The districts of Pekela
Pekela has 12,455 residents (2026), spread across 2 districts and 5 neighbourhoods.
Plenty of space, less prosperity
Pekela comes out at 3.6 as a municipality — better than 14% of Dutch neighbourhoods. Quiet and nature lift that grade with 6.9; wealth and income hold it back at 3.0. The highest neighbourhood grades sit in Verspreide huizen Nieuwe Pekela (4.3), the lowest in Boven-Pekela (3.2). None of the 5 graded neighbourhoods reaches 7.0.
Key figures for Pekela
- residents
- 12,455
- districts
- 2
- neighbourhoods
- 5
- km² of land
- 49
How Pekela 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, 396 crimes were recorded here. The figures above are per 1,000 people present (residents + businesses).
Tick = Dutch median
The safest neighbourhoods in Pekela →The most dangerous neighbourhoods in Pekela →
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
The age profile of Pekela looks much like that of the average Dutch neighbourhood.
Age profile
- 0–1515%
NL median 14%
- 15–2511%
NL median 11%
- 25–4522%
NL median 22%
- 45–6528%
NL median 28%
- 65+24%
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
36% — more than average
NL median 31%
Households with children
33% — around the average
NL median 35%
Residents per km²
607 — far less 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. Average of the neighbourhoods in Pekela, weighted by population.
Strongest neighbourhoods
The best neighbourhoods in Pekela →Verspreide huizen Nieuwe Pekela
Pekela
Nieuwe Pekela
Pekela
Oude Pekela
Pekela
Verspreide huizen Oude Pekela
Pekela
Boven-Pekela
Pekela
Weakest neighbourhoods
The worst and the safest districts of Pekela
The worst districts of Pekela are in one ranking, the safest in the other. Both are built on registered crimes per 1,000 people present, not on reputation.
- The worst and most dangerous areas of Pekela: the neighbourhoods with the most registered crime.
- The safest areas of Pekela: the same measurement, the other end of the list.
- All rankings for Pekela →
Other rankings
The 2 districts of Pekela with a grade
Sorted by total grade