City of Uster

What City of Uster does

City of Uster (legal name: Stadt Uster) is a municipal government entity (Einwohnergemeinde) located in Canton Zürich, Switzerland, serving as the district capital of Bezirk Uster. First documented in 741 and officially recognized as a "Stadt" in 1970, it administers a 28.48 km² territory with a population of more than 37,000 residents from over 100 nationalities, supported by a workforce of approximately 800 core employees (roughly 1,600 including schools and care facilities). It is the third-largest city in Canton Zürich.

Stadt Uster delivers public services through seven departmental offices housed primarily in the Stadthaus (Bahnhofstrasse 17) and Stadthaus West (Oberlandstrasse 82), supplemented by specialized locations for the tax office, city archive, and library. Core service lines include population registration, tax administration (Steueramt), waste management (Abfallbewirtschaftung), municipal police (Stadtpolizei), debt collection and city court (Betreibungs- und Stadtammannamt), education, sports facilities, and cultural programs. Service delivery combines physical counters with a digital portal (Online-Schalter), a web-based GIS Uster mapping platform, and an Open Data Portal on opendata.swiss. The organization operates under New Public Management (NPM) principles, formalized in Strategy Uster 2030 across five pillars: accessibility, urban development, location promotion, education/culture/sports, and smart city.

Revenue is generated from municipal and cantonal taxes (with average taxable income of 67,600 CHF in 2020), waste collection fees (including annual green-waste vignettes and unit-priced fee sacks), and transaction-based administrative fees for permits, licensing, and certifications. The city also generates cross-boundary revenue by providing contracted police and debt-collection services to surrounding municipalities. Recognition includes the Wakkerpreis (2001) for urban planning, the Schulthess-Gartenpreis (2014) for landscape design, the European Energy Award Gold (2016), and second place in Prix Velo Städte (2025).

Name

City of Uster

Legal name

Stadt Uster

Website

https://uster.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Stadt Uster is a municipal government in Canton Zürich, Switzerland, administering public services — including tax collection, waste management, police, education, and digital e-government — for more than 37,000 residents across 28.48 km², and delivering contracted services to surrounding municipalities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Government Services

NAICS

Executive Offices (92111), Executive and Legislative Offices, Combined (92114), Other General Government Support (92119), Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (92512)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Mayor/City Manager & General Administration (BPAIACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Municipal Tax & Revenue Administration (Local) (BPAIACAD), Public Works & Municipal Infrastructure (Streets, Stormwater, Facilities) (BPAIACAF), Public Works / In-House Municipal Collection Operations (EUAIAAAF), Local Transportation, Parking & Mobility Administration (BPAIACAM)

Keywords

• Municipal government services
• Public administration
• Waste management services
• Tax administration
• Public safety services

Headquarters

HQ city

Uster

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Municipal Taxes: Collection of cantonal and municipal taxes including income tax and property tax. Average taxable income of natural persons is 67,600 CHF (2020).
2. Waste Collection Fees: Waste management fees including annual green waste vignettes, bulky waste stickers, and 10-litre fee bags. Waste fees increased March 1, 2026 with new green waste fees introduced.
3. Administrative Services: Fees for various administrative services including building permits, commercial licenses, population registration, and official certifications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Stadt Uster delivers municipal government services to its residents and local businesses, including population registration, municipal and cantonal tax administration, waste collection and recycling, building permits and construction oversight, city policing, debt collection and civil enforcement, public education (primary through cantonal school), public sports facilities, the city library, and city archive services. The municipality also provides a digital Online-Schalter portal for e-government transactions and a GIS-based town map for spatial information.

