Highest incomes again found in municipalities in North Holland

In 2005, Bloemendaal was again the wealthiest Dutch municipality. The average income in Bloemendaal was 58 percent above the national average. In the space of five years, the classification reflecting average municipal incomes hardly changed. Residents of municipalities in the province of North Holland are still relatively wealthy, whereas those living in the provinces of Groningen and Friesland remain relatively poor.

Two extremes: Bloemendaal and Reiderland

On the list of wealthiest municipalities, Bloemendaal is followed by Wassenaar, Blaricum and Abcoude, where incomes per capita were in the range of 54 to 43 percent above average. Six of the ten municipalities with the highest per capita incomes were situated in North Holland.

Residents of Reiderland, Eemsmond and Pekela in the province of Groningen were at the bottom of the list. The average income in these municipalities was 22 to 17 percent below the nationwide average.

Average income municipalities by deviation from the nationwide average, 2005

Usually marginal discrepancies

In 2005, the average national income stood at 21 thousand euro. Differences between municipalities were generally small. In three out of four municipalities, average incomes varied less than 10 percent from the nationwide average.

Enschede and Emmen at the bottom of the list

Most towns with a population exceeding 100 thousand varied only marginally from the nationwide average. With a per capita income of 12 percent below average, Enschede and Emmen were found at the bottom of the list. Haarlemmermeer topped the list of municipalities with the highest incomes in this size category.

In towns with a population ranging from 50 to 100 thousand, Amstelveen was 25 percent above the national average. The average income in Heerlen was 12 percent below the national average. Other towns in the Eastern Mining District in the province of Limburg also lagged behind. Residents of the municipalities of Kerkrade and Brunssum, for instance, had to live on incomes 10 percent below average.

Average income municipalities with a population exceeding one hundred thousand (top 5 highest and lowest incomes), 2005

Province of Utrecht far ahead

Utrecht is the undisputed number one on the provincial list. In all municipalities in this province, the per capita income was (far) above the national average. The only exception was the municipality of Veenendaal. In the municipalities in the three northern provinces incomes were relatively low; in virtually none of the municipalities, the average income exceeded the nationwide average.

Average income by province, 2005

Hans Kasperski and Peter Meuwissen