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How could you move to the Netherlands?
Without an EU passport, a move to the Netherlands starts with a visa or residence permit. Move Me To EU, Karte Global's visa and relocation service, compares the visa routes open to Americans in the Netherlands and across the EU.
Have a parent or grandparent from Germany, Italy, Ireland or Poland? You may have a claim to EU citizenship by descent, which carries the right to live in the Netherlands. A 30-minute screening call tells you whether a closer look is worthwhile.
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Best places to live in the Netherlands with every factor weighted equally
The ranking at the top of this page starts with all 16 factors at the same weight. On that footing, these 15 of the 45 places score highest; the number beside each is its match score out of 100. Treat the list as a starting point, not a verdict: raise the factors you care about and the order changes. Select a place to open its full breakdown.
- 195Strongest on international schools (100), international community (100) and restaurants and bars (100). Weakest on safety (51). International schools: 11 within 12 km: 10 with primary, 9 with secondary.
- 292Strongest on private rental supply (100), airport access (100) and international schools (100). Weakest on housing cost (18). Private rental supply: 30% of homes owned by private landlords.
- 384Strongest on international schools (100), healthcare access (100) and restaurants and bars (100). Weakest on self-employed ecosystem (23). International schools: 12 within 12 km: 11 with primary, 10 with secondary.
- 483Strongest on cycling (95), cultural scene (93) and rail connectivity (92). Weakest on safety (43). Cycling: 95.9% of residents live within 300 m of a protected cycle track. 1,998.7 km of such track in the municipality, 12.4 km per km² of inhabited land. The Dutch Cyclists' Union rates the city 2.9 out of 5 (not scored).
- 582Strongest on private rental supply (100), airport access (100) and walkability (100). Weakest on self-employed ecosystem (27). Private rental supply: 28% of homes owned by private landlords.
- 675Strongest on walkability (100), housing cost (95) and cycling (95). Weakest on cultural scene (42). Walkability: the average resident can walk to 3.6 of 4 daily needs.
- 773Strongest on walkability (100), childcare nearby (100) and healthcare access (99). Weakest on housing cost (23). Walkability: the average resident can walk to 3.7 of 4 daily needs.
- 873Strongest on cultural scene (100), rail connectivity (99) and walkability (98). Weakest on housing cost (29). Cultural scene: the average resident has 39.1 museums, theatres, cinemas and galleries within 3 km.
- 972Strongest on access to nature (98), walkability (93) and cycling (92). Weakest on private rental supply (34). Access to nature: 18.3% of the land within 1 km of homes is park, forest or open nature. Citywide: 50.7%.
- 1064Strongest on international schools (100), cycling (88) and healthcare access (83). Weakest on self-employed ecosystem (37). International schools: 12 within 12 km: 11 with primary, 9 with secondary.
- 1163Strongest on international schools (100), international community (100) and airport access (99). Weakest on housing cost (0). International schools: 7 within 12 km: 7 with primary, 5 with secondary.
- 1262Strongest on cycling (93), walkability (90) and international community (79). Weakest on self-employed ecosystem (28). Cycling: 96.7% of residents live within 300 m of a protected cycle track. 907.9 km of such track in the municipality, 11.0 km per km² of inhabited land. The Dutch Cyclists' Union rates the city 3.2 out of 5 (not scored).
- 1361Strongest on access to nature (100), cycling (95) and housing cost (82). Weakest on healthcare access (31). Access to nature: 18.6% of the land within 1 km of homes is park, forest or open nature. Citywide: 51.9%.
- 1459Strongest on private rental supply (100), restaurants and bars (98) and housing cost (96). Weakest on airport access (0). Private rental supply: 28% of homes owned by private landlords.
- 1558Strongest on housing cost (96), private rental supply (96) and restaurants and bars (90). Weakest on self-employed ecosystem (11). Housing cost: average property value €313k.
Best places in the Netherlands by priority
Each starting point is a preset in the tool above. It raises the factors named and lowers a few others. The five highest-scoring places under each:
Solo founder raises international community and self-employed ecosystem to 5, and housing cost, private rental supply, rail connectivity, restaurants and bars and cultural scene to 4.
- The Hague, Zuid-Holland: 100
- Amsterdam, Noord-Holland: 99
- Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland: 89
- Utrecht: 76
- Delft, Zuid-Holland: 74
Family raises safety and international schools to 5, and private rental supply, access to nature, childcare nearby and healthcare access to 4.
- The Hague, Zuid-Holland: 95
- Amsterdam, Noord-Holland: 89
- Delft, Zuid-Holland: 89
- Leiden, Zuid-Holland: 88
- Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland: 79
Budget first raises housing cost and private rental supply to 5, and rail connectivity, public transit, safety, international community, self-employed ecosystem and healthcare access to 4.
- The Hague, Zuid-Holland: 97
- Amsterdam, Noord-Holland: 83
- Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland: 81
- Leiden, Zuid-Holland: 78
- Delft, Zuid-Holland: 77
Frequent flyer raises rail connectivity and airport access to 5, and international community, self-employed ecosystem and restaurants and bars to 4.
- Amsterdam, Noord-Holland: 100
- The Hague, Zuid-Holland: 100
- Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland: 92
- Leiden, Zuid-Holland: 87
- Delft, Zuid-Holland: 82
Questions about where to live in the Netherlands
What is the best place to live in the Netherlands?
