Amsterdam still most attractive Dutch city to live in; Maastricht the biggest climber

Amsterdam is still the most attractive Dutch city to live in, followed by Amstelveen, Utrecht, and Leiden, according to the Atlas voor Gemeenten 2025. Maastricht was the biggest climber in the annual ranking by Atlas Research, jumping from 40th to 34th position.

Every year, Atlas Research looks at the 50 largest urban municipalities in the Netherlands and ranks them on how attractive they are to live in, both for current residents and relocating households. They look at over 50 indicators along the themes of population, socio-economic position, and amenities, among other things.

Amsterdam has been at the top for years, mostly due to its amenities, Atlas Research researcher Marten Middeldorp said on NOS Radio 1 Journaal. “Besides, there are two universities, and the historic city center also contributes.”

Despite its top position, the Dutch capital scored poorly in the broad prosperity theme, which looks at material prosperity, health and well-being, work and education, work-life balance, living satisfaction, nature and the environment, social cohesion, and safety. Hengelo scored the highest in these areas, scoring particularly well on living satisfaction, work-life balance, and safety. Rotterdam is at the bottom of the ranking in this category.

Maastricht shot up the ranking this year, jumping from 40th to 34th place. According to the researchers, this is mostly due to improvements in safety and the level of amenities. Maastricht also experienced the largest increase in broad prosperity over the past ten years.

The mayor of Maastricht told NOS that he is pleased with the jump, but still believes his city is ranked too low. Researcher Middeldorp said he understood the criticism of the ranking.

“We look purely at what people are willing to pay to live there. And we determine that based on objective factors, such as accessibility to work,” Middeldorp told the broadcaster. “That’s why cities like Maastricht, but also Groningen, always rank low on the index, because they’re far away from other places. That doesn’t make a place less enjoyable, but it does make it less attractive for people to live there.”