neighbourhood in Leiden
Zijlwijk-Noord
2,350 residents · postal code 2317 · Part of Merenwijkdistrict, Leiden
An ageing owner-occupied quarter in Leiden's Merenwijk: Zijlwijk-Noord counts 32 percent over 65 and 86 percent owned homes, nearly all single-family. The overall grade is a high 9.6, carried by an 8.3 for wealth and an 9.2 for safety. Space and quiet lag at 7.8. Average property value sits at €477,000, and crime is low at 15.4 per 1,000 people present. The station is 4.4 kilometres off.
- no. 652 of 13,075 neighbourhoods with a grade
- no. 6 of 53 in Leiden
How Zijlwijk-Noord scores
Do some of these matter more to you than others?
The figures ⌄Safety
Registered crimes per 1,000 people present per year: residents plus business activity. Figures for small neighbourhoods are smoothed.
In 2025, 39 crimes were recorded here. The figures above are per 1,000 people present (residents + businesses).
Tick = Dutch median
The safest neighbourhoods in Leiden →The most dangerous neighbourhoods in Leiden →
The figures ⌄Amenities
Average distance to everyday amenities, compared with the Dutch median.
Tick = Dutch median
The figures ⌄Wealth & income
What the homes are worth, what residents earn and how many homes stand empty. It describes the area, not the people living in it.
Not counted
Part of this score's subject, but not part of the grade.
Tick = Dutch median
The figures ⌄Quiet & nature
How tightly the addresses sit together, how much noise there is, and how much green, trees and water surround it.
Not counted
Part of this score's subject, but not part of the grade.
Not part of the grade: air quality varies mostly between regions, barely between neighbourhoods within one municipality. WHO guideline: 5 µg/m³. Calculated annual mean, RIVM 2024.
Tick = Dutch median
The figures ⌄Families
How practical this area is with children: distance to school and childcare, and how many children already live here.
Tick = Dutch median
Who lives here
Zijlwijk-Noord has strikingly many residents aged 65 and over: 32%, against 22% in the average Dutch neighbourhood.
Age profile
- 0–1514%
NL median 14%
- 15–259%
NL median 11%
- 25–4518%
NL median 22%
- 45–6527%
NL median 28%
- 65+32%
NL median 22%
Share of residents per age group (CBS, 2025). All five bars share one scale, so their lengths can be compared with each other.
Average household size
2.2 — around the average
NL median 2.3
Single-person households
30% — around the average
NL median 31%
Households with children
32% — fewer than average
NL median 35%
Residents per km²
6,441 — far more densely populated than average
NL median 2,364
Tick = Dutch median. Households with children counts towards Families, population density towards Quiet & nature; the other figures here get no grade.
Frequently asked questions
How is the grade for Zijlwijk-Noord calculated?
Zijlwijk-Noord scores 9.6 as its total score. That grade is a national position: we weigh four equally heavy scores — safety, amenities, wealth & income and quiet & nature — and see where Zijlwijk-Noord lands among every neighbourhood in the Netherlands. So it is not the mean of the four grades, but a place in the queue. All from open data published by CBS and the police.
Is Zijlwijk-Noord a safe neighbourhood?
Zijlwijk-Noord scores 9.2 on safety, based on registered crimes per 1,000 people present (15.4 per year). The national median is around 24.1.
The best and worst neighbourhoods of Leiden
Same total grade, same yardstick — from the top to the bottom of Leiden.
Highest grades
Lowest grades
More about this area
Nearby neighbourhoods
Merenwijk-Centrum
Leiden
Leedewijk-Noord
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Zijlwijk-Zuid
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Leedewijk-Zuid
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Slaaghwijk
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Driegatenbrug
Leiderdorp