Moving to Netherlands
Netherlands country facts, largest cities, hub labels and reports.
Across 198 passports, 93 passports enter visa-free and 105 passports need a visa for Netherlands. Check your passport below.
- Visa-free
- 93
- Visa required
- 105
Visa and entry rules
Sources checked through 3 Sept 2026.
Work and income
What is the unemployment rate in Netherlands?
The national unemployment rate was 3.9 % in 2025. Source: Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a)14
This is the Eurostat labour-force survey series used as the canonical national answer. Other published definitions exist and are shown in the table below.
What is the median gross salary in Netherlands?
The median gross salary was 3,667 EUR/month in 2022.
Half of employees earn less than this. Mean gross and national-accounts averages use different definitions and are shown in the table below. national-accounts average — shown in the table below.
What is the minimum wage in Netherlands?
The statutory minimum wage is 14.99 EUR/hour, gross (as of July 2026). Source: Rijksoverheid / open.overheid.nl40
National statutory floor, gross, before tax and social contributions.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median gross salary, monthly | 3,667 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2022 | Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly)15Official · national figure |
| National unemployment rate | 3.9 % | 31 Dec 2025 | Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a)14Official · national figure |
| Minimum gross hourly wage | 14.99 EUR/hour | 10 Aug 2026 | Rijksoverheid / open.overheid.nl40Official · national figure |
Typical city (median): about 3.1%
Unemployment rate (%)
Typical city (median): about 9.0 µg/m³
Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)
Typical city (median): about 3,080 incidents per 100,000 residents
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents
Public employment service in Netherlands
Official job-search, registration, counselling and training routes. Private recruitment agencies are not included.
UWV public employment service — Public employment service
A national service does not prove that an office exists in every city. City pages show an office only after an exact address is linked to that city. Sources checked through 11 Aug 2026.
Taxes in Netherlands
National rates and comparable published scenarios. Personal tax depends on income, household and residence circumstances.
What does an average earner take home in Netherlands?
A single person on an average wage keeps about 49,794 EUR/year of about 69,028 EUR/year gross per year — 72.1% of pay.
Standardized OECD Taxing Wages (standardized scenario): single person, no children, earning the average wage. The same scenario is published for every covered country, so take-home shares compare directly.
| Component | Amount / year |
|---|---|
| Net wage earnings, kept | 49,794 |
| Income taxes | −12,319 |
| Employee social contributions | −6,916 |
| Gross wage earnings | 69,028 |
- Gross-to-net pay for a sample household: single person no children — 69,028 gross → 49,794 net a year (2025, national currency) · Taxing Wages 2026 — labour taxation decomposition
Benefits newcomers may qualify for in Netherlands
Public schemes where an official source defines an eligible migration or residence status. Amounts and conditions are kept in their native terms.
| Programme | Published amount | Source and application |
|---|---|---|
Algemene bijstand (Participation Act) — Minimum-income support | 1,419.46–2,176.1 EUR / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe current Rijksoverheid table gives the monthly general-assistance amounts including holiday allowance from 1 July 2026: EUR 1,419.46 for a single person aged 21 to state-pension age, EUR 2,027.79 for married or cohabiting persons aged 21 to state-pension age, EUR 1,587.34 for a single person at or above state-pension age and EUR 2,176.10 for married or cohabiting persons at or above state-pension age. Participatiewet Article 11(2) states that a Netherlands-resident foreign national is equated with a Dutch national when the foreign national ‘rechtmatig in Nederland verblijf houdt in de zin van artikel 8, onderdelen a tot en met e en l, van de Vreemdelingenwet 2000’, subject to the source’s exception for Article 24(2) of Directive 2004/38/EC; Article 11(1) is the necessary-means entitlement rule. , retaining the exact lawful-residence statutory reference and exclusion rather than using a generic lawful-resident label. | ||
