Photo: Glitterandtrauma · CC BY 2.0How Aberdeenshire stacks up
On health, Aberdeenshire is a council area of two halves: 51% of town residents live in top-quarter towns such as Blackburn and Kintore, and 25% in bottom-quarter ones such as Peterhead and Fraserburgh. Its strongest suits are well-off households and strong schools. It has no overall grade yet: Police Scotland publishes no street-level crime we can reuse, so there is no Safety grade to weigh.
Each subject puts the official figure for the whole council area beside a measure built from our town grades. How this works
Safety
Not gradedNot graded yet: no street-level crime for Scotland. Police Scotland publishes no street-level crime that we can reuse, so Scottish council areas, like Scottish towns, have no Safety grade yet, and without one no overall grade. The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, due at the end of 2026, should bring newer crime figures by small area; we plan to grade Scottish safety on them.
Schools
22nd of 90A−76/100 Strong schools overall, with a sharp divide. 27% of town residents live in top-quarter towns like Blackburn and Westhill, and 29% in bottom-quarter places such as Peterhead and Fraserburgh. Among Scotland’s council areas it ranks 12th highest for school leavers’ results: 67% leave with five or more National 5 awards or better. Among its neighbours it does best on schools, with Perth and Kinross second.
Source: Scottish Government school leaver attainment, 2022/23 to 2024/25: leavers with five or more awards at SCQF level 5 (National 5) or better, every state secondary in the council area. Ranked among Scotland’s council areas.
Measure: our Schools grade: primary and secondary results of the schools in and around each town. The top quarter is the best-placed towns holding a quarter of the people in the UK’s 2,331 graded towns. 23 Aberdeenshire towns.
Cost of living
18th of 98A−82/100 Affordable with few exceptions. No area puts more of its town residents in the most affordable quarter of towns (100%). Registers of Scotland sales put the typical home at £208,900, or 4.0 years of average household income, against 4.4 across Scotland. Its best town is Peterhead, #51 of 2,515, and 100% of town residents live in top-quarter towns.
Typical sale price: £208,900 (4,416 sales, 39th lowest).
Private rent £845 a month (35th lowest); Band D council tax £1,686 (18th lowest), before water and sewerage charges. Shown for context.
Source: Registers of Scotland sales September 2025 to August 2026 (median estimated from monthly figures); household income estimated from ONS household income (GDHI) per head and household size; private rents for the wider Scottish broad rental area; council Band D 2026/27.
Measure: our Cost of living grade: prices and rents against local income, plus council tax. The top quarter is the best-placed towns holding a quarter of the people in the UK’s 2,515 graded towns. 23 Aberdeenshire towns.
Health
10th of 98A91/100 Healthy overall, unusually split. From Blackburn to Peterhead, its towns sit at both ends of the ranking. Healthy life expectancy at birth is 64.4 years (men and women averaged), 5.2 years more than the figure for Scotland. It leads its neighbours on health, ahead of Perth and Kinross.
Total life expectancy is 81.2 years (4th longest).
Source: National Records of Scotland healthy life expectancy and life expectancy by council area, 2022 to 2024, men and women averaged. A survey-based figure, so ranked among Scotland’s council areas only.
Measure: our Health grade: ONS life and healthy life expectancy, Census health, and OHID indicators in England. The top quarter is the best-placed towns holding a quarter of the people in the UK’s 2,515 graded towns. 23 Aberdeenshire towns.
Jobs & income
11th of 98A90/100 High incomes, few out of work. Its claimant rate, 2.1%, ranks 8th lowest, while household income ranks 31st highest. Households take in £52,200 a year on average before tax, against £45,600 across Scotland (31st highest of 98 areas). Among its neighbours it does best on incomes, with Perth and Kinross second.
Claimant rate: 2.1% of 16 to 64-year-olds claim out-of-work benefits (August 2026), 8th lowest. Counted half in the grade.
Source: Household income estimated from ONS household income (GDHI) per head, 2022, and household size (Scotland has no small-area income figures); DWP claimant count (August 2026) by council.
Aberdeenshire has no graded towns of 2,500 or more with this measure, too few to compare town by town (we need 5); its grade rests on the official figure.
Getting about
62nd of 98C+37/100 Most journeys need a car. 62% of town residents live in bottom-quarter towns, among them Inverurie and Westhill. About 1 in 10 commuters leave the car at home here (13th lowest).
Worked mainly from home at the 2022 Census: 28% of workers (context; they are left out of the commuting share).
Source: Scotland’s Census 2022, method of travel to work by council area; people working mainly from home left out.
Measure: our Walkability grade: how many everyday places are within reach on foot. The top quarter is the best-placed towns holding a quarter of the people in the UK’s 2,515 graded towns. 23 Aberdeenshire towns.
Flood risk
27th of 87B+70/100 Fairly sheltered from flooding. 50% of town residents live in a top-quarter town; Laurencekirk ranks highest, at #20. Aberdeenshire ranks 13th highest of 32 Scottish council areas for flood risk: 2.1% of town homes are in harm’s way.