Product overview

City of Uster operates a comprehensive digital service platform offering municipal administration services to approximately 37,000 residents. The portfolio includes the Online-Schalter (digital administrative counter) for e-government transactions, GIS Uster for geographic information, various departmental services (tax office, city police, waste management, sports facilities), the city library system, and an open data initiative. The platform enables residents to access administrative services, view maps, reserve facilities, pay taxes, and engage with municipal government digitally. The architecture follows principles of New Public Management (NPM) for customer-oriented service delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Online-Schalter (Online Counter) Digital service portal enabling residents to access administrative services online, including forms, applications, and information requests such as resident registration, tax payments, building permits and waste fee orders.
• Steueramt (Tax Office) Municipal tax administration services including tax declarations, assessments, and payment processing for residents of Uster covering income tax and property tax.
• Stadtpolizei (City Police) Municipal law enforcement services responsible for public safety, traffic management, and community policing in Uster and contractual partner municipalities including Greifensee.
• Entsorgung (Waste Management) Municipal waste collection and recycling services including garbage pickup schedules, recycling centers, green waste vignettes, bulky waste stickers and 10-litre fee bags.
• Betreibungs- und Stadtammannamt (Debt Collection and City Court) Legal enforcement services for debt collection, court document delivery, signature certifications and civil judgments for Uster, Egg, Greifensee, and Mönchaltorf.
• Stadt- und Regionalbibliothek (City and Regional Library) Public library services including physical collections, digital resources, event programs and community services for Uster residents and the surrounding region.
• Sportanlagen (Sports Facilities) Municipal sports infrastructure including outdoor facilities (Buchholz), swimming pools, gymnasiums and rental venues available for residents, clubs and visitors.
• Stadtarchiv und Kläui-Bibliothek (City Archive) Municipal archive preserving historical documents, private archives and the Paul Kläui local history collection for researchers, residents and visitors.
• GIS Uster (Geographic Information System) Web-based mapping service providing access to geographic data, property information and spatial planning resources for the municipality.
• Ortsplan (Town Map) Interactive online map service for locating streets, buildings and municipal facilities throughout Uster.
• Open Data Portal Open government data initiative providing public access to municipal datasets through the cantonal platform opendata.swiss.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 37,000 residents from 100+ nations served
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Prenzlau, GermanyminorOthers · 29 October 2000Twin city partnership (Städtepartnerschaft) with Prenzlau, a city of approximately 20,000 inhabitants located approximately 100 km northeast of Berlin in the Uckermark region of Brandenburg, Germany. The partnership includes sports and cultural events, mutual association visits, and information exchange between government officials. Prenzlau is notable for its Marienkirche, a significant example of northern German brick Gothic architecture.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• City of Winterthur: Winterthur is a similarly-sized Swiss city in Canton Zürich offering the same comprehensive municipal services portfolio (administration, tax, police, waste, education, libraries). It provides a directly comparable peer for benchmarking digital services, NPM-style organization, and shared-services arrangements with surrounding municipalities.
• City of Zug: Zug is a Swiss municipal government entity of comparable scale, also known for high economic prosperity, low tax rates, and modern digital service delivery. As a similarly affluent Swiss municipality, it provides a strong direct peer for service-portfolio and citizen-experience benchmarking.
• City of Frauenfeld: Frauenfeld is the capital of Canton Thurgau and a Swiss municipality of comparable population scale and service portfolio. Its regional hub role and shared-service arrangements with neighboring municipalities make it a directly comparable peer.
• Stadt Dietikon: Dietikon is a Canton Zürich municipality offering the same comprehensive municipal service portfolio with a comparable population base. Its NPM-style organization and digital service delivery approach make it a directly comparable peer for benchmarking.
• Stadt Wädenswil: Wädenswil is a neighboring municipality in Canton Zürich offering the same standard municipal services (population registration, tax, waste, police). Geographic proximity and shared cantonal governance make it a tightly comparable peer.
• Stadt Bülach: Bülach is a similarly sized municipality in Canton Zürich with a comparable service portfolio. Its NPM-style organization and shared-services model with neighboring communities make it a directly comparable peer.
• Stadt Wil: Wil is a similarly-sized Swiss municipality in Canton St. Gallen offering comparable municipal services. Its role as a regional center for surrounding communities makes it a directly comparable peer for shared-services and digital-channel strategy.
• Stadt Opfikon: Opfikon is a Canton Zürich municipality of similar scale offering the same comprehensive municipal service portfolio. Its proximity to the Zürich metropolitan area and shared cantonal frameworks make it a directly comparable peer.
• Stadt Köniz: Köniz is a large Swiss municipality adjacent to Bern offering a comparable range of administrative, tax, police, waste, and education services. Its suburban-regional character and shared-services arrangements provide a directly comparable peer benchmark.
• City of Schaffhausen: Schaffhausen is a Swiss municipal government offering a comparable range of administrative, tax, police, waste, and educational services. It is of similar scale and serves as a directly comparable peer for medium-sized Swiss city governance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/8610stadtuster
• Instagraminstagram.com/stadtuster
• Xx.com/stadtuster
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stadtpolizei-uster

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about City of Uster