“Amsterdam owes its leading position as the most attractive municipality to an unparalleled level of facilities, excellent accessibility, two universities and the historic city center. There is simply no city in the Netherlands that scores so high in all these areas,” says researcher Marten Middeldorp.
Marten Middeldorp: “Offer in the capital is unparalleled” © Atlas Research
The biggest surprise in the top 50 index is Maastricht. The Limburg capital rose from 40th to 33rd place over the past ten years, making it the strongest increase in residential attractiveness.
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Middeldorp: “The progress is mainly due to greatly improved (perceived) safety and a higher level of facilities. Residents feel safer and appreciate the increased shops, catering and cultural facilities.”
Residents in Hengelo feel very comfortable. In terms of living pleasure, the municipality of Twente scores the highest of the 50 largest places in our country. © Gino Press
In addition to residential attractiveness, Atlas Research also investigated broad prosperity. “That is a comprehensive measure of quality of life, divided over eight dimensions: material prosperity, health, work & education, work-life balance, living pleasure, nature & environment, social cohesion and safety,” Middeldorp summarizes.
“Throughout the Netherlands, broad prosperity is highest outside the major cities. Of the fifty largest urban municipalities, Hengelo (Overijssel) scores the best and Rotterdam the worst. The city of Twente excels in living pleasure, work-life balance and safety. Neighborhood and social cohesion score high here and there are no metropolitan problems that drag everything down. But we see this not only in Twente, but also in East Brabant for years.”
Maastricht, with the Vrijthof here, is on the rise and scores particularly well in the field of safety. © Marcel van Hoorn
Maastricht has also seen the biggest increase in the past ten years in terms of broad prosperity. Improvements in safety, work & education, material prosperity and a more favorable work-life balance than in many other cities caused the significant jump, which now takes it 33rd position.
Overheated
The housing market remains overheated, Atlas Research also notes. Between 2015 and 2024, the average price per square meter in the fifty largest cities increased by an average of 117 percent.
It is striking that the price increase was often particularly large in municipalities with a relatively small share of owner-occupied homes, because demand far exceeds the limited supply.
Former growth centers
An exception are many former growth centers such as Almere, Lelystad and Purmerend. Approximately 60 percent of the housing stock there consists of owner-occupied homes, but prices still rose faster than average (+138 percent). In Maastricht, Groningen and Leiden – cities with relatively few owner-occupied homes (approximately 40 percent) – the price increase, with an average of 105 percent, lagged behind the national average of the large cities.
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Mirror for policymakers
Municipalities will again look at the results of the Atlas with great anticipation on Thursday. “It is a mirror for policymakers and administrators who attach great value to it. They can compare things with cities of the same size and see where they can take another step. That’s exactly why we make it every year,” says Middeldorp.