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Living in Pekela

In Pekela, unemployment is 3.6% (2024).

The unemployment rate was 3.6% at the end of 2024. Car density was 589.1 vehicles per 1,000 residents at the start of 2025. At the start of 2026, Pekela had a population of 12,579. The city covered 50.2 km² in 2026. Population density was 251 people per km² in 2026.

Last checked 2026-09-2633 sources

Population12,579people10 Jun 2026Official source · CBS — Population on 1 January 2026, municipality Pekela (GM0765)
Average gross salary3,812EUR/month31 Dec 2022Regional figureOfficial source · Mean annual earnings by NUTS 1 region - NACE Rev. 2, B-S excluding O (2022)
Average rent420EUR/month31 Dec 2024Municipality figureOfficial source · Woonlasten huishoudens; kenmerken huishouden, woning, gemeente (85950NED)
Unemployment rate3.6%country median 3.1% — 16% aboveOfficial source · CBS labour market in figures 2024 — unemployment by municipality
Recorded crime3,000offences per 100,000country median 3,090 — 3% belowOfficial source · CBS StatLine 83648NED — registered crime by municipality, total, 2024

Which Netherlands-wide rules apply when you move to Pekela?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in NetherlandsNational rates and thresholds that apply in Pekela.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

No city-level rent figure is published for Pekela. The available city-level cost figures remain below.

What recurs every month2 published recurring costs, € per month
Pekela recurring monthly costs, € per month

€ / month

Internet, 60 Mbps€43
Mobile plan, 10 GB€25
MetricValuePeriodSource
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited42.5 EUR/month30 Sept 2026KPN 100 Mbps home internet14Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB25 EUR/month30 Sept 2026KPN 20GB mobile plan15Official · national market
Housing stock5,774 dwellings31 Dec 2020CBS - Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek3Official
Average monthly rent (whole dwelling)420 EUR/month31 Dec 2024Woonlasten huishoudens; kenmerken huishouden, woning, gemeente (85950NED)23Official · parent municipality
Rented homes37 pct31 Dec 2020CBS - Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek3Official

Is Pekela a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile
Remote worker49%strong on work, weak on safety · range 40–58%
Skilled employee56%strong on work, weak on safety · range 48–64%
Student47%strong on education, weak on work · range 40–54%
Family46%strong on family, weak on cost · range 38–54%
Retirement49%strong on air quality, weak on admin · range 38–60%

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Pekela?

The unemployment rate is 3.6 % (2024). Source: CBS labour market in figures 2024 — unemployment by municipality8

Unemployment across cities in NetherlandsUnemployment in Pekela is 3.6%. Of 337 cities with data, 146 have unemployment of 3 to under 3.5%.

Unemployment rate (%)

MetricValuePeriodSource
Average gross earnings3,812 EUR/month31 Dec 2022Mean annual earnings by NUTS 1 region - NACE Rev. 2, B-S excluding O (2022)16Official · regional context
Gigabit broadband availability99.88 %2025 Q1Percentage of households in the Dutch municipality with access to a fixed internet connection of at least 1 Gbps (1000 Mbit/s); availability, not subscribed plan, measured speed or FTTH-only coverage.19Official
Median income per year28,700 EUR/year31 Dec 2024CBS - Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek4Official
Unemployment rate3.6 %country median 3.1%31 Dec 2024CBS labour market in figures 2024 — unemployment by municipality8Official

What does a salary buy in Pekela?

Take-home pay after tax, minus rent and the everyday bills this city publishes. Each line names its source.

Netherlands median gross pay: €3,667 (2022-12-31).
Left over each month€2,558of €3,045 take-home
  • Rent
  • Internet
  • Mobile
  • Left over
Line-by-line breakdown and sources
Each month€
Take-home payOECD Taxing Wages 2025, single, no children. Includes central and local income tax and employee social contributions.€3,045
Rentaverage rent of a whole dwelling · official · Woonlasten huishoudens; kenmerken huishouden, woning, gemeente (85950NED) · 2024-12-31− €420
Internet€43 · official · KPN 100 Mbps home internet · 2026-09-30− €43
Mobile plan€25 · official · KPN 20GB mobile plan · 2026-09-30− €25
Other everyday billsnot published for this city: public transport pass, utilities—
Left overbefore the bills this city does not publish€2,558
Take-home pay for other salaries and households Compare with another city Check a job offer in Pekela Salary needed to live in Pekela

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Pekela. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.

