Education in Utrecht, Netherlands: official figures
In 2024, 55.2% of people aged 15 to 74 in Utrecht had completed hbo or university, the highest among the 31 large municipalities covered here, up from 51.6% in 2019.
What is the education level in Utrecht?
The share of people aged 15 to 74 in Utrecht whose highest education was primary school, vmbo or mbo-1 was 18.0% in 2024, below the national figure of 25.9%.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow many students live in Utrecht?
Students in hbo and university living in the municipality of Utrecht numbered 87.6 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2025, above the national figure of 43.0.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow many vocational students are there in Utrecht?
There were 18.1 mbo (secondary vocational) students per 1,000 residents of Utrecht in 2025, below the national figure of 25.9.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow many secondary school pupils are there in Utrecht?
Secondary-school pupils living in Utrecht numbered 52.2 per 1,000 residents in 2025, against 51.0 nationally.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow far is the nearest primary school in Utrecht?
The average resident of Utrecht lived 0.6 km by road from the nearest primary school in 2025, below the national figure of 0.8 km.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow far is the nearest secondary school in Utrecht?
Residents of Utrecht lived on average 1.5 km by road from the nearest havo/vwo (pre-university track) secondary school in 2024, 5th shortest among the 31 large municipalities covered here and below the national figure of 3.4 km.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow many young children are in childcare in Utrecht?
110% of children under 5 were in day care or school in 2019 (1,095 per 1,000).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many students are there in Utrecht?
39,120 students were enrolled in higher education in Utrecht in 2024, 83 for every 1,000 residents.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many people in Utrecht have a degree?
Of adults aged 25 to 64 in Utrecht in 2024, 60% had a degree-level education, 26% an upper secondary education and 15% at most lower secondary schooling.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow Utrecht compares with other cities in the Netherlands
Residents aged 15 to 74 with higher education (hbo or university) (%) (2024)
Utrecht ranks 1 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | Residents aged 15 to 74 with higher education (hbo or university) (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utrecht | 55.2% |
| 2 | Leiden | 49.8% |
| 3 | Amsterdam | 49.7% |
| 4 | Nijmegen | 46.8% |
| 5 | Haarlem | 45.2% |
| 6 | Groningen | 44.8% |
| 7 | Amersfoort | 43.5% |
Residents aged 15 to 74 whose highest level is primary, vmbo or mbo-1 (%) (2024)
Utrecht ranks 29 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | Residents aged 15 to 74 whose highest level is primary, vmbo or mbo-1 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Haarlem | 21.9% |
| 26 | Zwolle | 21.9% |
| 27 | Amsterdam | 21.5% |
| 28 | Nijmegen | 19.4% |
| 29 | Utrecht | 18.0% |
| 30 | Leiden | 17.8% |
| 31 | Groningen | 15.7% |
Resident hbo and university students per 1,000 residents (2025)
Utrecht ranks 5 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | Resident hbo and university students per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Leiden | 129.7 |
| 3 | Maastricht | 125.9 |
| 4 | Nijmegen | 109.7 |
| 5 | Utrecht | 87.6 |
| 6 | Enschede | 80.3 |
| 7 | Eindhoven | 72.2 |
| 8 | Tilburg | 68.7 |
Average road distance to a havo/vwo secondary school (km) (2024)
Utrecht ranks 27 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | Average road distance to a havo/vwo secondary school (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | Heerlen-Kerkrade | 1.6 km |
| 25 | Arnhem | 1.6 km |
| 26 | s-Gravenhage | 1.5 km |
| 27 | Utrecht | 1.5 km |
| 28 | Nijmegen | 1.5 km |
| 29 | Amsterdam | 1.3 km |
| 30 | Leiden | 1.3 km |
Higher education students per 1,000 residents (2024)
Utrecht ranks 7 of 29, highest first.
| Rank | City | Higher education students per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Enschede | 87 |
| 5 | Ede | 83 |
| 6 | Leiden | 83 |
| 7 | Utrecht | 83 |
| 8 | Tilburg | 77 |
| 9 | Leeuwarden | 73 |
| 10 | Amsterdam | 68 |
Children 0-4 in day care per 1,000 (2019)
Utrecht ranks 9 of 20, highest first.
| Rank | City | Children 0-4 in day care per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Nijmegen | 1,262 |
| 7 | Almere | 1,154 |
| 8 | Apeldoorn | 1,135 |
| 9 | Utrecht | 1,095 |
| 10 | Arnhem | 1,004 |
| 11 | Venlo | 993 |
| 12 | Zaanstad | 987 |
More on Utrecht: overview · economy and jobs · health · poverty and living standards · 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_ceduc: Urban Audit: education (cities), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 af187c7040a4…)
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