Do people care about the degree of decentralisation? This paper presents results from a quasi-natural experiment whereby 19 cantons launched exogenous centralisation reforms between 2000 and 2012 in Switzerland. The centralisation reforms reduced municipal autonomy at the decision, financial and implementation levels in a broad range of domains. Using the Swiss Household Panel, the results suggest that the decrease in municipal autonomy had a causal negative impact on individuals’ wellbeing. Consistent with the concept of procedural utility, centralisation is shown to have reduced individuals’ feeling of having political influence and interest in politics. In contrast, there were no impacts on individuals’ satisfaction with local policies or with the quality of public service delivery. Finally, the negative effect on individuals’ wellbeing has decreased over time and disappeared after three years – suggesting individuals’ capacity to adjust to such institutional changes.