Frankfurt is very much embedded in its surroundings, with many smaller interconnected towns and several mid-sized cities within reach. [1] This gives access to

Frankfurt is very much embedded in its surroundings, with many smaller interconnected towns and several mid-sized cities within reach. [1] This gives access to up to 5.5 million people, 2.2 million in Frankfurt's close vicinity. Many of those happily change city for work, especially since the distances are quite short. Traffic is usually a worse problem for travel time than distance. You also have the somewhat unfair situation of smaller towns right next to Frankfurt offering lower corporate taxes (part of which is levied by the cities) while taking advantage of Frankfurt's infrastructure (which is also paid with the corporate taxes paid in Frankfurt). This attracts a lot of businesses, of course, and on paper detracts from Frankfurt's size when all that separates them is one Autobahn. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_Rhine-Main https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_Rhine-Main