Source: SEPA flood maps (rivers and the sea, high and medium likelihood), homes in every town of the council area. SEPA’s bands differ from England’s, so ranked among Scotland’s council areas.
Measure: our Hazard risk grade: the share of homes at high or medium flood risk. The top quarter is the best-placed towns holding a quarter of the people in the UK’s 2,452 graded towns. 23 Aberdeenshire towns.
Growth
61st of 98C+38/100 Growing a little slower than average. NRS estimates put 265,110 people here in 2024, +4.5% on 2011 (36th slowest).
Since the 2021 Census: +0.7%, 25th slowest.
Source: National Records of Scotland mid-year population estimates, 2011 and 2024.
Aberdeenshire has no graded towns of 2,500 or more with this measure, too few to compare town by town (we need 5); its grade rests on the official figure.
How Aberdeenshire compares to its neighbours
Against Aberdeen City, Moray, Angus, Perth and Kinross and Highland, Aberdeenshire leads on schools, health and jobs and income.
| Aberdeenshire | Aberdeen City | Moray | Angus | Perth and Kinross | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | No overall grade | No overall grade | No overall grade | No overall grade | No overall grade |
| Safety | Not graded | Not graded | Not graded | Not graded | Not graded |
| Schools | A− 7612th official · 27% in top towns | B− 4913th official · 3% in top towns | D 1324th official · 0% in top towns | C 3127th official · 11% in top towns | B+ 7011th official · 18% in top towns |
| Cost of living | A− 8222nd official · 100% in top towns | A 893rd official · 93% in top towns | A− 7636th official · 100% in top towns | A− 7733rd official · 100% in top towns | B+ 6944th official · 100% in top towns |
| Health | A 915th official · 51% in top towns | C+ 3520th official · 7% in top towns | C+ 3811th official · 0% in top towns | B 5910th official · 11% in top towns | A− 764th official · 17% in top towns |
| Jobs & income | A 9031st official | D− 488th official | B− 5176th official | C− 1882nd official | B+ 6852nd official |
| Getting about | C+ 3786th official · 3% in top towns | A+ 966th official · 88% in top towns | C+ 3853rd official · 0% in top towns | C 2863rd official · 0% in top towns | B+ 7130th official · 3% in top towns |
| Flood risk | B+ 7020th official · 50% in top towns | D 1225th official · 7% in top towns | A 867th official · 71% in top towns | C− 2219th official · 7% in top towns | B 5610th official · 18% in top towns |
| Growth | C+ 3863rd official | C 3467th official | C− 1983rd official | D 890th official | B− 4660th official |
Each cell: the subject’s grade and score, the county’s rank on the official figure (1st = the better end), and the share of its town residents living in a top-quarter town for the UK. Neighbour names open their report cards.
How this report card works
Two measures, side by side. The left card is an official figure for the whole county, its towns, villages and countryside together, built from the small areas and councils that make it up and ranked against the other counties. The right card is built from our town grades: of everyone living in the county’s graded towns of 2,500 or more, the share whose town is in the top quarter for the UK. Quarters are of people, not towns: the top quarter is the best-placed towns that together hold a quarter of everyone living in graded towns, so a county of big cities is not marked down just for being urban. A county can do well on one measure and not the other; that difference is often the story.
Scores and grades. Each subject’s score (0–100) is the area’s standing in one UK league of 98: the ceremonial counties of England (London counts as one), Wales’s eight preserved counties, and Scotland’s 32 and Northern Ireland’s 11 council areas, each called by its own name. The two measures’ percentiles are averaged, then ranked again, the same method as our town grades. Where a nation publishes its own kind of figure, the official figure is ranked within that nation: school results everywhere, health in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and flood risk in Scotland. Each area’s figures are set beside its own nation’s. 100 is the best county, 0 the last. Letters use the town-grade scale (A+ from 95, A from 85, A− from 75 … D below 15). The overall score weighs safety 18, cost of living 18, schools 16, health 14, jobs & income 12, getting about 8, growth 8, flood risk 6 (out of 100), over the subjects a county has. Counties with fewer than 5 graded towns (Rutland, Bristol) are graded on the official figures alone.
What it is not. A county figure averages everyone, so it cannot show whether a county is evenly good or a mix of very good and struggling places. The town measure shows the mix but leaves out villages and towns under 2,500. Neither says anything about any one street.
Gaps. Wales publishes no school results that compare with England’s, so Welsh counties have no Schools grade. Greater Manchester Police publishes no street-level crime, so Greater Manchester has no Safety grade and, as for its towns, no overall grade. Nor does Police Scotland, so Scotland’s council areas have no Safety grade or overall grade yet. Scotland and Northern Ireland have no small-area income figures, so their household income is estimated from ONS household income per head. Flood risk has no county-wide official figure; it is the share of homes in the county’s towns at high or medium risk. Sources are named under each figure. How grades work
Sources: TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.