Country-level information

UWV public employment service — Public employment service

Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen (UWV)

Job Search
Open official service
Open the Netherlands service overview

Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Pekela. Sources checked through 11 Aug 2026.

Family and education

MetricValuePeriodSource
Schools7 count27 Aug 2026DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs)10Official

School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 5 to 16, and public school is free. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: extra Dutch-language reception support for recently-arrived immigrant pupils (NT2 reception funding). How to enrol a child (rijksoverheid.nl).

A country-wide rule for Netherlands; Pekela's school authority applies it locally.

Sources: eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · 2025–2026.

Safety

How safe is Pekela?

Police recorded 3,000 incidents per 100,000 (2024). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source.

  • Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents: 3,000 offences per 100,000 · CBS StatLine 83648NED — registered crime by municipality, total, 20249
Recorded crime across major citiesPekela highlighted among comparable cities
Recorded crime across major cities with Pekela highlighted

recorded incidents per 100k residents

Amsterdam8,970
Rotterdam8,200
Eindhoven7,990
The Hague6,890
Utrecht6,800
Nijmegen6,280
Groningen6,160
Breda5,870
Tilburg5,560
Almere4,280
Almere Stad4,278
Pekela3,000
MetricValuePeriodSource
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents3,000 offences per 100,000country median 3,09031 Dec 2024CBS StatLine 83648NED — registered crime by municipality, total, 20249Official

Mobility and administration

The nearest airport was GRQ, 27.4 km away, with 5 listed destinations in June 2026. Gigabit broadband availability was 99.9% in Q1 2025.

MetricValuePeriodSource
Destinations from nearest airport5 count13 Jun 2026OpenFlights — routes.dat17Official
Nearest airportGRQ13 Jun 2026OurAirports — airports.csv18Official
Distance to nearest airport27.4 km13 Jun 2026OurAirports — airports.csv18Official

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for Pekela. These verified national programmes may still apply; use the official programme page to check local availability.

Country-level information

Blik op Werk integration-provider quality register — Other

Blik op Werk

For integration-course applicants.

DutchIn Person, Online
Open official information

DUO choosing an integration course — State Language Course

Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (DUO)

For people who must integrate.

DutchIn Person
Open official information
Open the full Netherlands section
National programme information is not treated as proof of a course location in Pekela.

Find courses near Pekela

Climate and air quality

Temperature through the yearAverage daytime high and night-time low, °C
Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

MetricValuePeriodSource
NO₂ — annual mean6 µg/m³31 Dec 2024EEA air quality statistics — NL NO2 annual mean 2024 (station Valthermond-Noorderdiep)11Official · nearest-station reading
PM10 — annual mean12 µg/m³31 Dec 2024EEA air quality statistics — NL PM10 annual mean 2024 (station Valthermond-Noorderdiep)12Official · nearest-station reading
Average daytime high by monthJan 4.8 · Feb 5.8 · Mar 9.3 · Apr 14.1 · May 17.5 · Jun 20.2 · Jul 22.8 · Aug 23 · Sep 19 · Oct 14 · Nov 8.8 · Dec 5.6 °C1991–2020WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station NieuwBeertaAws_06286.csv22Official · nearest-station reading
Average night-time low by monthJan 0 · Feb -0.1 · Mar 1.3 · Apr 3.5 · May 6.9 · Jun 9.7 · Jul 12.1 · Aug 12.2 · Sep 10 · Oct 6.7 · Nov 3.4 · Dec 0.9 °C1991–2020WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station NieuwBeertaAws_06286.csv22Official · nearest-station reading
Average temperature by monthJan 2.5 · Feb 2.8 · Mar 5.3 · Apr 8.8 · May 12.4 · Jun 15.2 · Jul 17.5 · Aug 17.5 · Sep 14.4 · Oct 10.2 · Nov 6.2 · Dec 3.3 °C1991–2020WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station NieuwBeertaAws_06286.csv22Official · nearest-station reading

Population and city profile

How many people live in Pekela?

The published population was 12,579 people in January 2026. Source: CBS — Population on 1 January 2026, municipality Pekela (GM0765)6

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.

