# Waarstaatjegemeente.nl (municipal benchmark)

VNG's data hub on all Dutch municipalities. Figures from public sources and from municipalities themselves, in dashboards on social services, housing, energy, safety, finances and more. In the database you build your own tables and maps and export the figures. The publication calendar lists when each source gets new figures.

- Publisher: Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten
- Area: Netherlands · Finest detail: municipality, district and neighbourhood
- Period: verschilt per indicator · Refreshed: monthly
- Access: Open · Licence: Voorwaarden VNG (proclaimer), met bronvermelding
- Join keys: gemeente
- Status: ok (2026-10-15) · Monitor Brede Regeling Combinatiefuncties 2025
- URL: https://www.waarstaatjegemeente.nl

## What can you do with it?
- **Compare your municipality with similar ones.** With AMIGO the platform picks municipalities that resemble yours. That's fairer than comparing with the national average.
- **Youth care in your municipality.** The youth care dashboard and the Municipal Monitor of the Social Domain show how many young people receive help. The monitor also has district and neighbourhood dashboards.
- **Find the original source.** In the database, click the i-icon of an indicator. It shows source, definition and update date. Then fetch the series from the source itself if you need more detail or a longer period.

## How to process it
1. **Start from a dashboard.** Dashboards are organised by theme. Pick a theme and a municipality to see the main figures on one screen.
   `https://www.waarstaatjegemeente.nl/mosaic/dashboard/gemeentefinancien`
2. **Export from the database.** In the database (Swing Viewer) you choose indicators, areas and periods and export tables and charts. All data on the platform is public.
   `https://www.waarstaatjegemeente.nl/viewer`
3. **Check when new figures arrive.** The publication calendar lists per source the frequency, timeliness, area level and previous update.
   `https://www.waarstaatjegemeente.nl/release/publicatiekalender.aspx`
4. **The API is for municipalities only.** There is a beta API (OData, JSON responses) with an API key, for at most 40 municipalities. Access is requested via a VNG Realisatie form; documentation is a PDF in a closed Pleio group.
   `https://www.waarstaatjegemeente.nl/content/api`

## Interesting combinations
- Do residents feel unsafe where the police register a lot of nuisance? → [politie-overlast](https://www.opendataindex.nl/en/bron/politie-overlast.md) via gemeente. Put figures from the Burgerpeiling survey and the public order dashboard next to registered nuisance per municipality.
- Do residents use more care where the municipality spends more on youth care and social support? → [vektis-zorgkosten](https://www.opendataindex.nl/en/bron/vektis-zorgkosten.md) via gemeente (naam). Put municipal youth care and social support figures next to Vektis costs per insured-year.

## Similar sources
- [cbs-kwb](https://www.opendataindex.nl/en/bron/cbs-kwb.md): CBS's own key figures for districts and neighbourhoods, as an open API. Fewer themes, but straight from the source.
- [iv3-gemeentefinancien](https://www.opendataindex.nl/en/bron/iv3-gemeentefinancien.md): The raw budgets and accounts behind the municipal finance and BBV dashboards, per policy area and category.
- [cbs-statline](https://www.opendataindex.nl/en/bron/cbs-statline.md): All CBS tables, including regional breakdowns, with an open API and long series.

## What to watch out for
- **A conduit, not a source.** The figures belong to municipalities and the original sources. In a publication, credit that source too, not only Waarstaatjegemeente.nl.
- **No open API.** The API is beta, needs a key and is meant for municipalities. Anyone else exports by hand from the database.
- **Previous update in the calendar isn't always right.** On 15 October 2026, 79 of the 250 sources in the publication calendar showed that same day as previous update, including sources published every two years. Check the date at the source itself.
- **Small municipalities, small numbers.** Percentages from surveys like the Burgerpeiling, and small municipalities, jump from year to year. Look at several years before calling a trend.

## API (OData (bèta, met sleutel) + RSS)

- Base: https://www.waarstaatjegemeente.nl
- Access: The OData API requires an API key. Request access via the VNG Realisatie form (formulieren.vngrealisatie.nl/Waarstaatjegemeente_API_toegang); the beta is open to at most 40 municipalities. We have no key. (from the description)
- Formats: json, rss, xlsx
- Size: 250 sources in the release calendar (16 Oct 2026) (tested)
- Filtering: The API follows the OData standard (according to VNG), but the available entities and filters are not public.; 

### Endpoints
- `GET (OData-API, adres alleen voor deelnemers)`: OData web service returning JSON, called via a URL with an API key. Endpoints and parameters are in a PDF in the closed Pleio group; not public.
- `GET /feed.ashx`: RSS with the 50 most recent changes on the platform (category Link or News, title, pubDate). Open, no key.
- `GET /release/publicatiekalender.aspx`: Release calendar (HTML table): per source frequency, timeliness, area level and previous update.
- `GET /viewer`: Swing Viewer: pick indicators, areas and periods and export by hand (no API).
- `GET /mosaic/dashboard/{dashboard}`: Dashboards per theme, e.g. gemeentefinancien.

### Parameters

### Limits and pitfalls
- Beta: at most 40 municipalities get a key. VNG revokes the key in case of misuse. (from the description)
- robots.txt: crawl delay 2 seconds; /zoeken, /handlers/, /cms/ and /login.aspx/ are disallowed. (tested)
- No public description of the API (no $metadata or OpenAPI found); hence no endpoints or fields here. Non-municipalities export by hand from the Viewer or get the figures from the original source (often CBS StatLine). (tested)
- The Viewer's internal export routes go through /handlers/, which robots.txt disallows. Don't automate them. (experience)
- For freshness: the RSS feed (pubDate per change). The 'Vorige update' column in the release calendar is unreliable: on 15 Oct 2026 it showed 15-10-2026 for 79 of the 250 sources, including biennial ones. (experience)

### Example
```
https://www.waarstaatjegemeente.nl/feed.ashx
```

## What you can build with it
- [Healthcare cost comparer per municipality](https://www.opendataindex.nl/en/bouwen/zorgkosten-vergelijker.md): A tool that shows what basic health insurance spends per resident in your municipality, per type of care, and how that compares with the rest of the Netherlands, also after correcting for age.


## Examples with real figures (2)

For each example the finding, the reference date and the call that fetches exactly these figures.

- **Young people under a child protection order (CBS figure, also in Waarstaatjegemeente): highest in Heerlen (2.5%), lowest in Heiloo and 2 other municipalities (0.3%)** (2025). Table 85098NED. [Example](https://www.opendataindex.nl/en/voorbeeld/wsjg-jeugdbescherming-gemeente)
  - `https://opendata.cbs.nl/ODataApi/OData/85098NED/TypedDataSet?$filter=substringof('GM'%2CRegioS)%20and%20Perioden%20eq%20'2025JJ00'&$select=RegioS,JongerenMetJeugdbescherming_3&$top=2000`
- **Residents with a Wmo social support provision (CBS figure, also in Waarstaatjegemeente): highest in Stadskanaal (122 per 1,000), lowest in Rozendaal (29 per 1,000)** (2025). Table 86060NED. [Example](https://www.opendataindex.nl/en/voorbeeld/wsjg-wmo-maatwerk-gemeente)
  - `https://opendata.cbs.nl/ODataApi/OData/86060NED/TypedDataSet?$filter=AantalMaatwerkvoorzieningen%20eq%20'T001003'%20and%20substringof('GM'%2CRegioS)%20and%20Perioden%20eq%20'2025JJ00'&$select=RegioS,ClientenMetMaatwerkvoorzieningen_3&$top=2000`