The best UK cities for job opportunities

The best cities in the UK for job opportunities

With around a quarter of UK workers said to be planning a job switch this year, Ciphr investigated which cities offer the most employment opportunities for job hunters and those considering a change of career.

↓ Scroll down to find out which cities rank the highest for job opportunities, salary growth, affordability, and more ↓

 

Top cities in the UK for job opportunities

To discover which locations in the UK have the best job opportunities, Ciphr ranked 50 of the most populous cities in the country based on factors like average salary, salary growth, employment rate growth, unemployment rate, job listings, and the number of businesses.

House prices and rental costs were also included in the analysis to reflect the city’s affordability and cost of living, as were life satisfaction and happiness scores (from the Office for National Statistics) to show the population’s general level of wellbeing.

Key findings:

  • Milton Keynes, Oxford, York, St Albans, and Norwich are the top five cities for job opportunities, with high average salaries, good business density, and strong employment rate growth
  • Oxford is the best UK city for employment rate growth, up 16.4% from 2021 to 2022
  • Winchester has the highest business density of any UK city at 168.1, which means that there are over 168 businesses with over 10 employees for every 10,000 working age residents. Chichester has the next highest business density at 93.9 (the UK average is 68)
  • Colchester has the highest wage growth of any city in the study, with the latest figures showing a 12.9% increase in full-time annual earnings
  • St Albans has the highest average salary for full-time employees at £46,551 (41% above the national average of £33,000), and the lowest unemployment rate (1.9%)
  • Winchester, Lancaster, Oxford, Chelmsford and Canterbury are among the happiest cities to live and work, with residents reporting higher levels of life satisfaction and personal happiness than any other cities in the study

Best UK cities for salary growth

Colchester – Britain's oldest recorded town – tops the list for salary growth with a significant 12.9% increase in earnings for full-time workers over the last 12 months (2022 vs 2021). In comparison, Southend-on-Sea – one of the UK’s newest cities – reported negative -5.8% salary growth since 2021.

Colchester: #1 for salary growth

UK cities with the highest growth in earnings for full-time employees over the last 12 months:

  • Colchester (12.9% increase to £34,964)
  • Chichester (12.1% increase to £33,743)
  • Wrexham (11.5% increase to £31,003)
  • Salford (11.2% increase to £31,102)
  • Portsmouth (10.7% increase to £32,335)

Southend-on-Sea: #50 for salary growth

UK cities with the lowest growth in earnings for full-time employees over the last 12 months:

  • Southend-on-Sea (-5.8%)
  • Chelmsford (-4.5%)
  • Winchester (-4.3%)
  • Lancaster (-0.8%)
  • Derby (0.4%)

St Albans: #1 for highest average salary

UK cities with the highest earnings for full-time employees

St Albans is among one of the least affordable cities to live in the UK but it does have the highest average salary for full-time employees of £46,551 (41% above the national average of £33,000). The next highest paying city is London, with an average salary of £39,391, followed by Cambridge and Milton Keynes.

  • St Albans: £46,551 (41% above UK average)
  • London: £39,391 (19% above UK average)
  • Cambridge: £38,666 (17% above UK average)
  • Milton Keynes: £38,613 (17% above UK average)
  • Oxford: £36,692 (11% above UK average)

Best UK cities for employment opportunities

The cities that rank highest for employment opportunities in Ciphr’s study have the best business density (the highest number of businesses with 10+ employees per 10,000 working age people), the largest employment rate growth, and the lowest unemployment rate – factors that are associated with favourable economic conditions and a buoyant labour market. They also have a higher number of job postings (on Indeed) per 10,000 working age population.

The best UK city for employment opportunities is Norwich, scoring an impressive 46 out of 50.

