September 2026 at a glance
The key takeaways of this monthly rent report, in the order they matter, so you have the story before you reach the charts. Each point is written for this place and month from the report's own figures, whether it concerns the level of asking rents, rent per m², the like-for-like change against the month before or how homes, neighborhoods and cities compared. Read them as a summary of asking rents in new rental listings first stored on Luntero that month. The sections below show the figures behind every point and how they were measured.
- 1
Enschede (€555), Wageningen (€580), Emmen (€688), Alkmaar (€714) and Assen (€714) had the lowest median asking rents
- 2
Amstelveen (€2,600), Amsterdam (€2,399) and Haarlemmermeer (€2,125) led the ranking, with Haarlem next at €1,835
- 3
Only Amsterdam had a measurable like-for-like rise (+1.3%), while Eindhoven (−4.4%), The Hague (−3.1%), Leiden (−2.9%) and Utrecht (−2.4%) eased
- 4
The spread from Enschede to Amstelveen was a factor of 4.7
Lowest rents
The five cities with the lowest median rent
Enschede and Wageningen again lead the cheap end, joined by Emmen, Alkmaar and Assen between €688 and €714. Euros and square metres tell different stories here: Wageningen looks cheap at €580 but asks €38.3 per m², the highest in the ranking, while Emmen and Assen sit at only €12.2 and €11.3 per m².
- 1Enschede
€555
- Vs national
- -49.5%
- Per m²
- €30.0/m²
- 2Wageningen
€580
- Vs national
- -47.3%
- Per m²
- €38.3/m²
- 3Emmen
€688
- Vs national
- -37.5%
- Per m²
- €12.2/m²
- 4Alkmaar
€714
- Vs national
- -35.1%
- Per m²
- €16.6/m²
- 5Assen
€714
- Vs national
- -35.1%
- Per m²
- €11.3/m²
Highest rents
The five cities with the highest median rent
Amstelveen asked €2,600, about 8% more than Amsterdam's €2,399. Haarlemmermeer (€2,125), Haarlem (€1,835) and Almere (€1,668) complete the top five, so the dearest end of the ranking is a ring of cities around Amsterdam.
- 1Amstelveen
€2,600
- Vs national
- +136.4%
- Per m²
- €27.5/m²
- 2+1.3%Amsterdam
€2,399
- Vs national
- +118.1%
- Per m²
- €32.9/m²
- 3Haarlemmermeer
€2,125
- Vs national
- +93.2%
- Per m²
- €29.5/m²
- 4Haarlem
€1,835
- Vs national
- +66.8%
- Per m²
- €25.9/m²
- 5Almere
€1,668
- Vs national
- +51.6%
- Per m²
- €23.8/m²
Movers
Which cities moved the most
Few cities have enough comparable listings for a reliable change this month. Amsterdam rose 1.3% like for like, while Eindhoven (−4.4%), The Hague (−3.1%), Leiden (−2.9%) and Utrecht (−2.4%) fell. Treat moves of a few percent with caution: they are small next to the gaps between cities.
Biggest rises
Asking rent up against the previous month.
- Amsterdam€2,399+1.3%
Biggest falls
Asking rent down against the previous month.
- Eindhoven€1,495-4.4%
- The Hague€1,550-3.1%
- Leiden€1,030-2.9%
- Utrecht€990-2.4%
Month on month
How rents moved against the month before
How asking rents moved against August 2026, measured like for like. The listing sources Luntero collects can change from month to month, so comparing raw medians would partly measure that shift. Instead, change is calculated only across the listing sources present in both months, weighted by the earlier month, for both the median asking rent and rent per m². The series shows the same measure over the last six months. When too few listings can be compared, the change is left out rather than guessed.
Asking rent
Change over the last six months
Rent per m²
Change over the last six months
Change is the median asking rent of each listing source that appears in both months, weighted by the earlier month's volume. A month that cannot be matched this way is left out instead of guessed.
Full ranking
Every city, ranked
All 36 cities run from Enschede at number 1 to Amstelveen at number 36. The national median of €1,100 falls between Leiden (€1,030) and Purmerend (€1,187). Utrecht ranks 20th at €990, Rotterdam 26th at €1,350, Eindhoven 27th at €1,495 and The Hague 29th at €1,550.
