A significant number of families with young children are moving away from the large Dutch cities, Statistics Netherlands reported on Tuesday. Of the couples who had their first child in 2012 in one of the municipalities outside the four large cities, 14 percent moved to another municipality within four year. In the large cities, that percentage is two to three times as high.

The trend is strongest in Amsterdam. A massive 40 percent of couples who had their first child in Amsterdam in 2012, moved to another municipality by the end of 2016. In Utrecht 34 percent of young families moved away, in Rotterdam 28 percent and in The Hague 27 percent.

According to the stats office, the high percentage of young families leaving Amsterdam can at least partly be attributed to the fact that more young families live in a rental home in the Dutch capital than in one of the other three large cities. Families in a rental home are on average more mobile than families in a bought home. Despite this, young families with a bought home in Amsterdam also move away more often than similar families in Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.

The proportion of young families moving away from the big cities has been increasing since 2013. Of the couples who had their first child in a big city in 2012, 12 percent moved to another municipality within a year. While 18 percent of couples who had their first child in 2015, moved away by the end of 2016.