Average moving distance increases

© CBS
  • The average moving distance among people who moved house in 2024 was 18 kilometres.
  • The distance increased by the most among people who left the Randstad.
  • The average moving distance was further than it was in 2015, particularly among families with children.

People who moved house in 2024 moved an average distance of 18 kilometres from their previous home. That was 2 kilometres further than in 2015. The moving distance increased by the most in the Randstad. Long-distance moves occurred more often among families with children, on average. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of a new analysis.

Most people do not move far from their previous home, but the average distance moved has increased, particularly since 2020. In 2024, half of moves were within a radius of 4 kilometres from the previous home, and three-quarters of moves were no further than 17 kilometres. In 2015, half of moves were within 3 kilometres and three-quarters were within 13 kilometres.

Fewer moves within a 4-kilometre radius

In 2024, 8.1 percent of the population moved house, slightly less than in 2015 (8.5 percent). There were fewer short-distance moves of 4 kilometres or less. Slightly more people moved a distance of 4 to 20 kilometres, and the number of long-distance moves of more than 20 kilometres also increased slightly.

Families with children move further

In 2024, children and adults aged 30 to 64, in particular, moved further from their previous home. For both young people and older people, the difference was less significant than it was in 2015.

Young people move further from their previous home, particularly when they leave their parents’ home to pursue further education. For students aged between 18 and 25 who were studying at the end of 2024, the average moving distance was 49 kilometres. Young people in employment who leave their parents’ home move less far (17 kilometres, on average). In 2015, young people in higher education (42 kilometres) and young people in employment (15 kilometres) moved shorter distances, on average.

People approaching retirement age also moved slightly further than average (19 kilometres), but the number of moves in this age group decreases.

2015
2024

People who leave the Randstad are more likely to move long distances

Compared to 2015, the average moving distance in 2024 increased more among people moving from municipalities in the Randstad than among those outside this area. In 2024, the new homes of people who left the Randstad were located an average distance of 15 to 20 kilometres away from their previous home. In 2015, this was 10 to 15 kilometres.

People who move away from the provinces of Fryslân, Groningen and Drenthe move the furthest: the moving distance from most of these provinces’ municipalities was 20 kilometres.