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

North Lanarkshire

North Lanarkshire

Better on

15measures

vs

Dundee City

Dundee

Better on

4measures

North Lanarkshire comes out better on 15 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.

North Lanarkshire 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

North Lanarkshire

£775

14th highest of 32

Dundee

£676

31st highest of 32

Pay is higher in North LanarkshireClear 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.

North Lanarkshire

£1,555

29th highest of 32

Dundee

£1,730

7th highest of 32

Council tax is higher in DundeeBig 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.

North Lanarkshire

£800

a month

21st highest of 32

Dundee

£826

a month

Shared with the Dundee and Angus rental area

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.

North Lanarkshire

-3.5%

31st highest of 32

Dundee

+0.8%

Shared with the Dundee and Angus rental area

Rents are rising faster in DundeeClear gap

Scotland +0.7%

September 2026 · Office for National Statistics

Jobs

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

North Lanarkshire better on 2 of 2

Unemployment

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

Better

North Lanarkshire

3.9%

10th highest of 32

Dundee

5.9%

2nd highest of 32

More people out of work in DundeeClear 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

North Lanarkshire

2.8%

12th highest of 32

Dundee

3.7%

3rd highest of 32

More people on out of work benefits in DundeeClear 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.

North Lanarkshire

Not published

Dundee

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.

North Lanarkshire better on 2 of 2

Child poverty

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

Better

North Lanarkshire

24.9%

7th highest of 32

Dundee

26.1%

3rd highest of 32

About the same in both

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

North Lanarkshire

34.2%

6th highest of 32

Dundee

37.2%

5th highest of 32

More deprived neighbourhoods in DundeeSmall gap

Scotland 20.0%

SIMD 2020 (version 2) · Scottish Government

Crime

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

North Lanarkshire better on 3 of 3

Recorded crime

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

Better

North Lanarkshire

588

per 10,000

7th highest of 32

Dundee

929

per 10,000

Highest of 32 areas

More crime in DundeeBig 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

North Lanarkshire

147

per 10,000

7th highest of 32

Dundee

196

per 10,000

Highest of 32 areas

More violent crime in DundeeClear 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

North Lanarkshire

14

per 10,000

7th highest of 32

Dundee

21

per 10,000

2nd highest of 32

More break ins in DundeeClear gap

Scotland 13 per 10,000

2025-26 · Scottish Government

Health

How long people live, and deaths from drugs.

Dundee better on 2 of 3

Life expectancy, men

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

North Lanarkshire

75.2

years

29th highest of 32

Better

Dundee

75.3

years

28th highest of 32

About the same in both

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.

North Lanarkshire

78.9

years

30th highest of 32

Better

Dundee

79.6

years

28th highest of 32

Women live longer in DundeeSmall 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

North Lanarkshire

24

per 100,000

10th highest of 31

Dundee

34

per 100,000

2nd highest of 31

More drug deaths in DundeeClear gap

Scotland 22 per 100,000

2021 to 2025 · National Records of Scotland

Schools

How school leavers do.

North Lanarkshire better on 2 of 2

Leavers with a Higher

School leavers with at least one Higher or better.

Better

North Lanarkshire

60.0%

7th highest of 31

Dundee

53.0%

25th highest of 31

More leavers get a Higher in North LanarkshireSmall 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.

Better

North Lanarkshire

93.9%

26th highest of 32

Dundee

93.7%

27th highest of 32

About the same in both

Scotland 95.7%

2024/25 school leavers · Scottish Government

Council services

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

North Lanarkshire better on 4 of 6

Main roads needing repair

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

North Lanarkshire

23.6%

22nd highest of 32

Better

Dundee

21.0%

27th highest of 32

More main roads need repair in North LanarkshireSmall gap

Scotland 30.3%

2025/26 · Improvement Service

Cost of bin collection, per property

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

North Lanarkshire

£85

8th highest of 32

Better

Dundee

£67

18th highest of 32

Bin collection costs more in North LanarkshireSmall gap

Scotland £77

2024/25 · Improvement Service

Council tax actually collected

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

Better

North Lanarkshire

94.5%

24th highest of 32

Dundee

92.7%

31st highest of 32

More council tax is collected in North LanarkshireClear gap

Scotland 95.5%

2024/25 · Improvement Service

Cost per primary school pupil

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

North Lanarkshire

£6,936

30th highest of 32

Dundee

£7,372

24th highest of 32

More is spent on each primary pupil in DundeeSmall gap

Scotland £7,606

2024/25 · Improvement Service

Sick days per staff member

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

Better

North Lanarkshire

13.3

25th highest of 32

Dundee

17.9

2nd highest of 32

Council staff take more sick days in DundeeBig gap

Scotland 14.5

2024/25 · Improvement Service

Household waste recycled

The share of household waste that gets recycled.

Better

North Lanarkshire

47.9%

17th highest of 32

Dundee

35.1%

29th highest of 32

More waste is recycled in North LanarkshireClear gap

Scotland 44.3%

2024/25 · Improvement Service

Happy with street cleaning

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

Better

North Lanarkshire

52.7%

23rd highest of 32

Dundee

49.7%

27th highest of 32

More people are happy with street cleaning in North LanarkshireSmall 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.

North Lanarkshire

343,930

4th highest of 32

Dundee

148,390

13th highest of 32

More people live in North LanarkshireClear 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.

North Lanarkshire

42.7

years

26th highest of 32

Dundee

39.0

years

30th highest of 32

People are older in North LanarkshireClear 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: North Lanarkshire and Dundee.

Rankings

Every area, ranked