Besides Rapperswil and Jona, which were separate municipalities until 2006, Rapperswil-Jona also includes Bollingen, Busskirch, Curtiberg, Kempraten-Lenggis, and Wagen.

Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (commonly abbreviated to ZSG) operates passenger vessels on the Lake Zürich, connecting surrounding towns between Zürich-Bürkliplatz and Rapperswil.

The nunnery (Wurmsbach Abbey), was established in 1259 and today houses an institute for girls, and St. Martin Busskirch is the former parish church of Rapperswil.

Kempraten is one of the most important archeological sites in the canton of St. Gallen and is located at the northern shore of Obersee, the eastern part of Lake Zürich.

Evidence includes archaeological relicts collected from the Neolithic Seegubel site or the body burials of the La Tène culture.

The town was soon acquired by the Habsburg family who, in 1358/60, built the wooden bridge across the upper Lake Zürich.

Later, the town bought itself free, and ending Old Zürich War made an alliance with the Swiss Confederation.

The locational advantage of the place attracted the national Circus Knie who built its headquarters in Rapperswil in 1919.

The reconstructed wooden bridge is listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance as part of the Seedamm area including Heilig Hüsli and the remains of the prehistoric wooden bridges respectively stilt house settlements.

[6] Located at the Seedamm isthmus, an ice age moraine (Linth Glacier)[5] between the Obersee and the main body of the Zürichsee, the area is in close vicinity to the prehistoric lake crossings that are documented by finds in the Hurden Rosshorn site.

As well as being part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, the settlements are also listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as a Class object.

[6] There are further sites that are listed as in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as Class A object: The chapel of St. Dionys, Schloss Rapperswil with the Polish Museum and its archive and the Rathaus (Town Council house) of Rapperswil are the more recent structures.

[11] Rapperswil-Jona is situated across the Seedamm, an ice age moraine built by the Linth Glacier, which separates Lake Zurich into an upper and lower part.

[5] The River Jona, which originates near Gibswil in the canton of Zürich, runs through Rapperswil-Jona and flows into Obersee.

[11] Among other companies, Geberit, LafargeHolcim, Obersee Nachrichten and Radio Zürisee are situated in Rapperswil-Jona.

With the upgrade from single track to double-track between Uznach and Schmerikon (constructed between 2021 and 2023), Rapperswil received two additional S-Bahn services.

[14] The municipality is served by a local bus service, Stadtbus Rapperswil-Jona,[15] provided since 2008 by the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland (VZO).

Rapperswil-Jona is expected to participate as the first Swiss city in a pilot project for so-called Mobility pricing in order to relieve the traffic on road and rail during rush hours.

[26] The National League ice hockey team Rapperswil-Jona Lakers plays in the 6,200-seat St. Galler Kantonalbank Arena.