Algemene Kinderbijslagwet (Child benefit) — Family and child support | 298.4–426.29 EUR / Quarterly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe current official Algemene Kinderbijslagwet, Article 12(1) and (3), valid from 1 August 2026, sets the quarterly amount per child at EUR 298.40 for a child under 6, EUR 362.35 for a child aged 6 to under 12 and EUR 426.29 for a child aged 12 to under 18. Article 12(2) applies the source-defined country-cost percentage where the child lives outside the Netherlands in the EU, EEA or Switzerland or another treaty country. The current official Algemene Kinderbijslagwet, Article 6, states that a person is insured under the Act if they are resident in the Netherlands, or if they are not resident but perform employment in the Netherlands or on the continental shelf that is subject to Dutch wage tax. Article 6(2) excludes a foreigner who does not reside lawfully in the Netherlands. and foreign_national_working_in_the_netherlands_subject_to_dutch_wage_tax_under_akw; it does not generalise to every foreign resident or worker without the Act's insurance and lawful-stay conditions. | ||
Huurtoeslag (rent benefit) — Housing support | 932.93 EUR / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe rent-benefit calculation uses a maximum rent of EUR 932.93 in 2026; the actual benefit varies with rent and income. The official Dienst Toeslagen page states: ‘Om huurtoeslag te kunnen krijgen, moet u rechtmatig in Nederland zijn’ (you must be lawfully in the Netherlands). For EU, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland nationals it says: ‘De aanvrager moet een geldige verblijfsstatus hebben die recht geeft op toeslag’; for other nationals it says: ‘U kunt alleen huurtoeslag krijgen als u een geldige verblijfsvergunning hebt die recht geeft op toeslagen’. These are the bounded source-defined residence profiles; household, income, assets and independent-home conditions also apply. | ||
Subsistence allowance for refugees from Ukraine under the ROOO scheme — Arrival and reception support | Amount set per household by formula / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsGovernment.nl's table from 1 August 2026 sets the monthly per-person amount as clothing allowance EUR 65.77 plus the applicable food allowance: EUR 260.97 for a solo refugee or adult in a 2-person family, EUR 221.83 in a 3-person adult family, EUR 195.72 in a 4-person adult family, and EUR 216.41/183.94/162.33 for children under 18 in 2-/3-/4-person families; a host-family extra allowance of EUR 77.16 may be added. The official Government.nl page states that refugees from Ukraine who fall under the Temporary Protection Directive can receive a monthly subsistence allowance in the Netherlands. bounded profile ukrainian_refugee_under_temporary_protection_directive_in_netherlands; family size, age, municipal registration, accommodation, work/income and benefit conditions remain applicable, and the row does not generalise the allowance to all asylum seekers or all foreign residents. | ||
WW-uitkering (unemployment benefit) — Unemployment support | 309.91 EUR / Daily | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe statutory maximum daily wage used for WW calculations is EUR 309.91 gross per day after the 1 January 2026 indexation. The official UWV page ‘Werkloos worden in Nederland’ states: ‘Als u werkloos wordt en in Nederland verzekerd bent, kunt u een Nederlandse WW-uitkering aanvragen bij UWV. U moet in Nederland verblijven en beschikbaar zijn voor werk.’ This is the bounded profile of a worker insured in the Netherlands for WW and residing there for the claim; foreign-worker coordination cases remain subject to the page’s country-of-insurance rules. The English UWV page separately states the covered-job, 26-of-36-weeks and availability conditions. | ||
ImmigrationDB shows published rules; it does not decide personal eligibility. Confirm your status, contribution record and household circumstances with the responsible authority before applying. Sources checked through 12 Aug 2026.
Can migrants receive medical care in Netherlands?
Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Netherlands under the published coverage rules.
Language courses and integration in Netherlands
Government programmes, public integration services and exact provider records. The section expands only from fields present in the source; missing prices, refunds or contacts are not replaced with estimates.
Blik op Werk integration-provider quality register — Other
Blik op Werk
For integration-course applicants.
DUO choosing an integration course — State Language Course
Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (DUO)
For people who must integrate.
Wet inburgering 2021 — Integration course
Rijksoverheid, municipalities and DUO
For people required to integrate.