In Norwich, there are around 76.3 businesses (with 10+ employees) per 10,000 working population, its employment rate growth is 6.7% and the unemployment rate is 2.5%

Bristol also scored well (44 out of 50) for employment opportunities, with the city recording a high density of businesses (70.2), a 2.9% unemployment rate, and an employment rate growth of 8.7%. As at January 2023, there are around 326 job vacancies listed in Bristol per 10,000 working population (the cities with the highest number of listings per person are Cambridge and Exeter with 396 and 373 respectively, while the UK average is 183).

Norwich: #1 for employment opportunities

Cities that scored the highest for employment opportunities:

  • Norwich (46 out of 50)
  • Bristol (44 out of 50)
  • Oxford (42 out of 50)
  • Cambridge (41 out of 50)
  • Milton Keynes (41 out of 50)
  • St Albans (41 out of 50)
  • York (41 out of 50)
  • Belfast (38 out of 50)
  • Edinburgh (38 out of 50)
  • Exeter (38 out of 50)

Leeds was just outside the top ten, ranking at #12 for employment opportunities. Many of the UK's other biggest cities appear lower down the list, including Manchester, Glasgow, and London at #17, #18 and #20 respectively.

Winchester: #1 for number of businesses

Cities with the highest density of businesses (with 10+ employees) per 10,000 working population:

  • Winchester (168.1)
  • Chichester (93.9)
  • Belfast (83.7)
  • London (81.6)
  • St Albans (81.1)
  • Norwich (76.3)
  • Milton Keynes (74.3)
  • Manchester (74.2)
  • Aberdeen (72.5)
  • Chelmsford (72.4)

Best UK cities for housing affordability

The majority of UK cities with the most affordable housing (to rent or buy) are located in the north of England, with Doncaster topping the list. The average rental property costs around 22% of the average salary in Doncaster, which is £30,457. While the average property costs £175,872 – 5.8x the average salary.

At the other end of the scale, housing is the least affordable (comparative to average salaries) in London, Oxford, Brighton and Hove, Cambridge, Bristol, and Winchester.

Doncaster: #1 for housing affordability

UK cities that are the most affordable for buying or renting property:

  • Doncaster
  • Stoke-on-Trent
  • Sunderland
  • Hull
  • Bradford

Hull: #1 for rental affordability

UK cities that have the lowest rent-to-salary ratio:

  • Hull (20% of average salary is spent on rent)
  • Stoke-on-Trent (21% of average salary is spent on rent)
  • Bradford (22% of average salary is spent on rent)
  • Lancaster (23% of average salary is spent on rent)
  • Preston (23% of average salary is spent on rent)
  • Sunderland (23% of average salary is spent on rent)

Belfast: #1 for affordable property prices

UK cities with the lowest average property price (comparative to the average salary):

  • Belfast: £156,161 (5.2x average salary)
  • Sunderland: £157,344 (5.7x average salary)
  • Aberdeen: £186,087 (5.8x average salary)
  • Doncaster: £175,872 (5.8x average salary)
  • Dundee: £173,707 (6x average salary)
  • Stoke-on-Trent: £168,059 (6x average salary)

Edinburgh: #50 for rental affordability

UK cities that have the highest rent-to-salary ratio:

  • Edinburgh (46% of average salary is spent on rent)
  • London (45% of average salary is spent on rent)
  • Oxford (43% of average salary is spent on rent)
  • Brighton and Hove (42% of average salary is spent on rent)
  • Bristol (42% of average salary is spent on rent)

London: #50 for affordable property prices

UK cities with the highest average property price (comparative to the average salary):

  • London: £743,738 (18.9x average salary)
  • Winchester: £652,998 (18.4x average salary)
  • Oxford: £587,464 (16x average salary)
  • Brighton and Hove: £497,238 (14.7x average salary)
  • Cambridge: £547,677 (14.2x average salary)

Best UK cities for life satisfaction and happiness

According to the results of the ONS’ latest* annual personal wellbeing survey, the residents of Winchester, Lancaster and Oxford enjoy higher levels of life satisfaction and personal happiness than any cities in the study, with an average score of 15.5 out of 20.

