Your area · Compare
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire
Better on
8measures
City of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Better on
10measures
Edinburgh comes out better on 10 of the 18 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.
Edinburgh 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.
South Lanarkshire
£798
8th highest of 32
Edinburgh
£820
7th highest of 32
Pay is higher in EdinburghSmall gap
Scotland £776
2025 · ONS, via Nomis
The yearly council tax bill for a Band D home, not counting water and sewerage.
South Lanarkshire
£1,468
Lowest of 32 areas
Edinburgh
£1,626
23rd highest of 32
Council tax is higher in EdinburghBig gap
2026-27 · Scottish Government
The average price paid for a home.
South Lanarkshire
£186,196
16th highest of 32
Edinburgh
£301,313
2nd highest of 32
Homes cost more in EdinburghBig 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.
South Lanarkshire
+3.9%
10th highest of 32
Edinburgh
+2.8%
18th highest of 32
About the same in both
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.
South Lanarkshire
£894
a month
9th highest of 32
Edinburgh
£1,411
a month
Shared with the Lothian rental area
Rent is higher in EdinburghBig 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.
South Lanarkshire
+1.3%
12th highest of 32
Edinburgh
+1.0%
Shared with the Lothian rental area
About the same in both
Scotland +0.7%
September 2026 · Office for National Statistics
How many people are out of work, and how many jobs there are.
Edinburgh better on 1 of 1
People who want a job and are looking, as a share of everyone working or looking.
South Lanarkshire
4.0%
9th highest of 32
Edinburgh
3.6%
14th highest of 32
More people out of work in South LanarkshireSmall 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.
South Lanarkshire
2.5%
18th highest of 32
Edinburgh
2.5%
18th highest of 32
About the same in both
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.
South Lanarkshire
Not published
Edinburgh
Not published
Not published for both areas
Scotland 0.83
2024 · ONS, via Nomis
Children growing up without enough, and the poorest neighbourhoods.
Level: 1 each
Children living in poverty once rent or mortgage costs are paid.
South Lanarkshire
19.5%
25th highest of 32
Edinburgh
22.8%
14th highest of 32
More children in poverty in EdinburghSmall gap
Scotland 23.3%
Share of the area's neighbourhoods in Scotland's most deprived 20%.
South Lanarkshire
20.4%
10th highest of 32
Edinburgh
11.9%
16th highest of 32
More deprived neighbourhoods in South LanarkshireSmall gap
Scotland 20.0%
SIMD 2020 (version 2) · Scottish Government
Crimes recorded by the police, for every 10,000 people.
South Lanarkshire better on 3 of 3
All crimes recorded by the police, for every 10,000 people.
South Lanarkshire
501
per 10,000
16th highest of 32
Edinburgh
744
per 10,000
3rd highest of 32
More crime in EdinburghClear 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.
South Lanarkshire
123
per 10,000
16th highest of 32
Edinburgh
140
per 10,000
10th highest of 32
More violent crime in EdinburghSmall gap
Scotland 136 per 10,000
2025-26 · Scottish Government
Break ins to homes and other buildings, including attempts, for every 10,000 people.
South Lanarkshire
10
per 10,000
19th highest of 32
Edinburgh
22
per 10,000
Highest of 32 areas
More break ins in EdinburghBig gap
Scotland 13 per 10,000
2025-26 · Scottish Government
How long people live, and deaths from drugs.
Edinburgh better on 3 of 3
How long a baby boy born here can expect to live, at today's death rates.
South Lanarkshire
76.8
years
20th highest of 32
Edinburgh
78.3
years
10th highest of 32
Men live longer in EdinburghClear 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.
South Lanarkshire
80.5
years
23rd highest of 32
Edinburgh
82.2
years
9th highest of 32
Women live longer in EdinburghClear 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.
South Lanarkshire
24
per 100,000
9th highest of 31
Edinburgh
21
per 100,000
14th highest of 31
More drug deaths in South LanarkshireSmall gap
Scotland 22 per 100,000
2021 to 2025 · National Records of Scotland
How school leavers do.
Edinburgh better on 2 of 2
School leavers with at least one Higher or better.
South Lanarkshire
61.2%
5th highest of 31
Edinburgh
67.3%
3rd highest of 31
More leavers get a Higher in EdinburghSmall gap
Scotland 58.4%
2024/25 school leavers · Scottish Government
School leavers going on to a job, college, university or training.
South Lanarkshire
96.6%
11th highest of 32
Edinburgh
96.7%
9th highest of 32
About the same in both
Scotland 95.7%
2024/25 school leavers · Scottish Government
How the council itself performs, from the official benchmarking figures.
South Lanarkshire better on 4 of 6
The share of the council's A class roads flagged for repair.
South Lanarkshire
26.5%
17th highest of 32
Edinburgh
25.4%
19th highest of 32
About the same in both
Scotland 30.3%
2025/26 · Improvement Service
What the council spends collecting bins, per property, each year.
South Lanarkshire
£83
10th highest of 32
Edinburgh
£86
6th 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.
South Lanarkshire
96.4%
12th highest of 32
Edinburgh
96.3%
13th highest of 32
About the same in both
Scotland 95.5%
2024/25 · Improvement Service
What the council spends on each primary pupil in a year.
South Lanarkshire
£7,755
16th highest of 32
Edinburgh
£6,859
31st highest of 32
More is spent on each primary pupil in South LanarkshireSmall gap
Scotland £7,606
2024/25 · Improvement Service
Average days lost to sickness per council worker, not counting teachers.
South Lanarkshire
15.5
11th highest of 32
Edinburgh
16.0
8th highest of 32
Council staff take more sick days in EdinburghSmall gap
Scotland 14.5
2024/25 · Improvement Service
The share of household waste that gets recycled.
South Lanarkshire
40.7%
25th highest of 32
Edinburgh
37.5%
28th highest of 32
More waste is recycled in South LanarkshireSmall gap
Scotland 44.3%
2024/25 · Improvement Service
The share of adults happy with how clean the streets are.
South Lanarkshire
57.3%
19th highest of 32
Edinburgh
62.7%
15th highest of 32
More people are happy with street cleaning in EdinburghSmall gap
Scotland 57.0%
2024/25 · Improvement Service
How many people live there, and how old they are.
Everyone living in the area.
South Lanarkshire
334,330
5th highest of 32
Edinburgh
531,370
2nd highest of 32
More people live in EdinburghClear gap
Scotland 5,545,500
Mid-2025 (30 June 2025) · National Records of Scotland
Half the people here are older than this, half younger.
South Lanarkshire
44.2
years
21st highest of 32
Edinburgh
37.4
years
31st highest of 32
People are older in South 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: South Lanarkshire and Edinburgh.
Rankings