MetricValuePeriodSource
Addresses per km²546 addresses/km²27 Aug 2026CBS2Official
Area50.11 km²10 Jun 2026Wikidata (P2046)32Independent · gemeente
Cars per 1,000 residents589.1 cars/1000 residents1 Jan 2025CBS Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2025, municipality-grain passenger-car universe (Personenauto's totaal) divided by the same-table municipality population.7Official
City area50.2 km²28 Jan 2026Kadaster BRK Bestuurlijke Gebieden, current municipality boundary polygon in EPSG:28992; area is the polygon area converted from m² to km².13Official
Foreign residents1,672 people1 Jan 2025CBS Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2025, municipality-grain passenger-car universe (Personenauto's totaal) divided by the same-table municipality population.7Official
Population density251 people/km²10 Jun 2026CBS2Official · gemeente
Population12,579 people10 Jun 2026CBS — Population on 1 January 2026, municipality Pekela (GM0765)6Official

International community in Pekela

Named groups from exact city-grain official distributions. Citizenship, birthplace, language and ancestry answer different questions and stay separate.

Country of birth

Population registered in Dutch municipalities; CBS population on 1 January · 2026-01-01

Published groupPeopleShare
Born in the Netherlands11,41290.7%
Born outside the Netherlands1,1679.3%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source21

Citizenship

Residents in the Dutch population register; 1 January · 2025-01-01

Published groupPeopleShare
Totaal12,459100.0%
Nederlands11,80594.8%
Totaal niet-Nederlandse nationaliteit6545.2%
Europa (exclusief Nederlands)5184.2%
Oekraïens3693.0%
Europese Unie (exclusief Nederlands)1411.1%
Buiten-Europa1271.0%
Azië970.8%
Midden- en Oost-Europese nat. in de EU940.8%
Azië (exclusief Indonesisch en Turks)800.6%
Show 40 more groups
Published groupPeopleShare
Pools570.5%
Syrisch410.3%
Burger van Bondsrepubliek Duitsland250.2%
Afrika190.2%
Turks170.1%
Afrika (exclusief Marokkaans)160.1%
Afghaans140.1%
Amerika110.1%
Roemeens110.1%
Bulgaars100.1%
GIPS-Nationaliteiten in de EU100.1%
Amerika en Oceanië (exclusief Surinaams)100.1%
Staatloos / onbekend90.1%
Belgisch80.1%
Hongaars80.1%
Iraaks80.1%
Somalisch50.0%
Brits40.0%
Chinees40.0%
Eritrees40.0%
Braziliaans30.0%
Italiaans30.0%
Lets30.0%
Marokkaans30.0%
Pakistaans30.0%
Portugees30.0%
Russisch30.0%
Amerikaans20.0%
Egyptisch20.0%
Grieks20.0%
Slowaaks20.0%
Spaans20.0%
Thais20.0%
Zweeds20.0%
Filippijns10.0%
Jemenitisch10.0%
Kroatisch10.0%
Litouws10.0%
Surinaams10.0%
Tsjechisch10.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source20

Additional context

MetricValuePeriodSource
Average download speed, 2024250 Mbps27 Aug 2026ACM1Official
Average assessed property value (WOZ)139 kEUR31 Dec 2020CBS - Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek3Official
Jobs2,800 jobs31 Dec 2024CBS — Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek5Official
5G network availabletrue27 Aug 2026ACM1Official
Average fibre-to-the-premises coverage95 %27 Aug 2026ACM1Official
Owner-occupied homes63 pct31 Dec 2020CBS - Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek3Official

Alternatives for people set on Pekela

Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.

Cities near Pekela

Published cities within 25 km, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Alternative cities in Netherlands

Other cities in Netherlands to compare with Pekela, nearest in population first.

All Netherlands cities
Opmeer12,669 residentsVoerendaal12,432 residentsIJsselmuiden12,800 residentsHattem12,822 residentsBemmel12,290 residentsBoxmeer12,930 residents

How does Pekela compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Pekela's.

Open the full comparison

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Pekela under the national coverage rules.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide
Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Put Pekela's key facts on your site — a card with this page's figures and a link back, free under CC BY 4.0.

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How many people live in Pekela?

The published population was 12,579 people in January 2026. Source: CBS — Population on 1 January 2026, municipality Pekela (GM0765).

How safe is Pekela?

Police recorded 3,000 incidents per 100,000 (2024). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: CBS StatLine 83648NED — registered crime by municipality, total, 2024.

What is the unemployment rate in Pekela?

