NL residents getting wealthier; Bloemendaal still the wealthiest

On January 1 last year, the average Dutch household had 49,800 euros in wealth - 12 thousand euros more than the year before. Most of the increase is due to rising home values, Statistics Netherlands reported on Tuesday. Bloemendaal is still municipality with the wealthiest residents, with an average wealth of 381 thousand euros.

The top 10 wealthiest municipalities also include places like Laren, Rozendaal, Heemstede, Bunnik, Bergen, Alphen-Chaam, Hilvarenbeek, and Oirschot. All places with relatively many older residents.

A household's average wealth is very dependent on the age of its members. Households with a 25-year-old as main breadwinner most often have little built up wealth, while households consisting of people over the age of 65 had many more years to build up their wealth and pay off their mortgage. If owner-occupied homes are left out of the equation, the average Dutch household had 15 thousand euros in wealth in January last year. 

Households with the lowest average wealth are mainly in the large cities. The large cities have many young residents, residents receiving welfare benefits, and people with non-Western roots. According to the stats office, these groups often have little wealth. Rotterdam residents are least wealthy on average, at over 6 thousand euros in wealth.