Your area · Compare
East Lothian
East Lothian
Better on
16measures
Fife
Fife
Better on
3measures
East Lothian 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.
The headline from each part of life. Tap one to see the detail.
Pay, council tax and what a home costs.
Fife better on 1 of 1
The middle weekly pay of full time employees who live here, before tax. It leaves out the self employed and some small samples.
East Lothian
£737
24th highest of 32
Fife
£763
18th highest of 32
Pay is higher in FifeSmall gap
Scotland £776
2025 · ONS, via Nomis
The yearly council tax bill for a Band D home, not counting water and sewerage.
East Lothian
£1,698
11th highest of 32
Fife
£1,574
28th highest of 32
Council tax is higher in East LothianClear gap
2026-27 · Scottish Government
The average price paid for a home.
East Lothian
£286,314
3rd highest of 32
Fife
£182,463
17th highest of 32
Homes cost more in East LothianBig gap
Scotland £198,397
August 2026 · HM Land Registry and Registers of Scotland, with the Office for National Statistics
How much the average price has moved in the last 12 months.
East Lothian
-1.1%
25th highest of 32
Fife
+5.1%
7th highest of 32
Prices are rising faster in FifeClear gap
Scotland +2.9%
August 2026 · HM Land Registry and Registers of Scotland, with the Office for National Statistics
The average monthly rent for a private let. ONS publishes some areas together, so neighbouring councils can share a figure.
East Lothian
£1,411
a month
Shared with the Lothian rental area
Fife
£847
a month
13th highest of 32
Rent is higher in East LothianBig gap
Scotland £1,011 a month
September 2026 · Office for National Statistics
How much the average private rent has moved in the last 12 months.
East Lothian
+1.0%
Shared with the Lothian 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
How many people are out of work, and how many jobs there are.
East Lothian better on 2 of 2
People who want a job and are looking, as a share of everyone working or looking.
East Lothian
3.1%
23rd 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
Adults aged 16 to 64 claiming benefits mainly because they are out of work.
East Lothian
2.2%
24th 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 based in the area for every resident aged 16 to 64. Below 1 means fewer jobs than working age people.
East Lothian
Not published
Fife
Not published
Not published for both areas
Scotland 0.83
2024 · ONS, via Nomis
Children growing up without enough, and the poorest neighbourhoods.
East Lothian better on 2 of 2
Children living in poverty once rent or mortgage costs are paid.
East Lothian
22.1%
17th highest of 32
Fife
25.0%
6th highest of 32
More children in poverty in FifeSmall gap
Scotland 23.3%
Share of the area's neighbourhoods in Scotland's most deprived 20%.
East Lothian
6.1%
24th 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
Crimes recorded by the police, for every 10,000 people.
East Lothian better on 2 of 3
All crimes recorded by the police, for every 10,000 people.
East Lothian
482
per 10,000
18th highest of 32
Fife
545
per 10,000
11th highest of 32
More crime in FifeSmall gap
Scotland 569 per 10,000
2025-26 · Scottish Government
Non sexual crimes of violence, for every 10,000 people. Most of it is common assault.
East Lothian
110
per 10,000
24th 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
Break ins to homes and other buildings, including attempts, for every 10,000 people.
East Lothian
21
per 10,000
2nd highest of 32
Fife
13
per 10,000
11th highest of 32
More break ins in East LothianClear gap
Scotland 13 per 10,000
2025-26 · Scottish Government
How long people live, and deaths from drugs.
East Lothian better on 3 of 3
How long a baby boy born here can expect to live, at today's death rates.
East Lothian
78.7
years
8th highest of 32
Fife
77.3
years
16th highest of 32
Men live longer in East LothianSmall gap
Scotland 77.2 years
2022 to 2024 · National Records of Scotland
How long a baby girl born here can expect to live, at today's death rates.
East Lothian
82.6
years
8th highest of 32
Fife
80.9
years
19th highest of 32
Women live longer in East LothianClear gap
Scotland 81.1 years
2022 to 2024 · National Records of Scotland
Drug misuse deaths each year for every 100,000 people, averaged over five years.
East Lothian
16
per 100,000
21st highest of 31
Fife
19
per 100,000
17th highest of 31
More drug deaths in FifeSmall gap
Scotland 22 per 100,000
2021 to 2025 · National Records of Scotland
How school leavers do.
East Lothian better on 2 of 2
School leavers with at least one Higher or better.
East Lothian
58.8%
10th highest of 31
Fife
50.8%
27th highest of 31
More leavers get a Higher in East LothianClear gap
Scotland 58.4%
2024/25 school leavers · Scottish Government
School leavers going on to a job, college, university or training.
East Lothian
97.9%
2nd highest of 32
Fife
96.6%
11th highest of 32
More leavers go on to work or study in East LothianClear gap
Scotland 95.7%
2024/25 school leavers · Scottish Government
How the council itself performs, from the official benchmarking figures.
East Lothian better on 5 of 6
The share of the council's A class roads flagged for repair.
East Lothian
26.3%
18th highest of 32
Fife
28.7%
13th highest of 32
More main roads need repair in FifeSmall gap
Scotland 30.3%
2025/26 · Improvement Service
What the council spends collecting bins, per property, each year.
East Lothian
£78
12th highest of 32
Fife
£77
13th highest of 32
About the same in both
Scotland £77
2024/25 · Improvement Service
How much of the year's council tax came in on time.
East Lothian
96.8%
8th highest of 32
Fife
95.3%
20th highest of 32
More council tax is collected in East LothianSmall gap
Scotland 95.5%
2024/25 · Improvement Service
What the council spends on each primary pupil in a year.
East Lothian
£6,791
Lowest of 32 areas
Fife
£7,381
23rd highest of 32
More is spent on each primary pupil in FifeSmall gap
Scotland £7,606
2024/25 · Improvement Service
Average days lost to sickness per council worker, not counting teachers.
East Lothian
14.6
13th highest of 32
Fife
16.7
5th highest of 32
Council staff take more sick days in FifeClear gap
Scotland 14.5
2024/25 · Improvement Service
The share of household waste that gets recycled.
East Lothian
55.3%
3rd highest of 32
Fife
44.5%
19th highest of 32
More waste is recycled in East LothianClear gap
Scotland 44.3%
2024/25 · Improvement Service
The share of adults happy with how clean the streets are.
East Lothian
73.3%
2nd highest of 32
Fife
65.7%
8th highest of 32
More people are happy with street cleaning in East LothianSmall gap
Scotland 57.0%
2024/25 · Improvement Service
How many people live there, and how old they are.
Everyone living in the area.
East Lothian
116,460
18th highest of 32
Fife
373,990
3rd highest of 32
More people live in FifeClear gap
Scotland 5,545,500
Mid-2025 (30 June 2025) · National Records of Scotland
Half the people here are older than this, half younger.
East Lothian
45.1
years
18th highest of 32
Fife
45.0
years
19th highest of 32
About the same in both
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: East Lothian and Fife.
Rankings