Is City of Edinburgh a good place to live?

City of Edinburgh has an overall liveability score of 68 out of 100 (good) on TrackPostcode.UK, based on 85% of categories currently loaded. It scores best on housing and local amenities. The score combines cost, affordability, safety, weather and more from open government data.

City of Edinburgh records about 744 crimes per 10,000 people a year (2025/2026), giving City of Edinburgh a safety score of 36 out of 100. Figures are from Scottish Government statistics; Police Scotland does not publish street-level data to police.uk.

The weather section shows annual sunshine, rainfall and typical temperatures for City of Edinburgh from Met Office climate data for the location.

Average private rent in the Lothian area is about £1,420 a month (Jun-26, ONS), giving City of Edinburgh a cost-of-living score of 46 out of 100. Use the affordability calculator to estimate what you could comfortably afford here.

The average property price in City of Edinburgh is about £303,067 (2026-06, HM Land Registry). Prices changed +3.3% over the year. See the affordability section for how that compares to local earnings.

City of Edinburgh scores 36 out of 100 for safety - challenging - measured from annual recorded crime per 10,000 residents across the City of Edinburgh council area (Scottish Government statistics). That puts it in the bottom 5% of every area in our index. A safety score is a comparison with other areas rather than a guarantee about a street. City of Edinburgh is drawn tightly around the city, so its rate is not diluted by surrounding towns and countryside the way neighbouring councils' rates are, which is much of why it scores low.

The average property in City of Edinburgh costs about £303,067, which is 7.8 times earnings against assumed full-time earnings of £39,039 a year (ONS ASHE), giving an affordability score of 58 out of 100. Mainstream lenders usually cap borrowing at around four to four and a half times income, so a ratio above that generally means a larger deposit, a second income or a cheaper property than the local average. With a ten per cent deposit, repaying the rest costs about £1,757 a month at 6% over 25 years, £337 more than the £1,420 average local rent. The affordability calculator on this page estimates it from your own salary and savings.

About 98.6% of premises in City of Edinburgh can get superfast broadband of 30 Mbit/s or more, and 92.7% can get a gigabit-capable connection, giving a broadband score of 93 out of 100 (Ofcom Connected Nations). These are council-area availability figures - the share of premises able to order each service, not the speed any single line achieves - so check the exact address with the Ofcom broadband checker before committing to it.

80.7% of 16 to 64 year olds in City of Edinburgh are in work (NOMIS latest, retrieved Sep 2026, ONS Annual Population Survey via NOMIS), giving an employment score of 69 out of 100. Unemployment stands at 2.3%. UK local authorities typically range from about 62% to 82%. This is a whole-authority figure, so it describes the local labour market rather than any one town within it.

The intermediate zone around this point records 5.72 on Average highest SCQF qualification score of school leavers (2022/23-2024/25), giving an education score of 61 out of 100. Each nation publishes its own attainment measure and they are not interchangeable, so education scores compare within England, Scotland or Wales and not across them. Scottish attainment is resolved to the intermediate zone around this point, which is finer than the council average used in England and Wales.

For the 1 km grid square containing City of Edinburgh, fine particulates (PM2.5) average 5.23 µg/m³ against a World Health Organization guideline of 5 and nitrogen dioxide averages 14.96 µg/m³ against a guideline of 10 (2024, Defra Pollution Climate Mapping, Crown copyright). That gives an environment score of 92 out of 100; an area meeting both guideline levels scores 100. These are modelled background concentrations for the square, not a reading taken at the roadside.

Within about two kilometres of this point there are 3,786 mapped amenities, including 1,466 places to eat and drink, 1,813 shops, 244 parks and sports facilities and 67 cultural and community venues, giving a lifestyle score of 94 out of 100. Counts come from OpenStreetMap and are measured at this exact location rather than averaged across the council, so they reflect how well served this particular spot is. Contains OpenStreetMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

The nearest railway station is Edinburgh Rail Station, about 0.1 km away, and there are 155 bus, tram or metro stops within an 800 metre walk, giving a transport score of 100 out of 100. Stops come from the DfT NaPTAN dataset and are counted for this exact point, so the figure measures access rather than how frequently anything runs.

City of Edinburgh is in the City of Edinburgh local authority, Scotland. It falls within the City Centre ward and the Edinburgh North and Leith parliamentary constituency. Cost of living, housing, affordability, employment, broadband and crime figures in this report are published at local-authority level, so every postcode and town inside City of Edinburgh shares them. Education comes from the surrounding intermediate zone, and weather, amenities, healthcare, transport and air quality are measured for this point.

City of Edinburgh scores 71 out of 100 on our young professionals profile, which is weighted towards employment, lifestyle, transport and broadband. That is 3 points above its general score of 68, because this profile weights the twelve categories differently.

City of Edinburgh scores 64 out of 100 on our students profile, which is weighted towards cost of living, lifestyle, transport and safety. That is 4 points below its general score of 68, because this profile weights the twelve categories differently. Every area we score is ranked on this basis at /best-places-for-students/.

City of Edinburgh sits in the top 43% of the 539 UK areas we have scored. The median area in the index scores 67 out of 100. It is furthest above the benchmark for its nation on lifestyle, transport and employment. It is furthest below on affordability, cost of living and safety. Categories are compared against the area's own nation where the samples allow it, because crime and school attainment are measured differently either side of the border.

Of the areas we have scored within about 50 miles of City of Edinburgh, the highest are Dunfermline (73 out of 100, about 13 miles away), Kirkcaldy (72 out of 100, about 11 miles away) and Edinburgh (68 out of 100, about 0 miles away). City of Edinburgh itself scores 68. Distances are straight-line from this point, and each of those names links to its own full report.

Across the twelve category scores, the closest matches elsewhere in Britain are York (York, Yorkshire and The Humber, England), Cheltenham (Cheltenham, South West, England) and Southend-on-Sea (Southend-on-Sea, East of England, England). Similarity is the average gap across every category both areas have data for, with immediate neighbours excluded, so these are places that score alike rather than places that look alike or sit nearby.

Weather, local amenities, healthcare access, transport access and air quality are measured for this exact point. Cost of living, affordability, housing, employment, broadband and crime come from official statistics for the City of Edinburgh council area, so nearby postcodes and towns in the same council share those figures. Education comes from the surrounding intermediate zone of roughly 2,500 to 6,000 residents. The "How detailed is this report" section explains each level.