Photo: Eirian Evans · CC BY-SA 2.0How East Lothian stacks up
In East Lothian, town by town, 32% of residents live in one of the most walkable towns in the UK (the top quarter), with just 3% at the other end. Its strongest suits are a growing population and high incomes (£54,000 a household). 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
47th of 90B−48/100 Middle of the table for schools. East Lothian’s school leavers rank 11th lowest of 32 Scottish council areas: 63% have five or more awards at National 5 level. 76% of town residents live in bottom-quarter towns, among them Musselburgh and Tranent.
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. 11 East Lothian towns.
Cost of living
61st of 98C+38/100 Pricier than the typical area. Typical prices are up 16% on five years ago. At £289,300 for a typical home and £54,000 of household income, prices run 5.4 times income, the 30th highest ratio of 98 areas. 48% of town residents live in a top-quarter town; Prestonpans ranks highest, at #729.
The middle home sold for £289,300 over the past year, 24th highest of the areas.
Private rent £1,415 a month (10th highest); Band D council tax £1,698 (22nd 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. 11 East Lothian towns.
Health
43rd of 98B57/100 Slightly better health than average. East Lothian ranks 14th longest for healthy life expectancy, at 60.3 years. Its towns mostly sit mid-table; North Berwick ranks highest, at #556.
Life expectancy at birth: 80.7 years, 8th 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. 11 East Lothian towns.
Jobs & income
14th of 98A87/100 Better off than most areas. At £54,000 a year, household incomes here are the 25th highest of 98 areas. It leads its neighbours on incomes, ahead of Midlothian.
Out-of-work claimants in August 2026: 2.5% of working-age adults (19th lowest), weighed with income 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.
East Lothian 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
10th of 98A91/100 Walkable with few exceptions. About 3 in 10 commuters leave the car at home here (11th highest). Its towns mostly sit mid-table; Musselburgh ranks highest, at #56.
Worked mainly from home at the 2022 Census: 34% 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. 11 East Lothian towns.
Flood risk
57th of 87C+35/100 A bit more flood risk than most. Town by town it lands near the middle, with Gullane its best at #17 of 2,452. 4.7% of homes in its towns are at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, against 2.0% across Scotland (4th highest).
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. 11 East Lothian towns.
Growth
10th of 98A91/100 Among the fastest-growing areas. The population grew 15.3% between 2011 and 2024, to 115,180, against 4.6% across Scotland (10th fastest).
From 2021 to 2024 alone, +3.4% (34th fastest).
Source: National Records of Scotland mid-year population estimates, 2011 and 2024.
East Lothian 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 East Lothian compares to its neighbours
Against City of Edinburgh, Midlothian and Scottish Borders, East Lothian leads on jobs and income.
| East Lothian | City of Edinburgh | Midlothian | Scottish Borders | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | No overall grade | No overall grade | No overall grade | No overall grade |
| Safety | Not graded | Not graded | Not graded | Not graded |
| Schools | B− 4822nd official · 12% in top towns | B+ 7310th official | C− 2219th official · 0% in top towns | B 6315th official · 20% in top towns |
| Cost of living | C+ 3869th official · 48% in top towns | C 2869th official | D 1377th official · 0% in top towns | A− 7832nd official · 100% in top towns |
| Health | B 5714th official · 15% in top towns | A− 778th official | C 3413th official · 0% in top towns | B+ 709th official · 15% in top towns |
| Jobs & income | A 8725th official | B+ 7030th official | B+ 7137th official | C+ 4373rd official |
| Getting about | A 9111th official · 32% in top towns | A+ 992nd official | B 6316th official · 0% in top towns | B− 4643rd official · 0% in top towns |
| Flood risk | C+ 3529th official · 31% in top towns | B+ 6913th official | A+ 992nd official · 100% in top towns | C− 2132nd official · 22% in top towns |
| Growth | A 9110th official | A 8520th official | A+ 992nd official | C 3072nd 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.