Scotland Counted

Your area · Compare

Compare areas in Scotland

Pick any two council areas, or type two postcodes, and see them side by side: pay, homes, jobs, crime, poverty, health, schools and how the council performs. Every figure is the latest official one, with its source.
First area
Second area

Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire

Better on

16measures

vs

Fife

Fife

Better on

3measures

Aberdeenshire comes out better on 16 of the 19 measures where better or worse is clear, like crime and life expectancy. Prices, rents and council tax are not scored, because cheaper is not better for everyone.

At a glance

The headline from each part of life. Tap one to see the detail.

Money and housing

Pay, council tax and what a home costs.

Aberdeenshire better on 1 of 1

Full time weekly pay

The middle weekly pay of full time employees who live here, before tax. It leaves out the self employed and some small samples.

Better

Aberdeenshire

£825

6th highest of 32

Fife

£763

18th highest of 32

Pay is higher in AberdeenshireClear gap

Scotland £776

2025 · ONS, via Nomis

Council tax, Band D

The yearly council tax bill for a Band D home, not counting water and sewerage.

Aberdeenshire

£1,686

14th highest of 32

Fife

£1,574

28th highest of 32

Council tax is higher in AberdeenshireClear gap

2026-27 · Scottish Government

Average private rent

The average monthly rent for a private let. ONS publishes some areas together, so neighbouring councils can share a figure.

Aberdeenshire

£844

a month

Shared with the Aberdeen and Shire rental area

Fife

£847

a month

13th highest of 32

About the same in both

Scotland £1,011 a month

September 2026 · Office for National Statistics

Rents, change over a year

How much the average private rent has moved in the last 12 months.

Aberdeenshire

-1.2%

Shared with the Aberdeen and Shire rental area

Fife

+4.7%

4th highest of 32

Rents are rising faster in FifeClear gap

Scotland +0.7%

September 2026 · Office for National Statistics

Jobs

How many people are out of work, and how many jobs there are.

Aberdeenshire better on 2 of 2

Unemployment

People who want a job and are looking, as a share of everyone working or looking.

Better

Aberdeenshire

2.8%

29th highest of 32

Fife

4.2%

7th highest of 32

More people out of work in FifeClear gap

Scotland 4.0%

Small areas have wide margins of error, so a gap under a point or two may not be real.July 2025 to June 2026 · ONS model based estimates of unemployment, via Nomis

Out of work benefits

Adults aged 16 to 64 claiming benefits mainly because they are out of work.

Better

Aberdeenshire

1.9%

28th highest of 32

Fife

3.1%

8th highest of 32

More people on out of work benefits in FifeClear gap

Scotland 2.9%

January 2026 · ONS, via Nomis

Jobs per working age adult

Jobs based in the area for every resident aged 16 to 64. Below 1 means fewer jobs than working age people.

Aberdeenshire

Not published

Fife

Not published

Not published for both areas

Scotland 0.83

2024 · ONS, via Nomis

Poverty and deprivation

Children growing up without enough, and the poorest neighbourhoods.

Aberdeenshire better on 2 of 2

Child poverty

Children living in poverty once rent or mortgage costs are paid.

Better

Aberdeenshire

15.0%

29th highest of 32

Fife

25.0%

6th highest of 32

More children in poverty in FifeClear gap

Scotland 23.3%

2023/24 · End Child Poverty / Loughborough University

Most deprived neighbourhoods

Share of the area's neighbourhoods in Scotland's most deprived 20%.

Better

Aberdeenshire

2.6%

29th highest of 32

Fife

19.6%

11th highest of 32

More deprived neighbourhoods in FifeClear gap

Scotland 20.0%

SIMD 2020 (version 2) · Scottish Government

Crime

Crimes recorded by the police, for every 10,000 people.

Aberdeenshire better on 3 of 3

Recorded crime

All crimes recorded by the police, for every 10,000 people.

Better

Aberdeenshire

294

per 10,000

27th highest of 32

Fife

545

per 10,000

11th highest of 32

More crime in FifeClear gap

Scotland 569 per 10,000

2025-26 · Scottish Government

Violent crime

Non sexual crimes of violence, for every 10,000 people. Most of it is common assault.

Better

Aberdeenshire

86

per 10,000

27th highest of 32

Fife

141

per 10,000

9th highest of 32

More violent crime in FifeClear gap

Scotland 136 per 10,000

2025-26 · Scottish Government

Housebreaking

Break ins to homes and other buildings, including attempts, for every 10,000 people.

