neighbourhood in Zoetermeer
Palenstein
5,530 residents · postal code 2722 · Part of Dorp, Zoetermeer
Everything close by, little to spend
For Palenstein no offence figures are available. That has consequences for the overall score: the 6.9 rests on four pillars instead of five and therefore says nothing about safety. Anyone comparing this neighbourhood with another on that point is comparing two different things.
What is there is sharply divided. The 8.7 for families comes from short distances and a share of children above the national picture; the 8.7 for amenities from shops and a GP nearby. Set against that is a 3.3 for wealth, and that one is not subtle: the social assistance density lies eight times as high here as nationally, the property value far below the middle and the top income group is thinly occupied. The noise level lies above the national level, which keeps the quiet figure at a 5.8.
- no. 5,377 of 13,075 neighbourhoods with a grade
- no. 14 of 24 in Zoetermeer
How Palenstein scores
Do some of these matter more to you than others?
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
Palenstein has strikingly many residents aged 25 to 45: 30%, against 22% in the average Dutch neighbourhood.
Age profile
- 0–1518%
NL median 14%
- 15–2512%
NL median 11%
- 25–4530%
NL median 22%
- 45–6523%
NL median 28%
- 65+18%
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
2.0 — smaller than average
NL median 2.3
Single-person households
47% — far more than average
NL median 31%
Households with children
32% — fewer than average
NL median 35%
Residents per km²
6,355 — 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 Palenstein calculated?
Palenstein scores 6.9 as its total score. That grade is a national position: we weigh five equally heavy scores — safety, amenities, wealth & income, quiet & nature and families — and see where Palenstein lands among every neighbourhood in the Netherlands. So it is not the mean of the five grades, but a place in the queue. All from open data published by CBS and the police.
The best and worst neighbourhoods of Zoetermeer
Same total grade, same yardstick — from the top to the bottom of Zoetermeer.
Highest grades
Lowest grades
More about this area
Nearby neighbourhoods
Stadscentrum
Zoetermeer
Dorp
Zoetermeer
Driemanspolder
Zoetermeer
Weidebuurt-Zuid
Zoetermeer
Seghwaert-Zuid-West
Zoetermeer
Rokkehage c.a.
Zoetermeer