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

Scottish Borders

Scottish Borders

Better on

16measures

vs

Glasgow City

Glasgow

Better on

3measures

Scottish Borders 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.

Glasgow 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.

Scottish Borders

£708

30th highest of 32

Better

Glasgow

£746

22nd highest of 32

Pay is higher in GlasgowSmall 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.

Scottish Borders

£1,619

25th highest of 32

Glasgow

£1,706

10th highest of 32

Council tax is higher in GlasgowClear 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.

Scottish Borders

£715

a month

28th highest of 32

Glasgow

£1,266

a month

Shared with the Greater Glasgow rental area

Rent is higher in GlasgowBig gap

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.

Scottish Borders

-0.4%

26th highest of 32

Glasgow

+1.1%

Shared with the Greater Glasgow rental area

Rents are rising faster in GlasgowSmall gap

Scotland +0.7%

September 2026 · Office for National Statistics

Jobs

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

Scottish Borders better on 2 of 2

Unemployment

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

Better

Scottish Borders

3.0%

25th highest of 32

Glasgow

7.0%

Highest of 32 areas

More people out of work in GlasgowBig 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

Scottish Borders

2.8%

12th highest of 32

Glasgow

4.5%

Highest of 32 areas

More people on out of work benefits in GlasgowBig 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.

Scottish Borders

Not published

Glasgow

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.

Scottish Borders better on 2 of 2

Child poverty

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

Better

Scottish Borders

21.5%

19th highest of 32

Glasgow

36.1%

Highest of 32 areas

More children in poverty in GlasgowBig 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

Scottish Borders

6.3%

23rd highest of 32

Glasgow

45.4%

Highest of 32 areas

More deprived neighbourhoods in GlasgowBig gap

Scotland 20.0%

SIMD 2020 (version 2) · Scottish Government

Crime

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

Scottish Borders better on 3 of 3

Recorded crime

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

Better

Scottish Borders

409

per 10,000

26th highest of 32

Glasgow

849

per 10,000

2nd highest of 32

More crime in GlasgowBig 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

Scottish Borders

120

per 10,000

19th highest of 32

Glasgow

193

per 10,000

2nd highest of 32

More violent crime in GlasgowBig 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

Scottish Borders

12

per 10,000

14th highest of 32

Glasgow

13

per 10,000

11th highest of 32

About the same in both

Scotland 13 per 10,000

2025-26 · Scottish Government

Health

How long people live, and deaths from drugs.

Scottish Borders 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

Scottish Borders

79.0

years

7th highest of 32

Glasgow

74.3

years

Lowest of 32 areas

Men live longer in Scottish BordersBig 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

Scottish Borders

82.7

years

7th highest of 32

Glasgow

78.7

years

Lowest of 32 areas

Women live longer in Scottish BordersBig 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

Scottish Borders

12

per 100,000

27th highest of 31

Glasgow

38

per 100,000

Highest of 31 areas

More drug deaths in GlasgowBig gap

Scotland 22 per 100,000

2021 to 2025 · National Records of Scotland

Schools

How school leavers do.

Scottish Borders better on 2 of 2

Leavers with a Higher

School leavers with at least one Higher or better.

Better

Scottish Borders

58.3%

12th highest of 31

Glasgow

56.5%

15th highest of 31

About the same in both

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

Scottish Borders

97.0%

7th highest of 32

Glasgow

94.9%

20th highest of 32

More leavers go on to work or study in Scottish BordersClear gap

Scotland 95.7%

2024/25 school leavers · Scottish Government

Council services

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

Scottish Borders better on 4 of 6

Main roads needing repair

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

Scottish Borders

40.3%

2nd highest of 32

Better

Glasgow

35.0%

7th highest of 32

More main roads need repair in Scottish BordersClear gap

Scotland 30.3%

2025/26 · Improvement Service

Cost of bin collection, per property

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

Better

Scottish Borders

£68

17th highest of 32

Glasgow

£102

3rd highest of 32

Bin collection costs more in GlasgowClear gap

Scotland £77

2024/25 · Improvement Service

Council tax actually collected

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

Better

Scottish Borders

96.1%

16th highest of 32

Glasgow

93.4%

29th highest of 32

More council tax is collected in Scottish BordersClear gap

Scotland 95.5%

2024/25 · Improvement Service

Cost per primary school pupil

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

Scottish Borders

£7,778

15th highest of 32

Glasgow

£7,439

22nd 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.

Scottish Borders

13.9

19th highest of 32

Better

Glasgow

13.1

26th highest of 32

Council staff take more sick days in Scottish BordersSmall gap

Scotland 14.5

2024/25 · Improvement Service

Household waste recycled

The share of household waste that gets recycled.

Better

Scottish Borders

53.2%

7th highest of 32

Glasgow

30.6%

30th highest of 32

More waste is recycled in Scottish BordersBig gap

Scotland 44.3%

2024/25 · Improvement Service

Happy with street cleaning

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

Better

Scottish Borders

65.7%

8th highest of 32

Glasgow

37.3%

31st highest of 32

More people are happy with street cleaning in Scottish BordersBig 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.

Scottish Borders

116,800

17th highest of 32

Glasgow

654,330

Highest of 32 areas

More people live in GlasgowBig 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.

Scottish Borders

51.2

years

4th highest of 32

Glasgow

35.6

years

Lowest of 32 areas

People are older in Scottish BordersBig 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: Scottish Borders and Glasgow.

Rankings

Every area, ranked