Most commuters live on the outskirts of town

Many commuters live on the outskirts of town. They often live in areas situated on the fringes of their place of residence.

More than half of employed work outside their place of residence

In September 2005, more than half of employed left their place of residence every day to go and work in another municipality. In municipalities situated on the outskirts of town, the commuter rate is even higher and often exceeds 60 percent of the employed labour force.

Many commuters in small suburbs

Small suburbs had the largest number of commuters. The highest commuter rates were recorded in Westervoort (near Arnhem) and Onderbanken (near Heerlen) with 83 and 82 percent respectively. Large municipalities, where many commuters live are, for example, Capelle aan den IJssel (68 percent), Amstelveen and Purmerend (64 percent).

Top ten of municipalities with highest commuter rates, September 2005

More commuters near municipal boundaries

When looking in more detail, it becomes evident that the closer districts are situated to a municipal boundary, the higher the commuter rate. In the vicinity of Eindhoven, for example, most districts with a high commuter rate were close to the municipal boundary in 2005. In Eindhoven proper, there were no areas, where the commuter rate exceeded 50 percent.

Municipal districts in Eindhoven and surrounding area by percentage of commuters, September 2005

Few commuters in major cities

In the four major Dutch cities, the majority of employed residents worked within the municipal boundaries. Only The Hague and Utrecht each had one district, where the commuter rate exceeded 50 percent. These commuters mainly lived on the outskirts. The district of Leidschenveen in The Hague, for example, had the highest percentage of commuters in The Hague.

Municipal districts in The Hague by percentage of commuters, September 2005

Bert Raets