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Municipality

Living in Utrecht

Utrecht lies where river clay meets sand. The medieval centre with the Oudegracht canal and its wharf cellars is centuries old, and many 19th-century neighbourhoods around it stand on wooden piles or shallow foundations.

West of the city, Leidsche Rijn has been built over recent decades, one of the largest new-build districts in the Netherlands. The contrast between the old city and new builds is therefore especially large in Utrecht.

Check an address in Utrecht

Utrecht in numbers

Residents
378,121
figure from 2026
Average home value (WOZ)
€490,000
Netherlands: €398,000figure from 2025
Owner-occupied homes
45%
Netherlands: 57%figure from 2025
Households with children
26%
Netherlands: 31%figure from 2026
Distance to GP
0.7 km
Netherlands: 1.1 kmfigure from 2025
Distance to large supermarket
0.7 km
Netherlands: 1 kmfigure from 2025

Foundations in Utrecht

52% of the 141,343 buildings in Utrecht were built before 1970. In the west and north of the Netherlands, homes from that period often stand on wooden piles.

52% of the buildings are on soft soil or in an urban area in the west or north and date from before 1970. For those, our check shows ‘Needs attention’.

Soil under the buildings

  • Soft soil (peat, clay)

    44% of buildings · 22% of those from before 1970

  • City, soil not classified

    55% of buildings · 76% of those from before 1970

  • Firm soil (sand)

    0% of buildings · 38% of those from before 1970

Foundation map of Utrecht

Indicative areas of concern for foundation problems: the share of buildings from before 1970 per postcode area, coloured by soil type. Zoom in or out to explore.

Noise in Utrecht

In half of the 105 neighbourhoods, daytime noise is 52 dB or less. In 40% of neighbourhoods it is 55 dB or more, a level many people find annoying.

Quietest neighbourhoods

  1. Haarzuilens en omgeving45 dB
  2. Tigrisdreef en omgeving45 dB
  3. Transwijk-Noord45 dB

Noisiest neighbourhoods

  1. Maarschalkerweerd en Mereveld76 dB
  2. Bedrijvengebied Oudenrijn72 dB
  3. Utrecht Science Park71 dB

Air quality in Utrecht

Half of the neighbourhoods have a nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) level of 17.2 µg/m³ or less. The WHO guideline is 10; the European limit from 2030 is 20.

Cleanest air

  1. Haarzuilens en omgeving11.1 µg/m³
  2. Máximapark13.2 µg/m³
  3. Vleuten13.6 µg/m³

Most nitrogen dioxide

  1. Maarschalkerweerd en Mereveld28.3 µg/m³
  2. Bedrijvengebied Kanaleneiland26.5 µg/m³
  3. Leidsche Rijn-Centrum24.5 µg/m³

Noise and air quality per neighbourhood are taken at the centre point of the neighbourhood. Next to busy roads in the same neighbourhood it can differ. Check an address for the value at that spot.

Local taxes in Utrecht

Utrecht charges a combined €532 per inhabitant in property tax (OZB), sewerage and waste charges (2026). The national average is €453.

Rank 298 of 342 municipalities (1 = lowest charges)

  • Property tax on homes (OZB)€200 per inhabitant
    Netherlands: €177+5% vs 2025
  • Sewerage charge (rioolheffing)€138 per inhabitant
    Netherlands: €121+1% vs 2025
  • Waste charge (afvalstoffenheffing)€194 per inhabitant
    Netherlands: €155+11% vs 2025
  • Total€532 per inhabitant
    Netherlands: €453+6% vs 2025
All figures for Utrecht

Sources: RVO/KCAF (2019), RIVM noise (2022) and air quality (2024), CBS Kerncijfers wijken en buurten. Aggregated on October 13, 2026.