Better

Aberdeenshire

5

per 10,000

30th highest of 32

Fife

13

per 10,000

11th highest of 32

More break ins in FifeClear gap

Scotland 13 per 10,000

2025-26 · Scottish Government

Health

How long people live, and deaths from drugs.

Aberdeenshire better on 3 of 3

Life expectancy, men

How long a baby boy born here can expect to live, at today's death rates.

Better

Aberdeenshire

79.5

years

3rd highest of 32

Fife

77.3

years

16th highest of 32

Men live longer in AberdeenshireClear gap

Scotland 77.2 years

2022 to 2024 · National Records of Scotland

Life expectancy, women

How long a baby girl born here can expect to live, at today's death rates.

Better

Aberdeenshire

82.9

years

4th highest of 32

Fife

80.9

years

19th highest of 32

Women live longer in AberdeenshireClear gap

Scotland 81.1 years

2022 to 2024 · National Records of Scotland

Drug deaths

Drug misuse deaths each year for every 100,000 people, averaged over five years.

Better

Aberdeenshire

12

per 100,000

29th highest of 31

Fife

19

per 100,000

17th highest of 31

More drug deaths in FifeClear gap

Scotland 22 per 100,000

2021 to 2025 · National Records of Scotland

Schools

How school leavers do.

Level: 1 each

Leavers with a Higher

School leavers with at least one Higher or better.

Better

Aberdeenshire

56.2%

16th highest of 31

Fife

50.8%

27th highest of 31

More leavers get a Higher in AberdeenshireSmall gap

Scotland 58.4%

2024/25 school leavers · Scottish Government

Leavers into work, study or training

School leavers going on to a job, college, university or training.

Aberdeenshire

94.7%

23rd highest of 32

Better

Fife

96.6%

11th highest of 32

More leavers go on to work or study in FifeClear gap

Scotland 95.7%

2024/25 school leavers · Scottish Government

Council services

How the council itself performs, from the official benchmarking figures.

Aberdeenshire better on 4 of 6

Main roads needing repair

The share of the council's A class roads flagged for repair.

Better

Aberdeenshire

22.5%

23rd highest of 32

Fife

28.7%

13th highest of 32

More main roads need repair in FifeClear gap

Scotland 30.3%

2025/26 · Improvement Service

Cost of bin collection, per property

What the council spends collecting bins, per property, each year.

Aberdeenshire

£86

7th highest of 32

Better

Fife

£77

13th highest of 32

Bin collection costs more in AberdeenshireSmall gap

Scotland £77

2024/25 · Improvement Service

Council tax actually collected

How much of the year's council tax came in on time.

Better

Aberdeenshire

96.2%

15th highest of 32

Fife

95.3%

20th highest of 32

More council tax is collected in AberdeenshireSmall gap

Scotland 95.5%

2024/25 · Improvement Service

Cost per primary school pupil

What the council spends on each primary pupil in a year.

Aberdeenshire

£7,132

28th highest of 32

Fife

£7,381

23rd highest of 32

About the same in both

Scotland £7,606

2024/25 · Improvement Service

Sick days per staff member

Average days lost to sickness per council worker, not counting teachers.

Better

Aberdeenshire

11.3

31st highest of 32

Fife

16.7

5th highest of 32

Council staff take more sick days in FifeBig gap

Scotland 14.5

2024/25 · Improvement Service

Household waste recycled

The share of household waste that gets recycled.

Better

Aberdeenshire

44.7%

18th highest of 32

Fife

44.5%

19th highest of 32

About the same in both

Scotland 44.3%

2024/25 · Improvement Service

Happy with street cleaning

The share of adults happy with how clean the streets are.

Aberdeenshire

60.7%

18th highest of 32

Better

Fife

65.7%

8th highest of 32

More people are happy with street cleaning in FifeSmall gap

Scotland 57.0%

2024/25 · Improvement Service

People

How many people live there, and how old they are.

Population

Everyone living in the area.

Aberdeenshire

264,640

6th highest of 32

Fife

373,990

3rd highest of 32

More people live in FifeSmall gap

Scotland 5,545,500

Mid-2025 (30 June 2025) · National Records of Scotland

Median age

Half the people here are older than this, half younger.

Aberdeenshire

46.3

years

14th highest of 32

Fife

45.0

years

19th highest of 32

People are older in AberdeenshireSmall gap

Scotland 43.1 years

Mid-2025 (30 June 2025) · National Records of Scotland

On each line, the coloured dots show where the two areas sit between the lowest and highest of Scotland's 32 council areas, and the grey diamond is Scotland as a whole. Every figure is the latest published, with its source under the card.

More on each area: Aberdeenshire and Fife.

Rankings

Every area, ranked