Inburgering010 Rotterdam — Integration course
Gemeente Rotterdam
For newcomers in Rotterdam.
Integration route and Dutch learning in Eindhoven — Integration course
Gemeente Eindhoven
For migrants, refugees, family migrants.
Utrecht municipal integration route — Integration course
Gemeente Utrecht
For newcomers in Utrecht.
Living and moving context for Netherlands
Life expectancy was 82.0 years in 2024, with 3.876 doctors per 1,000 people. Annual PM2.5 was 12.9 µg/m³ in 2025. The 2024 groceries price level index was 109.4 on an EU27=100 basis. Monthly estimates put groceries at €350 and utilities at €80; household electricity was €0.402/kWh. Average gross salary was €3,275 per month in 2024, and national median net income was €2,128 per month. A separate 2025 median monthly net salary was €3,000. The national unemployment rate was 3.9% in 2025. The national crime rate was 4,500 offences per 100,000 people in 2024. For 2024, the employee calculation gave €10,537 a year in income tax and €8,621 in social contributions. Household net-income estimates were €3,188 per month for one person, €3,768 for a couple and €4,320 for a family.
Netherlands cities by population
The largest published cities appear first. Population is taken from the reusable official city layer; hub labels come from the existing city taxonomy.
All published cities in Netherlands
Reports with this country
Accepted report pages with a row for this country.
Netherlands facts
Current source-backed observations, grouped the way the city pages are, with geographic scope and observation periods.
Population and profile
How many people live in Netherlands?
The published population was 17,993,485 people in 2024. Source: World Bank44
National, resident population scope. Foreign-resident and migration-background figures are separate metrics in the table below.
How many foreign residents live in Netherlands?
The foreign-resident population was 1,596,984 people in 2025. Source: Eurostat4
Residents without Netherlands citizenship. The migration-background population is a broader measure and appears in the table below.
Legal, tax and other context
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median net salary, monthly | 3,000 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2025 | Eurostat5Official · national figure |
| Public healthcare access for foreign residents | Yes | 3 Aug 2026 | Government of the Netherlands (Rijksoverheid)23Official · national figure |
| PM2.5 — annual mean | 12.9 µg/m³ | 31 Dec 2025 | OpenAQ52Independent · national figure |
| Area | 41,540 km² | 31 Dec 2023 | World Bank45Official · national figure |
| Cost level against the capital | 109.4 index (EU27=100) | 31 Dec 2024 | Eurostat — Comparative price levels and HICP (prc_ppp_ind, prc_hicp_midx)10Official · national |
| Gross-to-net pay for a sample household | single person no children — 69,028 gross → 49,794 net a year (2025, national currency) | 31 Dec 2025 | Taxing Wages 2026 — labour taxation decomposition41Official · country household scenario |
| Population by year | 17,475,415 people (2021) | 1 Jan 2021 | Population on 1 January by age and sex (DEMO_PJAN)39Official · country annual series |
| Salary by profession | Technicians and associate professionals — 5,226 EUR/month (2024) | 31 Dec 2024 | ILOSTAT — Average monthly earnings of employees by sex, occupation and currency (annual)25Official · country occupation |
| Doctors per 1,000 residents | 3.88 per 1,000 | Not stated | Physicians (per 1,000 people), World Development Indicators38Official · national figure |
| Household electricity price | 0.402 EUR/kWh | 31 Dec 2024 | Eurostat — Household energy prices (nrg_pc_204 electricity, nrg_pc_202 gas)12Official · national |
| Employer social contribution rate | 13.21 % | 31 Dec 2025 | OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration29Official · national figure |
| People employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing | 197,000 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu1Official · national figure |
| People employed in mining and quarrying | 8,000 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu1Official · national figure |
| People employed in manufacturing | 757,000 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu1Official · national figure |
| People employed in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning | 42,000 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu1Official · national figure |
| People employed in water supply, sewerage and waste management | 41,000 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu1Official · national figure |
| People employed in construction | 602,000 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu1Official · national figure |
| People employed in wholesale and retail trade; motor vehicle and motorcycle repair | 1,527,000 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu1Official · national figure |
| People employed in transportation and storage | 439,000 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu1Official · national figure |
| People employed in accommodation and food services | 514,000 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu1Official · national figure |
| People employed in information and communication | 379,000 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu1Official · national figure |
| People employed in finance and insurance | 224,000 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu1Official · national figure |
| People employed in real estate | 83,000 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu1Official · national figure |
| People employed in professional, scientific and technical services | 873,000 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu1Official · national figure |
Common questions
Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.
