Is Orkney Islands a good place to live?

Orkney Islands has an overall liveability score of 65 out of 100 (good) on TrackPostcode.UK, based on 80% of categories currently loaded. It scores best on cost of living and housing. The score combines cost, affordability, safety, weather and more from open government data.

Orkney Islands records about 245 crimes per 10,000 people a year (2025/2026), giving Orkney Islands a safety score of 82 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 Orkney Islands from Met Office climate data for the location.

Average private rent in the Highland and Islands area is about £726 a month (Jun-26, ONS), giving Orkney Islands a cost-of-living score of 87 out of 100. Use the affordability calculator to estimate what you could comfortably afford here.

The average property price in Orkney Islands is about £236,740 (2026-06, HM Land Registry). Prices changed +4.4% over the year. See the affordability section for how that compares to local earnings.

Orkney Islands scores 82 out of 100 for safety - very good - measured from annual recorded crime per 10,000 residents across the Orkney Islands council area (Scottish Government statistics). That puts it in the top 1% of every area in our index. A safety score is a comparison with other areas rather than a guarantee about a street. The figure covers the whole council, so it says nothing about differences between its towns.

The average property in Orkney Islands costs about £236,740, which is 6.1 times earnings against assumed full-time earnings of £39,039 a year (ONS ASHE), giving an affordability score of 77 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 £1,373 a month at 6% over 25 years, £647 more than the £726 average local rent. The affordability calculator on this page estimates it from your own salary and savings.

About 83.6% of premises in Orkney Islands can get superfast broadband of 30 Mbit/s or more, and 25.4% can get a gigabit-capable connection, giving a broadband score of 29 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.

The intermediate zone around this point records 5.65 on Average highest SCQF qualification score of school leavers (2022/23-2024/25), giving an education score of 58 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 Orkney Islands, fine particulates (PM2.5) average 3.33 µg/m³ against a World Health Organization guideline of 5 and nitrogen dioxide averages 1.4 µg/m³ against a guideline of 10 (2024, Defra Pollution Climate Mapping, Crown copyright). That gives an environment score of 100 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 2 mapped amenities, including 1 places to eat and drink and 1 shops, giving a lifestyle score of 2 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.

No GP surgery, pharmacy or dentist is mapped within about two kilometres of this point. 1 hospital is within about eight kilometres. That gives a healthcare score of 4 out of 100. Facilities are counted from OpenStreetMap and the score describes how close services are, not waiting times, capacity or clinical quality.

The nearest railway station is Thurso Rail Station, about 53.9 km away, and there are 5 bus, tram or metro stops within an 800 metre walk, giving a transport score of 12 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.

Orkney Islands is in the Orkney Islands local authority, Scotland. It falls within the Kirkwall East ward and the Orkney and Shetland 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 Orkney Islands shares them. Education comes from the surrounding intermediate zone, and weather, amenities, healthcare, transport and air quality are measured for this point.

Orkney Islands scores 67 out of 100 on our families profile, which is weighted towards schools, safety, housing and healthcare. That is close to its general score of 65, so the weighting neither flatters nor penalises this area. Every area we score is ranked on this basis at /best-places-for-families/.

Orkney Islands scores 66 out of 100 on our students profile, which is weighted towards cost of living, lifestyle, transport and safety. That is close to its general score of 65, so the weighting neither flatters nor penalises this area. Every area we score is ranked on this basis at /best-places-for-students/.

Orkney Islands sits in the bottom 37% 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 safety and education. It is furthest below on transport, broadband and lifestyle. 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 Orkney Islands, the highest are Kirkwall (70 out of 100, about 3 miles away), Wick (69 out of 100, about 36 miles away) and Thurso (67 out of 100, about 33 miles away). Orkney Islands itself scores 65. 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 Ilford (Somerset, South West, England), Brecon (Powys, Wales) and Romford (Dorset, South West, 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 Orkney Islands 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.