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Gouda

My home town in numbers, next to its neighbours: Waddinxveen, Bodegraven-Reeuwijk, Zuidplas, Krimpenerwaard, Alphen aan den Rijn and Woerden.

Inhabitants 78,283 ▲ 920 in a year · Aug 2026
Average sale price €420.6k 2025 · NL €479.5k
House prices, region 163index ▲ 4.09% in a year · Q3 2026
Homes 35,205 29% social rent · 2024
Municipal levies €918 multi-person household, 2026

People

Population of Gouda since 1942

inhabitants on 1 January
Source: CBS StatLine (Statistics Netherlands), CC BY 4.0

Growth since 2016, Gouda and its neighbours

monthly population, January 2016 = 100
Source: CBS StatLine (Statistics Netherlands), CC BY 4.0

Births, deaths and migration in Gouda

people per year

Moving in/out counts moves to and from other Dutch municipalities; immigration and emigration are moves across the border.

Source: CBS StatLine (Statistics Netherlands), CC BY 4.0

Housing

Average sale price of existing homes

€ per year · Gouda vs neighbours and the Netherlands
Source: CBS StatLine (Statistics Netherlands), CC BY 4.0

House price index

2020 = 100 · Oost-Zuid-Holland (Gouda's COROP region, quarterly) vs NL (monthly)
Source: CBS StatLine (Statistics Netherlands), CC BY 4.0

Average sale price, latest year

thousand € · 2025
Source: CBS StatLine (Statistics Netherlands), CC BY 4.0

Gouda's homes by ownership

dwellings on 1 January
Source: CBS StatLine (Statistics Netherlands), CC BY 4.0

Share of social rented homes

% of dwellings · 2024
Source: CBS StatLine (Statistics Netherlands), CC BY 4.0

Municipal levies

total municipal housing charges, € per multi-person household · 2026
Source: CBS StatLine (Statistics Netherlands), CC BY 4.0

Gouda's levies over time

€ per multi-person household
Source: CBS StatLine (Statistics Netherlands), CC BY 4.0

Energy labels by postcode

% of homes with a registered label · Oct 2026

Latest registered label per home in EP-Online's monthly total file (permit-stage labels left out). 2809 is mostly new-build (Westergouwe).

Source: EP-Online, Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), aggregated by stanrunge.dev

Neighbourhoods (2024)

Average WOZ value by neighbourhood

thousand € · 2024
Source: CBS StatLine (Statistics Netherlands), CC BY 4.0

Income per inhabitant by neighbourhood

thousand € a year · 2024
Source: CBS StatLine (Statistics Netherlands), CC BY 4.0
NeighbourhoodInhabitantsAvg WOZ (k€)Rented (%)Social housing (%)Income / inhabitant (k€)In poverty (%)Gas use (m³)Solar homes (%)
Binnenstad8,550332572240.24.175010
De Korte Akkeren9,685270473928.44.071019
Bloemendaal9,980342442235.62.774029
Plaswijck12,430346423633.62.079034
Noord10,615330432734.81.870027
Kort Haarlem9,995313453633.63.075022
Goverwelle10,680348352834.02.572039
Stolwijkersluis435496220–0.91,14039
Westergouwe3,385532301339.91.528091
Gouda75,758334442934.52.773028
Nederland17,942,942378432834.93.180036

Source: CBS StatLine (Statistics Netherlands), CC BY 4.0 · Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2024. Blank cells are suppressed by CBS for privacy.

History

Population since 1382

inhabitants · historical estimates, then CBS from 1942

Before 1800: Lourens & Lucassen (1997), Inwonertallen van Nederlandse steden ca. 1300–1800, as tabulated on Wikipedia.

Curated; every entry links to its source · Source: CBS StatLine (Statistics Netherlands), CC BY 4.0

Timeline

12th century

  1. The river Gouwe appears in a charter of the Bishop of Utrecht; the settlement itself is named in a charter of the Count of Holland in 1143. Wikipedia (nl)

13th century

  1. Count Floris V of Holland grants Gouda city rights; recent research suggests earlier rights shortly before 1248. Wikipedia

14th century

  1. Around 1350 the singels are dug, fixing the boundary of the inner city for centuries. Wikipedia (nl)

  2. The counts of Blois build a castle where the Gouwe meets the Hollandse IJssel (1361–1384); demolition starts in 1577. Wikipedia (nl)

  3. Almost the whole town burns down, including the first Sint-Janskerk. Wikipedia (nl)

15th century

  1. The fire of 1438 leaves only a few houses standing; afterwards houses are more often built of brick. Wikipedia (nl)

  2. Built 1448–1450 on the Markt, one of the oldest Gothic city halls in the Netherlands. Wikipedia (nl)

  3. In the 15th and 16th centuries Gouda exports beer, mainly to northern Germany via Hamburg, and has a cloth industry; the trade collapses after 1568. Wikipedia (nl)

  4. Erasmus attends the parish school in Gouda (1473–1478) and later lives in the nearby Stein monastery. Wikipedia

16th century

  1. Dirck and Wouter Crabeth and others make the stained-glass windows of the Sint-Janskerk (1530–1603), the most significant collection in the Netherlands. Wikipedia

  2. Lightning sets the church on fire; it is rebuilt as the longest church in the Netherlands. Wikipedia

  3. Geuzen under Adriaen van Swieten occupy the town, which sides with William of Orange; the church passes to the Reformed in 1573. Wikipedia (nl)

  4. Gouda-born Cornelis and Frederick de Houtman lead the first Dutch expedition to the East Indies (1595–1597). Wikipedia

