district in Zoetermeer
Dorp
Dorp has 4 neighbourhoods with 21,685 residents in total.
Dorp is the old core of Zoetermeer, four neighbourhoods and nearly 22,000 residents around the Stadscentrum and Palenstein, where the historic ribbon gives way to early high-rise. Amenities score 8.9, with shops and station within walking distance. Wealth and income stay below the middle at 4.1 and quiet and nature at 4.2. The overall stops at 6.7: a densely built city core that works out better for families (7.1) than you might expect.
no. 7 of the 9 districts of Zoetermeer
Short answer: Dorp scores 6.7 as a district of Zoetermeer, no. 7 of the 9 districts of Zoetermeer. Its strongest neighbourhood is Dorp (8.3), the worst Stadscentrum (5.1). The district has 4 neighbourhoods with 21,685 residents in total.
Key figures for Dorp
- residents
- 21,685
- neighbourhoods
- 4
- km² of land
- 3.4
How Dorp 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
Dorp has strikingly many residents aged 25 to 45: 29%, against 22% in the average Dutch neighbourhood.
Age profile
- 0–1514%
NL median 14%
- 15–2510%
NL median 11%
- 25–4529%
NL median 22%
- 45–6523%
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
1.9 — smaller than average
NL median 2.3
Single-person households
50% — far more than average
NL median 31%
Households with children
26% — fewer than average
NL median 35%
Residents per km²
6,565 — 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. Average of the neighbourhoods in Dorp, weighted by population.
The best and worst neighbourhoods of Dorp
The same total grade, the same yardstick — from the top to the bottom of Dorp.
Highest grades
Lowest grades
Neighbourhoods in Dorp
Sorted by total grade