Cities shown: 12 of 36
- 1Enschede€555€30.0/m²-49.5%No like-for-like change€555€30.0/m²-49.5%–
- 2Wageningen€580€38.3/m²-47.3%No like-for-like change€580€38.3/m²-47.3%–
- 3Emmen€688€12.2/m²-37.5%No like-for-like change€688€12.2/m²-37.5%–
- 4Alkmaar€714€16.6/m²-35.1%No like-for-like change€714€16.6/m²-35.1%–
- 5Assen€714€11.3/m²-35.1%No like-for-like change€714€11.3/m²-35.1%–
- 6Leeuwarden€718€14.6/m²-34.7%No like-for-like change€718€14.6/m²-34.7%–
- 7Tilburg€719€20.4/m²-34.6%No like-for-like change€719€20.4/m²-34.6%–
- 8Groningen€728€31.2/m²-33.8%No like-for-like change€728€31.2/m²-33.8%–
- 9Zwolle€738€23.2/m²-32.9%No like-for-like change€738€23.2/m²-32.9%–
- 10Heerlen€759€13.5/m²-31.0%No like-for-like change€759€13.5/m²-31.0%–
- 11's-Hertogenbosch€765€13.7/m²-30.5%No like-for-like change€765€13.7/m²-30.5%–
- 12Apeldoorn€765€14.1/m²-30.5%No like-for-like change€765€14.1/m²-30.5%–
Rank 1 is the lowest median asking rent. Change is like for like within each city and is left out when too few listings could be compared.
How these figures are measured
Rank 1 is the cheapest city. Each city is measured on the median asking rent of new listings first seen in September 2026, rooms and studios included, and a city needs enough listings in the month to be ranked, which is why 36 cities appear rather than 39.
Which listings count
New rental listings first stored in September 2026, with parking spaces left out. A figure appears only when enough listings back it, so small groups are left out rather than guessed.
Asking rents, not signed rents
Figures describe the rent advertised in the listings Luntero represents. They are not signed rents, official statistics or the whole housing stock.
Change is like for like
Change against August 2026 compares only listing sources present in both months, so a shift in which sources were collected is not read as a shift in rents.
Questions
Questions about the Netherlands in September 2026
Quick answers about asking rents in this place and month, for renters checking what a home should cost and for anyone researching the Dutch rental market. Every answer is written from this report's own figures, so it uses the same median asking rents, the same rent per m² and the same like-for-like change as the charts above, drawn from the same new rental listings first stored on Luntero in the month. Like the rest of the report, the answers describe asking rents in listings, not signed contracts or official statistics.
Which city was the cheapest to rent in the Netherlands in September 2026?
Enschede, with a median asking rent of €555, followed by Wageningen (€580), Emmen (€688), Alkmaar (€714) and Assen (€714).
Was Amsterdam still the most expensive Dutch city to rent in during September 2026?
Not by median rent in September: Amstelveen asked €2,600 against Amsterdam's €2,399. Per square metre Amsterdam ranked second at €32.9, behind only Wageningen at €38.3.
How much cheaper was the cheapest Dutch city than the most expensive one in September 2026?
Enschede's median of €555 is less than a quarter of Amstelveen's €2,600. The dearest city asked 4.7 times the cheapest, a gap far larger than any monthly change.
Where did Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven rank for rent among Dutch cities in September 2026?
Out of 36 cities, Utrecht ranked 20th (€990), Rotterdam 26th (€1,350), Eindhoven 27th (€1,495) and The Hague 29th (€1,550), counting from the cheapest.
Why do the cheapest Dutch cities have such different rents per square metre in September 2026?
A low rent can mean small homes or genuinely cheap space. Emmen (€12.2) and Assen (€11.3) are cheap per m² too, while Wageningen asks €38.3 per m² despite a median rent of just €580, which points to small rooms.
Source: Luntero monthly rent report, www.luntero.com/resource/market/monthly-report/netherlands-city-rent-ranking-september-2026. Based on 7,417 new rental listings first stored in September 2026, computed on October 23, 2026.
