Students who leave home rarely move far, CBS finds

In 2025, a significant number of young people in the Netherlands chose to leave home and study in university cities within their own region, according to figures from the national statistics office CBS. Nearly 32,000 individuals aged between 17 and 22 moved to university cities that year. While more than 80% of these young people came from different municipalities, the majority had not traveled far.

Amsterdam and Groningen were the most popular destinations, with 5,300 and 5,100 students respectively, both exceeding the 5,000 mark. Approximately 30% of those heading to Amsterdam and Rotterdam had previously lived there, and many of the rest came from within a 50-kilometer radius. Groningen primarily attracted students from the three northern provinces, while students in Enschede tended to come from the east, and many more headed to Maastricht, Tilburg, and Eindhoven from Noord-Brabant and Limburg.

Wageningen, however, stood out as the only city attracting students from across the country. Domestic moves only were counted, excluding international students. Around 17% of university students in the Netherlands come from foreign countries, a proportion that rises above 60% in Maastricht. Over the past decade, fewer young people have been leaving home to study, with the average dropping from 36,000 annually between 2015 and 2021.

However, the number surged above 50,000 in 2023, driven by the return of the basic student grant, making relocation more financially feasible. The distribution of students across cities also varied by gender. In Maastricht and Nijmegen, women made up around two-thirds of new arrivals, while at Delft, Eindhoven, and Enschede, men were more prevalent.