Today the Utrecht Monitor 2024 is published, in which the municipality of Utrecht shows how the city is doing with figures and trends. The monitor examines, among other things, personal well-being, education, health, social cohesion, the environment, the labor market, the economy and safety. By looking so broadly at Utrecht society, the monitor provides insight into the ‘broad prosperity’ in the city. New this year are the three specials ‘Growth and Housing’, ‘City and Climate Change’ and ‘Subsistence’. In these specials, the municipality brings together information from the various theme chapters.
A lot is still going well in Utrecht…
Utrecht scores well on many aspects of broad prosperity. The city is growing rapidly with 6,390 inhabitants (the strongest growth since 2009), mainly due to foreign migration. These are largely knowledge workers, other migrant workers and foreign students. Even in these times of unrest, tensions, wars, price increases and various crises, most Utrecht residents remain happy (81%) and satisfied with their lives (86%). Percentages that have been stable for years. Social cohesion and the trust of Utrecht residents in their fellow human beings are also stable. The number of jobs in the city is growing strongly at 5.2%, the largest increase in the past 10 years, and unemployment is low (4.0%). Many Utrecht residents feel healthy. There are several positive developments in the field of the environment. For example, energy consumption (-4%) and CO2 emissions (-5%) have fallen and there are almost three times more solar panels on the roofs of Utrecht than in 2019.
…but there are also more negative developments this year than in previous years
The Utrecht region experienced low economic growth of 1.0% in 2023 in combination with a very tight labor market. Every year, more Utrecht households are dependent on a low income for a long period of time. The housing stock grew less quickly than expected last year (net 1,700 homes) and a full power grid threatens the construction of new homes. As in the rest of the country, confidence in the government is declining in Utrecht: in the autumn of 2023, 38% of Utrecht residents have confidence in the national government and 53% in local government. In both cases, confidence is about 4% lower than in 2021. Confidence in the future (of the Netherlands, the city and your own neighborhood) is declining sharply. According to the Residents’ Panel (an online panel consisting of 7,000 Utrecht residents), the climate is the most stressful social problem.
Health inequality
There is great inequality between people who can make ends meet well or poorly, which continues to increase when it comes to health. The number of Dutch young people with mental complaints will increase again at the end of 2023. By mid-2022, more than one in five young adults in Utrecht were seriously lonely. More and more residents are experiencing nuisance and the feeling of insecurity is increasing for the first time in years.
“Utrecht remains a city where many people have a healthy and happy life, with plenty of employment and strong trust in their fellow man. At the same time, we still see great inequality in the city. This underlines the importance of unequal investment for equal opportunities. We continue to pay extra attention to people and neighborhoods who need it. We will also continue to focus on housing and climate,” says councilor Rachel Streefland (councillor for Personnel & Organization).
About the Utrecht Monitor
The Utrecht Monitor is a product of the Research & Advice department of the municipality of Utrecht. In the monitor, the municipality bundles information from various sources, such as the Residents Panel, municipal and national registrations. The biennial Resident Survey is the municipality’s most important source when it comes to what residents think. Results from other research reports are also used, allowing the municipality of Utrecht to explain developments and compare them with other municipalities. This Utrecht Monitor contains the latest figures for 2023 and the first quarter of 2024. Many of these figures can also be found in the online database Utrecht in Figures.