The unemployment rate is 3.6 % (2024). Source: CBS labour market in figures 2024 — unemployment by municipality.

How many foreign residents live in Pekela?

1,672 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: CBS Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2025, municipality-grain passenger-car universe (Personenauto's totaal) divided by the same-table municipality population..

Is Pekela a good place to live?

Pekela may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

Which cities are near Pekela?

Oude Pekela, Veendam, Oldambt, Winschoten, Westerwolde are near Pekela. Typed relationship labels are shown where published; other rows use straight-line distance from admitted coordinates.

How many people born in Born in the Netherlands live in Pekela?

The official country of birth distribution records 11,412 people (90.7%) in the source-defined population for 2026-01-01. This is a country of birth measure, not a general estimate of ethnicity or migration status.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Pekela, Netherlands: population, rent, salary, jobs, safety [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 1a2b739bc0b93237130a58b52dc34d0e]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nl/pekela/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_pekela-netherlands-population-rent-salary-jobs-safety_89004657adb8,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Pekela, Netherlands: population, rent, salary, jobs, safety},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {1a2b739bc0b93237130a58b52dc34d0e},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nl/pekela/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}
Markdown citation
[Pekela, Netherlands: population, rent, salary, jobs, safety](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nl/pekela/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 1a2b739bc0b93237130a58b52dc34d0e; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown
  1. ACM acm.nl · checked 2026-06-12
  2. CBS opendata.cbs.nl · checked 2026-06-12
  3. CBS - Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek opendata.cbs.nl · checked 2026-06-11
  4. CBS - Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek opendata.cbs.nl · checked 2026-06-12
  5. CBS — Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek CBS · opendata.cbs.nl · checked 2026-06-12
  6. CBS — Population on 1 January 2026, municipality Pekela (GM0765) CBS · opendata.cbs.nl · checked 2026-08-14
  7. CBS Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2025, municipality-grain passenger-car universe (Personenauto's totaal) divided by the same-table municipality population. opendata.cbs.nl · checked 2026-07-15
  8. CBS labour market in figures 2024 — unemployment by municipality CBS labour market in figures 2024 · longreads.cbs.nl · checked 2026-07-26
  9. CBS StatLine 83648NED — registered crime by municipality, total, 2024 CBS StatLine 83648NED · opendata.cbs.nl · checked 2026-07-26
  10. DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs) duo.nl · checked 2026-06-11
Show 23 more sources
  1. EEA air quality statistics — NL NO2 annual mean 2024 (station Valthermond-Noorderdiep) EEA air quality statistics · air.discomap.eea.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-31
  2. EEA air quality statistics — NL PM10 annual mean 2024 (station Valthermond-Noorderdiep) EEA air quality statistics · air.discomap.eea.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-31
  3. Kadaster BRK Bestuurlijke Gebieden, current municipality boundary polygon in EPSG:28992; area is the polygon area converted from m² to km². api.pdok.nl · checked 2026-07-15
  4. KPN 100 Mbps home internet kpn.com · checked 2026-09-15
  5. KPN 20GB mobile plan kpn.com · checked 2026-09-15
  6. Mean annual earnings by NUTS 1 region - NACE Rev. 2, B-S excluding O (2022) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-23
  7. OpenFlights — routes.dat OpenFlights · raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-07-14
  8. OurAirports — airports.csv OurAirports · davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-07-14
  9. Percentage of households in the Dutch municipality with access to a fixed internet connection of at least 1 Gbps (1000 Mbit/s); availability, not subscribed plan, measured speed or FTTH-only coverage. services.arcgis.com · checked 2026-07-15
  10. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) citizenship distribution opendata.cbs.nl · checked 2026-08-28
  11. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) country of birth opendata.cbs.nl · checked 2026-08-29
  12. WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station NieuwBeertaAws_06286.csv WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 · ncei.noaa.gov · checked 2026-07-31
  13. Woonlasten huishoudens; kenmerken huishouden, woning, gemeente (85950NED) cbs.nl · checked 2026-09-25
  14. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  15. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  16. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  17. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  18. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  19. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  20. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  21. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  22. Wikidata (P2046) wikidata.org · checked 2026-07-14
  23. Wikidata identity and coordinates — Q23987486 Wikidata identity and coordinates · wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-05

Spotted a number that looks wrong? Every value here carries its source and date — tell us what you found and we will re-check it against the source.