It depends on what you need from a place, which is why the Netherlands City Finder re-ranks as you set your priorities. With all 16 factors weighted equally, The Hague, Amsterdam and Delft score highest of the 45 places compared. Change the starting point and the answer changes: Solo founder puts The Hague first, Family puts The Hague first, Budget first puts The Hague first and Frequent flyer puts Amsterdam and The Hague level at the top.
What are the best places to live in the Netherlands for families?
The Family starting point raises safety and international schools to 5, and private rental supply, access to nature, childcare nearby and healthcare access to 4. With it, The Hague, Amsterdam, Delft, Leiden and Rotterdam score highest.
Where is housing most affordable in the Netherlands?
On the housing cost factor, the highest scores go to Enschede, Leeuwarden, Assen, Middelburg and Roermond. Enschede: average property value €301k. Asking rent €14.95 per m² a month.
Which places in the Netherlands score highest for safety?
On the safety factor, the highest scores go to Deventer, Assen, Alkmaar, Haarlemmermeer (Hoofddorp) and Amersfoort. Deventer: 3.5 crimes against the person and 0.9 home burglaries per 1,000 residents. Residents rate neighborhood safety 7.6 out of 10 (Dutch average 7.4); 18% sometimes feel unsafe there (average 17%). All recorded crime: 44 per 1,000. The safety score is built from official crime figures. A low score means more recorded crime than other places on this list, not that a place is unsafe; How the scores work explains the measure.
Where does the data come from?
The Netherlands City Finder compares 45 places on 16 factors using official statistics and open data. The figure behind every score is shown beside it, and each source is listed under How the scores work and at the foot of this page. The methodology sets out how every city finder turns figures into scores.
Does the City Finder tell me whether I can move to the Netherlands?
No. It is an informational research tool that compares places using general statistics. It does not assess eligibility for any visa, residence permit or citizenship, and nothing in it is legal, immigration, tax or financial advice. For visa and residence routes, see Move Me To EU.
About the Netherlands City Finder
The Netherlands City Finder compares 45 places across the Netherlands on 16 factors: housing cost, private rental supply, rail connectivity, airport access, public transit, cycling, walkability, safety, access to nature, international schools, childcare nearby, international community, self-employed ecosystem, healthcare access, restaurants and bars and cultural scene. Every factor starts at the same weight. Raise the ones you care about, lower or switch off the ones you don't, and the ranking and map re-sort as you go. You can shortlist places, compare them side by side, and copy a link that reopens your exact setup. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht open up into their neighborhoods.
It is built for Americans weighing a move to the Netherlands, whether through citizenship by descent, a visa or another route, who want to turn a long list of places into a shortlist worth visiting. Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague are on the list, and so are smaller places that rarely make the usual rankings. Scores are built from official statistics and open data, the figure behind each score is shown next to it, and the sources are listed at the foot of this page. The methodology explains how a figure becomes a score.
For visa and residence routes, see Move Me To EU, Karte Global's visa and relocation practice. Considering more than one country? Browse every city finder, or compare places across the whole EU on one scale in the EU City Finder.
How the scores work
Each figure is turned into a 0 to 100 score by comparing the places with each other: the weakest twentieth score 0, the strongest twentieth score 100, and the rest fall in between. The factors added in build 0.5 (airport access, public transit, walkability, access to nature, childcare nearby, restaurants and bars, cultural scene) are scored as in our other city finders: half by that comparison and half on a fixed scale from zero up to the level of the strongest, so a place is not marked zero merely for coming last on a list of good options; journey times are scored by comparison only, and public transit is already a percentage of residents and is used as it stands, and cycling is scored on a fixed scale (see the table). Cities are compared with the other 44 cities. Neighborhoods are compared only with other neighborhoods of the same city, so a neighborhood score of 80 in Utrecht and 80 in Amsterdam are not the same thing. A score is a comparison, not a grade.
Your overall match is not a flat average. Weights are squared, so a factor at 5 counts nearly three times as much as one at 3. The result is stretched so that strong matches separate from middling ones. A place that excels on something you rated 4 or 5 earns a small bonus, shown as "strong fit"; one that does badly on it takes a penalty, shown as "weak fit".
Badges: Measured a published official statistic. Derived calculated by us from published data. Editorial compiled or judged by us (none at present). Planned not in the score yet.
Reading the safety score. Half of it ranks Dutch cities against each other on police figures, so the city with the most recorded violence and burglary on this list gets nothing for that half however safe it is by international standards. The other half is absolute: it is what residents say about their own neighborhood. A low score means "less safe than other cities on this list", not "unsafe". Across the Netherlands, residents rate the safety of their own neighborhood 7.4 out of 10, and the lowest-rated city on this list gets 6.6. The figure behind each score is shown so you can judge the gap for yourself.
Where residents live. Walkability, public transit, access to nature, restaurants and the cultural scene are averaged over residents, using the CBS map of 100 m squares for 2025. Places to eat, venues and green space are counted inside the municipality only, so a town next to a big city gets no credit for the city's venues across the boundary. Timetable figures are for one ordinary Tuesday, 10 November 2026.
Neighborhood view leaves out neighborhoods with fewer than 2,500 residents and neighborhoods that are mainly business or port land, and uses only the factors that vary inside a city. Recorded crime is counted where it happens, so city centres and nightlife neighborhoods score lower on safety than their resident numbers alone would suggest.