A RECENT report has revealed that Edinburgh has the second highest living standards in the UK, just below London.
Statistics from the Centre for Cities show that Edinburgh had the second highest gross disposable household income (GDHI) per capita in 2022.
It also states that Edinburgh has the second highest percentage of people with high-level qualifications, coming just below Oxford and above Cambridge.
The report, which came out earlier this week, focuses on the economic performance of cities in Britain, focusing on the 63 largest urban areas.
The study shows that, according to 2022 data, Edinburgh has a GDHI per capita of £26,565.
This is the highest in the UK bar London, where the GDHI per capita is £32,003.
Significantly, Edinburgh is the only city in the top ten that isn’t in the south of the UK, with Reading, Brighton, and Aldershot following close behind.
Among the lowest on this list were Bradford, Blackburn, and Hull, which has a GDHI per capita of £15,818.
Other data collected was the percentage of people living in each city who have a high-level qualification, which is anything above Scottish Highers or equivalent.
Topping this list was Oxford with 74.3%, but Edinburgh comes in second with 69.9% – just above Cambridge.
This is despite news last year of declining rates in both foreign students and Scottish students to universities across the country.
The Cities Outlook 2025 report found Edinburgh to be in the top ten for highest average weekly workplace earnings (data from 2024), as Scottish cities in general come just above the national average in urban areas.
In October last year, however, the council’s End Poverty in Edinburgh annual progress report found that 17% of Edinburgh residents were living in poverty in 2023, which includes 20% of all children in the city.