17th century

  1. Willem Baernelts starts making clay pipes in Gouda; Goudse pijpen become a major export. Wikipedia (nl)

  2. The weigh house designed by Pieter Post is built across from the city hall to weigh goods, especially cheese. Wikipedia (nl)

  3. 2,995 people, about 20% of the population, die of plague. Wikipedia

18th century

  1. Gouda patriots stop the wife of stadtholder William V; the incident triggers the Prussian invasion of the Republic. Wikipedia

19th century

  1. Baker Gerard Kamphuisen is credited with the first syrup waffles, between 1810 and 1840; Gouda later has over 100 stroopwafel bakers. Wikipedia

  2. Demolition of the walls starts in 1830; the last gate, the Tiendewegspoort, goes in 1854. Wikipedia

  3. Pharmacist A.A.G. van Iterson and partners found the Stearine Kaarsenfabriek; Gouda candles become an export product. Wikipedia (nl)

  4. Gouda station opens on the new Rotterdam–Utrecht line; The Hague follows in 1870. Wikipedia

  5. Plateelbakkerij Zuid-Holland starts in 1898; Gouds plateel becomes a household name until after WWII. Wikipedia (nl)

20th century

  1. 328 Jewish inhabitants of Gouda are murdered in the Holocaust; about 40 survive. Wikipedia (nl)

  2. Allied bombing of the railway on 6 and 26 November 1944 kills at least 25 people. Wikipedia (nl)

  3. The oldest festival of lights in the Netherlands: each December the Christmas tree from sister city Kongsberg is lit on the Markt, with the city hall lit by candles. Wikipedia (nl)

  4. Construction of the Bloemendaal district starts; Gouda nearly triples in size after the war. Wikipedia (nl)

  5. The weekly pig and piglet market, the largest in the Netherlands, leaves the city; the Thursday cheese market continues for tourists. Wikipedia (nl)

21st century

  1. The city celebrates 750 years of city rights. Wikipedia (nl)

28 key events, curated and summarised from the linked articles (mostly Wikipedia, CC BY-SA). Tap a theme to filter.

Politics

Mayor: mayor of Gouda

26 holders on Wikidata, newest first
Pieter VerhoeveReformed Political Party2019–now
Mirjam SaletLabour Party2019–2019
Milo SchoenmakerPeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy2012–2019
Jan MansLabour Party2012–2012
Wim CornelisLabour Party2001–2012
Jan Hein BooneLabour Party1989–2001
Klaas BroekensLabour Party1981–1989
Christiaan van HofwegenLabour Party1974–1981
Egbertus Gerrit Gaarlandt1927–1938
Albertus Adrianus van Bergen IJzendoorn1864–1895
Source: Wikidata, position held (P39) of Q98970128 · CC0

Culture

Religion in Gouda, 1930 census

% of residents by denomination

CBS table 71124NED (Volkstelling 1930). CBS publishes no recent religion figures per municipality.

Source: CBS StatLine (Statistics Netherlands), CC BY 4.0

Well-known people born here

ranked by the number of Wikipedia language editions
  1. 31 Frederick de Houtman 1571–1627 · Dutch explorer, navigator, and colonial governor (1571–1627)
  2. 29 Ed de Goey 1966 · Dutch footballer (born 1966)
  3. 26 Cornelis de Houtman 1565–1599 · Dutch explorer
  4. 23 Hind Laroussi 1984 · Moroccan singer
  5. 21 Ted-Jan Bloemen 1986 · Dutch-Canadian speed skater
  6. 21 Ingrid Visser 1977–2013 · Dutch female volleyball player (1977-2013)
  7. 20 Dick van Dijk 1946–1997 · Dutch footballer (1946-1997)
  8. 19 Sven van Beek 1994 · Dutch footballer
  9. 19 Pieter Pourbus 1523–1584 · Dutch-born Flemish Renaissance painter
  10. 18 Koen de Kort 1982 · Dutch cyclist
  11. 17 Cornelis Ketel 1548–1616 · painter from the Northern Netherlands (1548-1616)
  12. 16 Hieronymus van Alphen 1746–1803 · Dutch poet and writer (1746–1803)
  13. 16 Stef Broenink 1990 · Dutch rower
  14. 15 Hein Otterspeer 1988 · speed skater from the Netherlands
  15. 15 Verona van de Leur 1985 · Dutch former gymnast, adult movie performer
  16. 15 Ellen Hogerwerf 1989 · Dutch rower
  17. 14 Maureen Koster 1992 · Dutch middle-distance runner
  18. 14 Wouter Crabeth II 1594–1644 · Dutch painter (1594-1644)
  19. 14 Frederik de Wit 1630–1706 · Dutch map maker (1629/1630-1706)
  20. 13 Leo Vroman 1915–2014 · Dutch poet (1915-2014)
Source: Wikidata (place of birth), sitelink counts · CC0

Food

curated, with sources
  • Gouda cheese Named after the town where it was traded and weighed in the Waag; the Thursday cheese market still runs for visitors. Wikipedia
  • Stroopwafels Syrup waffles were first baked in Gouda in the early 19th century. Wikipedia

Cultural exports

curated, with sources
  • Gouda candles Candles from the 1853 Stearine Kaarsenfabriek made Gouda a candle town; Gouda by Candlelight each December. Wikipedia (nl)
  • Clay pipes and Gouda pottery Goudse pijpen from 1617 and Gouds plateel (from about 1898) were sold far beyond the region. Wikipedia (nl)
  • Goudse Glazen The 16th-century stained-glass windows of the Sint-Janskerk are the most important collection in the Netherlands. Wikipedia
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