What is the unemployment rate in Netherlands?
The national unemployment rate was 3.9 % in 2025. Source: Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a).
How many people live in Netherlands?
The published population was 17,993,485 people in 2024. Source: World Bank.
What is the median gross salary in Netherlands?
The median gross salary was 3,667 EUR/month in 2022. Source: Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly).
What is the minimum wage in Netherlands?
The statutory minimum wage is 14.99 EUR/hour, gross (as of July 2026). Source: Rijksoverheid / open.overheid.nl.
Is the air quality good in Netherlands?
The annual PM2.5 mean is 12.9 µg/m³. The WHO 2021 guideline is 5 µg/m³ and the EU limit value is 25 µg/m³, so this reading is above the WHO guideline but within the EU limit. Source: OpenAQ.
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, September 12). Moving to Netherlands: salary, jobs, safety [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/countries/netherlands/ Retrieved 2026-09-12. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_moving-to-netherlands-salary-jobs-safety_ea36aeb178d0,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Moving to Netherlands: salary, jobs, safety},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-09-12},
version = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
snapshot = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/countries/netherlands/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-09-12. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Moving to Netherlands: salary, jobs, safety](https://immigrationdb.com/countries/netherlands/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; retrieved 2026-09-12; built 2026-09-12.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
Every number above comes from one of these records. Open the original source for its geographic scope and publication date.
- ec.europa.eu ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-12
- EF EPI ef.com · checked 2026-08-03
- European Medicines Agency ema.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-20
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-14
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-07
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
- Eurostat — Comparative price levels and HICP (prc_ppp_ind, prc_hicp_midx) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-14
Show 42 more sources
- Eurostat — Distribution of income by household composition (ilc_di04) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat — Household energy prices (nrg_pc_204 electricity, nrg_pc_202 gas) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-14
- Eurostat — National accounts aggregates (nama_10_a10) and employment (nama_10_a10_e) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat crim_off_cat (ICCS0101, NR) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-05
- Eurostat demo_pjan ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-05
- Eurostat earn_mw_cur ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-06
- Eurostat hbs_exp_t121 ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-06
- Eurostat ilc_di03 ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-06
- Globalization and World Cities (GaWC), Loughborough University gawc.lboro.ac.uk · checked 2026-08-03
- Government of the Netherlands (Rijksoverheid, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management) rijksoverheid.nl · checked 2026-08-03
- Government of the Netherlands (Rijksoverheid) government.nl · checked 2026-08-03
- Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) data.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-13
- ILOSTAT — Average monthly earnings of employees by sex, occupation and currency (annual) ILOSTAT · rplumber.ilo.org · checked 2026-07-30
- MIPEX mirovni-institut.si · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD oecd.org · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD sdmx-pp.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-05
- Official national police total-offence statistics cbs.nl · checked 2026-07-26
- Physicians (per 1,000 people) data.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-13
- Physicians (per 1,000 people), World Development Indicators api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- Population on 1 January by age and sex (DEMO_PJAN) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-29
- Rijksoverheid / open.overheid.nl open.overheid.nl · checked 2026-08-10
- Taxing Wages 2026 — labour taxation decomposition Taxing Wages 2026 · sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-07-29
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank Data data.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank SP.POP.TOTL api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-09-05
- OECD — Taxing Wages (DF_TAXINGWAGES) tax wedge and net income OECD · oecd.org · checked 2026-07-14
- OpenAQ openaq.org · checked 2026-07-14