Poverty and living standards in Groningen, Netherlands: official figures
The average WOZ value of a home in Groningen, the official valuation used for property tax, was €346,000 in 2026, below the national figure of €439,000, up 66% from €208,000 in 2020; that is 7th lowest among the 31 large municipalities covered here.
How many people are on benefits in Groningen?
In 2026 the municipality of Groningen had 12.4 benefit recipients under pension age for every 100 residents aged 15 to 64, 12th lowest among the 31 large municipalities covered here (Netherlands: 12.4).
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow many people receive bijstand in Groningen?
The municipality of Groningen had 5.4 people on social assistance (bijstand) per 100 working-age residents in 2026, above the national figure of 3.5; that ranks 8th highest among the 31 large municipalities covered here, down from 6.3 in 2020.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow many people get unemployment benefit in Groningen?
Unemployment insurance (WW) was paid to 1.37 people per 100 residents aged 15 to 64 in Groningen in 2026, against 1.60 nationally.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow many people are on disability benefit in Groningen?
Groningen had 5.4 disability benefit recipients per 100 working-age residents in 2026, below the national figure of 7.1.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow many people live alone in Groningen?
People living alone made up 60.7% of households in Groningen in 2025, above the national figure of 40.1%.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow many new homes are built in Groningen?
House building in the municipality of Groningen reached 7.7 new homes per 1,000 in the stock in 2025, below the national figure of 8.4.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyWhat is the crime rate in Groningen?
Groningen had 61.2 police-recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in 2025 (14,970 in total, provisional), 11th highest among the 31 large municipalities covered here and above the national figure of 45.2.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyIs crime going up in Groningen?
Recorded crime in Groningen was down 9% in 2025 compared with 2015, when police registered 16,440 offences.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow much violent crime is there in Groningen?
Violent and sexual offences, including assault, threats and sexual crimes, ran at 5.6 per 1,000 residents in Groningen in 2025, 13th highest among the 31 large municipalities covered here (Netherlands: 4.6).
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow common is burglary in Groningen?
Theft and burglary without violence accounted for 33.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents of Groningen in 2025.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow many people live alone in Groningen?
61% of the 145,764 households in Groningen were people living alone in 2024, and 3.5% were lone parents with children under 18.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyCan people in Groningen afford their bills?
In the EU's 2023 quality of life survey, 8% of residents of Groningen said they had difficulty paying their bills at the end of the month most of the time.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyMore figures
- 38% of people in Groningen agreed that it is easy to find good housing at a reasonable price (EU quality of life in European cities survey, 2023). Source: Eurostat · saved copy
- 84% of people in Groningen felt safe walking alone at night in the city (EU quality of life in European cities survey, 2023). Source: Eurostat · saved copy
How Groningen compares with other cities in the Netherlands
Average WOZ (tax) value of homes (€) (2026)
Groningen ranks 25 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | Average WOZ (tax) value of homes (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | Tilburg | €378,000 |
| 23 | Rotterdam | €374,000 |
| 24 | Venlo | €349,000 |
| 25 | Groningen | €346,000 |
| 26 | Maastricht | €346,000 |
| 27 | Nissewaard | €339,000 |
| 28 | Enschede | €332,000 |
Benefit recipients below pension age per 100 residents aged 15 to 64 (2026)
Groningen ranks 20 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | Benefit recipients below pension age per 100 residents aged 15 to 64 |
|---|---|---|
| 17 | Nissewaard | 12.7 |
| 18 | Amsterdam | 12.7 |
| 19 | s-Hertogenbosch | 12.7 |
| 20 | Groningen | 12.4 |
| 21 | Zoetermeer | 12.3 |
| 22 | Almere | 12.1 |
| 23 | Eindhoven | 11.9 |
Social assistance (bijstand) recipients below pension age per 100 residents aged 15 to 64 (2026)
Groningen ranks 8 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | Social assistance (bijstand) recipients below pension age per 100 residents aged 15 to 64 |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Enschede | 5.7 |
| 6 | s-Gravenhage | 5.6 |
| 7 | Nijmegen | 5.5 |
| 8 | Groningen | 5.4 |
| 9 | Amsterdam | 5.3 |
| 10 | Tilburg | 4.5 |
| 11 | Sittard-Geleen | 4.4 |
Share of homes owned by housing associations (%) (2025)
Groningen ranks 16 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | Share of homes owned by housing associations (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Zwolle | 33% |
| 14 | Utrecht | 31% |
| 15 | Leiden | 31% |
| 16 | Groningen | 31% |
| 17 | Tilburg | 31% |
| 18 | s-Gravenhage | 30% |
| 19 | Haarlem | 29% |
New-build homes per 1,000 existing homes (2025)
Groningen ranks 16 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | New-build homes per 1,000 existing homes |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Zwolle | 9.9 |
| 14 | Nissewaard | 8.5 |
| 15 | Zaanstad | 8.4 |
| 16 | Groningen | 7.7 |
| 17 | Rotterdam | 6.9 |
| 18 | Leiden | 6.8 |
| 19 | Tilburg | 6.7 |
Police-recorded crimes per 1,000 residents (provisional) (2025)
Groningen ranks 11 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | Police-recorded crimes per 1,000 residents (provisional) |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Enschede | 65.0 |
| 9 | Nijmegen | 64.0 |
| 10 | Breda | 61.6 |
| 11 | Groningen | 61.2 |
| 12 | Maastricht | 60.3 |
| 13 | Venlo | 60.3 |
| 14 | Haarlemmermeer | 59.5 |
Recorded violent and sexual crimes per 1,000 residents (provisional) (2025)
Groningen ranks 13 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | Recorded violent and sexual crimes per 1,000 residents (provisional) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Nissewaard | 6.4 |
| 11 | Maastricht | 5.9 |
| 12 | Venlo | 5.7 |
| 13 | Groningen | 5.6 |
| 14 | Leeuwarden | 5.6 |
| 15 | Nijmegen | 5.5 |
| 16 | Zwolle | 5.5 |
Share of recorded crimes solved (%) (provisional) (2025)
Groningen ranks 16 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | Share of recorded crimes solved (%) (provisional) |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Breda | 23.1% |
| 14 | Ede | 23.1% |
| 15 | Almere | 22.2% |
| 16 | Groningen | 22.1% |
| 17 | Sittard-Geleen | 22.0% |
| 18 | Apeldoorn | 21.9% |
| 19 | s-Hertogenbosch | 21.9% |
More on Groningen: overview · economy and jobs · health · education and schools · government and politics · all cities in the Netherlands
Sources
- Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS): Regionale kerncijfers Nederland (table 70072ned): provinces, COROP areas and selected municipalities, 2014-2026, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 d2b63aac3a26…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset urb_clivcon: Urban Audit: living conditions (cities), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 bc58ab68d418…)
- Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS): Geregistreerde misdrijven en verdachten; soort misdrijf, regio (table 83648NED): police-recorded crime by province and municipality, 2015-2025, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 301a92d5d72f…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset urb_percep: Quality of life in European cities survey 2023: perception (cities), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 81bd3e277f3e…)
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