Fewer people leaving the Randstad, still more than movers choosing big city life

The number of people relocating from the Randstad to other locations is declining slightly, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported. In 2024, nearly 67,000 people moved from the Randstad to a municipality outside it, 2,000 fewer than in the previous year. However, more people are still leaving the Randstad than moving into it.

Last year, nearly 53,000 people moved to the Ranstad, resulting in a net departure of 14,000. Despite this, the population in the Randstad is growing slightly faster than elsewhere in the Netherlands, according to CBS. This difference is because immigrants are settling in the Randstad more often, the average population is younger, and more children are being born than people are dying.

Outside the Randstad, the reverse is true, resulting in a slower population growth or even a decline. According to CBS, this is particularly true on the outskirts of the Netherlands.

While people in their 30s, with or without children, are the most likely to leave the big cities, young adults are doing the opposite. In 2024, a net of nearly 68,000 18- to 25-year-olds and over 16,000 25- to 30-year-olds moved to the Randstad. This is related to factors like education, work, and independent living. “From the age of 30, housing preferences (a more suitable home or living environment) and proximity to family become more important,” CBS reported.

The municipalities that attract the most people moving out of the Randstad are located nearby, such as in Flevoland, the Veluwe region, Schouwen-Duiveland, the Rieverengebied, and the north of Noord-Holland. Most people moved from the large cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, and Leiden and their immediate surroundings. Between 2006 and 2016, it was the other way around, according to CBS. At that time, the Randstad gained residents through relocations.

CBS did not include relocations to and from institutions in these figures. As a result, people who move from an asylum shelter to a home, for example, are not included.