier | 1.5° | 2'079 |
| 39 | Cologny | 1.3° | 6'024 |
| 40 | Puplinge | 1.3° | 2'558 |
| 41 | Gy | 1.2° | 550 |
| 42 | Corsier | 1.1° | 2'282 |
| 43 | Collonge-Bellerive | 1° | 8'630 |
| 44 | Anières | 0.7° | 2'521 |
| 45 | Hermance | 0.7° | 1'236 |
How we measure this
swisstopoThe mean slope of the terrain in degrees, averaged over the whole municipal area from the swisstopo swissALTIRegio digital elevation model at 40 m resolution (swissALTIRegio 2025). Two caveats matter. First, it describes the entire territory, not the inhabited settlement — a municipality can be steep overall while its village sits on flat ground. Second, slope depends on the grid it is measured at: at 40 m the figures run a few percent gentler than a 10 m grid, so use them to order municipalities, not as an absolute gradient. Steep terrain and large vertical range tend to coincide; see the greatest-vertical-range ranking.
Frequently asked questions
- Which municipality in canton Geneva has the steepest terrain?
- Chancy, whose terrain averages 7.2° of slope (swissALTIRegio 2025) — the steepest of any municipality in canton Geneva, measured on the swisstopo 40 m elevation grid.
- Why is the slope measured at 40 m?
- Slope depends on the resolution of the elevation grid it is computed from. These figures use the swisstopo 40 m grid, which is stable and comparable across all municipalities; a finer 10 m grid would read a few percent steeper. The ranking order is reliable, but the degree value is not an absolute gradient.