Living in Heerlen

Heerlen is a large municipality in Limburg (NL), Netherlands, home to 87,461 people. Of the 29 household profiles on Nestlyzer, its strongest are low-income households (top 3%, #9 of 357), movers on a budget (top 3%, #10 of 357), students (top 7%, #19 of 281).

Residents87,461

Density1,923 per km²

Area45.5 km²

5-year growth+0.7%

Hub airport14 km (Maastricht Aachen)

Nearest city of 100k+17 km

Within 30 km1,700,600 people

Climate typeOceanic (Cfb)

Terrain around itabout 140 m, height range 140 m

Main railway lineunder 1 km

Border with Germany4 km

Distance to Amsterdam177 km

Within 10 km256,180 people

Winter daylight7 h 56 min, sunset 16:32

See Heerlen on the map

Open in Nestlyzer

Good to know about Heerlen

The border with Germany is 4 km away.
On the shortest day the sun is up for 7 h 56 min and sets around 16:32; in late June it sets around 21:54.

How Heerlen ranks

Scores run 0 to 100 against every municipality in Netherlands. Ranks count only the places that pass each profile's minimums, so the totals differ by profile. Local data: official statistics on demographics, education and family, health and elderly, jobs and economy, mobility and connectivity and safety and community (local or regional figures, sources on every place page) plus population and geography.

Profile	Score	In Netherlands	In Limburg (NL)
Young family	38	#304 of 358	#13 of 31	Map
Low-income household	79	#9 of 357	#3 of 31	Map
Low-income family	56	#163 of 357	#3 of 31	Map
Single parent	53	#204 of 355	#5 of 31	Map
Pensioner couple	58	#211 of 357	#13 of 31	Map
Single pensioner	59	#199 of 357	#11 of 31	Map
Early retiree	55	#311 of 357	#21 of 31	Map
Single professional	60	#71 of 347	#3 of 31	Map
Young professional	62	#78 of 344	#3 of 31	Map
DINKS	58	#133 of 333	#4 of 30	Map
Remote worker	74	#50 of 355	#7 of 31	Map
Commuter	71	#108 of 345	#4 of 31	Map
Car-free household	64	#81 of 322	#3 of 27	Map
Student	84	#19 of 281	#2 of 24	Map
First-home buyer	72	#43 of 357	#4 of 31	Map
Budget-constrained mover	77	#10 of 357	#2 of 31	Map
Urban lifestyle seeker	57	#78 of 336	#3 of 31	Map
Expat professional	59	#150 of 355	#6 of 31	Map
Healthcare-first mover	57	#151 of 357	#6 of 31	Map
Nature-focused household	25	#330 of 360	#30 of 31	Map
Cross-border commuter		not ranked: must-have: a border within 45 km where pay is higher on the other side	–	Map
Outdoor and mountain lover	17	#178 of 359	#17 of 31	Map
Rural value seeker	39	#224 of 360	#25 of 31	Map
High-net-worth mover	55	#201 of 359	#10 of 31	Map
Lottery winner	67	#115 of 360	#7 of 31	Map
Climate-resilient relocation	71	#169 of 357	#12 of 31	Map
Coastal living		not ranked: below the minimum for coast	–	Map
Business owner	61	#217 of 357	#13 of 31	Map
Digital native	68	#33 of 347	#2 of 31	Map

Strengths and trade-offs

Services nearby (people within 10 km: shops, doctors, cafes, transport)100
Climate exposure (estimate: coastal and river flooding, heat; 100 = low)100
Affordability99
Freight access (motorway, rail, port)98
University-town character (universities relative to the people nearby)95
One-day truck radius (residents within 300 km, across borders)94
Universities in town (universities and universities of applied sciences within 10 km)92
Lifestyle and amenities88
Mobility and connectivity88
Foundation83
Chemical park nearby (sites with pipeline links)68
Market reach (residents within 100 km, across borders)64
Climate (mild and sunny: climate class and winter daylight)63
Port access (major sea or inland port)58
Health and elderly48
City scale (people within 10 km: big-city life, transit, scenes)47
Jobs and economy45
Safety and community35
Mountains and water (terrain relief, lakes and the sea nearby)21
Demographics21
Education and family14
Green space11
Home market (residents of the same country within 150 km)6
Flat land (terrain relief)1
National border nearby (straight line)0
Financial centre (banking and capital markets) within commuting distance0
Commodity-trading or gold hub within commuting distance0
Crypto hub within commuting distance0
Wealth-management centre within commuting distance0

Nearby

Data: Eurostat GISCO LAU 2024; locations EDJNet LAU centres; airports OurAirports; coastline Natural Earth. Updated 2026-10-31. Rankings are decision aids, not advice.