Poorest neighbourhoods in the north and east

In the ranking of more than six thousand residential neighbourhoods by average household income level the least prosperous neighbourhoods of the Netherlands in 2004 were in Leeuwarden and Harlingen. Wassenaar and The Hague have the most prosperous neighbourhoods. The Hague is also the municipality with the largest differences between neighbourhood prosperity.

Twenty neighbourhoods with the lowest average income

Least prosperity in Leeuwarden and Harlingen

The average income of Dutch households was just over 20 thousand euro in 2004. The residential neighbourhood  Vrijheidswijk-West in Leeuwarden is the least prosperous neighbour in the country, with an average income of 11.5 thousand euro. In second place, according to the ranking from low to high, are Plan-Zuid in Harlingen and Kerkelanden in Almelo, with income around 12.5 thousand euro.

Many problems in the north and east

Of the one hundred least prosperous neighbourhoods, more than fifty are in the north and east of the country, nearly forty are in the west. Certainly, The Hague leads the way with eleven poor neighbourhoods, and Rotterdam, too, is well represented with nine poor neighbourhoods. But Leeuwarden, in the north, is second on the list with no fewer than ten low-income neighbourhoods. And in fourth place comes Almelo, a peripheral city, with eight low-income, neighbourhoods, followed by Arnhem, Dordrecht, Hoogezand-Sappemeer and Enschede.   

Twenty neighbourhoods with the highest average income

Wassenaar scores four times in top twenty

The richest neighbourhood in the Netherlands is De Kieviet in Wassenaar, followed by Westbroekpark in The Hague and Villaparken in Hilversum. The average income in De Kieviet is well over 60 thousand euro.
Four of the richest twenty neighbourhoods in the Netherlands are in Wassenaar, three are in Bussum and three in The Hague.
The Hague is the city with the sharpest contrasts in income. Neighbourhoods with very low incomes are concentrated in the Schildersbuurt and Transvaalkwartier districts. Extremely rich neighbourhoods are located in the Benoordenhout and Westbroekpark, and Duttendel districts. 

Petra Ament and Ferdy Otten