Local Demographics in St. Moritz

Good to Know

• St. Moritz's economy is almost entirely tourism and hospitality dependent, with luxury hotels and ski infrastructure as primary employers. Tech/startup presence is essentially absent.
• The permanent population of ~4,900–5,600 swells seasonally with approximately 3,000 seasonal workers and 1.5 million annual vacationers, dramatically changing the demographic character during winter.
• Foreign nationals make up roughly 38% of the permanent resident population, significantly higher than the Swiss national average (~31%), driven by international hospitality workforce.
• Portuguese is surprisingly prominent as a third language (6.6%) due to long-standing community of seasonal and year-round workers from Portugal in hospitality roles.
• Employment is highly seasonal and concentrated in hospitality: Badrutt's Palace Hotel alone employs 520 people, making it by far the largest single employer in the municipality.
• The resident population decreased by 4.9% over the decade leading to 2009, reflecting economic cyclicality and the dominance of seasonal rather than permanent settlement patterns.