The people of Canterbury and Lancaster feel the most satisfied about their lives overall (7.91 out of 10), while those living in Oxford are the happiest (7.71 out of 10).

Canterbury: #1 for life satisfaction

UK cities with the highest life satisfaction scores:

  • Canterbury: 7.91 out of 10
  • Lancaster: 7.91 out of 10
  • Winchester: 7.87 out of 10
  • St Albans: 7.7 out of 10
  • Chelmsford: 7.69 out of 10
  • Newcastle: 7.69 out of 10
  • Oxford: 7.68 out of 10
  • Sheffield: 7.66 out of 10
  • York: 7.65 out of 10
  • Wakefield: 7.62 out of 10

Oxford: #1 for happiness

'The happiest cities in the UK' – cities with the highest happiness scores:

  • Oxford: 7.71 out of 10
  • Winchester: 7.69 out of 10
  • Chelmsford: 7.63 out of 10
  • Stoke-on-Trent: 7.59 out of 10
  • Gloucester: 7.58 out of 10
  • Lancaster: 7.55 out of 10
  • Doncaster: 7.54 out of 10
  • Wakefield: 7.54 out of 10
  • Plymouth: 7.53 out of 10
  • Wolverhampton: 7.53 out of 10

*April 2021 to March 2022.

Best UK cities for job opportunities – #16-33

Full results

Weighted results

The chart below illustrates how each city was scored (out of 50) for various criteria, including salary (average salary and salary growth), employment opportunities (number of businesses, employment rate growth, unemployment rate, and number of job listings), housing affordability (to rent and buy), and life satisfaction and personal happiness.

The higher a city appears in the ranking, then the higher the score (with 50 points being the highest) for each criteria. Weighting was then applied to the results to determine the city's overall position in the list of best UK cities for job opportunities.

Methodology and sources

Ciphr compared total population figures from the Office for National Statistics to determine which 50 UK cities were considered in the rankings, with only the most populous cities included in its analysis.

Multiple criteria were researched and analysed to discover which UK cities ranked best overall for job opportunities, including average salary, salary growth, the number of businesses, number of job postings on Indeed per 10,000 working age population (using Indeed's exact location search for each city), employment rate growth, unemployment rate, housing affordability, life satisfaction and personal happiness.

The following statistical weights were applied to the scores for each criteria:

  • Average salary (% difference between the city’s average salary and the UK’s average salary) + change in average salary in the last 12 months: 33.5% weight
  • Business density + change in employment rate in the last 12 months + unemployment rate + number of job postings: 33.5% weight
  • Housing affordability (% of salary spent on rent + multiple of average salary required to buy average property): 16.5% weight
  • Life satisfaction + happiness score (how satisfied people feel about their life overall and their levels of personal happiness): 16.5% weight

Data sourced from the Office for National Statistics (ONS):

  • Mid-2021 estimates of the population for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (released 21 December 2022) – Table MYE2: Persons by single year of age and sex for local authorities in the UK, mid-2021: http://bit.ly/3WuIUdM
  • Earnings and hours worked, place of residence by local authority – ASHE Table 8.7a (released on 26 October 2022): http://bit.ly/3XHxPHm
  • UK business: activity, size and location – Table 10 (release date: 28 September 2022): http://bit.ly/3XLXCOQ
  • Private rental market summary statistics in England – Table 2.7 (release date: 14 December 2022): http://bit.ly/3IZC3WM
    Annual personal well-being estimates - April 2021 to March 2022 edition (release date: 31 October 2022): http://bit.ly/3GYRQ5B
  • LI01 Regional labour market: Local indicators for counties, local and unitary authorities – January 2023 edition (release date: 23 January 2023): http://bit.ly/3XmCmiG
  • LI01 Regional labour market: Local indicators for counties, local and unitary authorities – January 2022 edition (release date: 12 April 2022): http://bit.ly/3WvC9Zg

Other data sources:

Ciphr has also created an index revealing the best UK towns and cities for HR professionals to live and work in 2023.

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