Photo: david cameron photographer · CC BY-SA 2.0How Renfrewshire stacks up
In Renfrewshire, town by town, 91% of residents live in one of the most affordable towns in the UK (the top quarter), with almost none at the other end. Alongside school-leaver results that rank 8th of 32 Scottish council areas, it has lower incomes (£41,700 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
24th of 90B+74/100 Strong results in the classroom. 71% of school leavers have five or more awards at National 5 level or better, against 67% across Scotland (8th highest of 32 Scottish council areas). Bishopton leads its towns at #182 of 2,331; 14% of town residents live in top-quarter towns.
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 Renfrewshire towns.
Cost of living
28th of 98B+72/100 Consistently affordable. Almost no one here lives in a bottom-quarter town; Johnstone and Linwood are typical. Homes cost 4.0 times what the average household takes in a year, 10% below the figure for Scotland: a typical sale of £166,600 against income of £41,700. Typical prices are up 25% on five years ago.
Typical sale price: £166,600 (3,966 sales, 11th lowest).
Private rent £800 a month (25th lowest); Band D council tax £1,691 (20th 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 Renfrewshire towns.
Health
62nd of 98C+37/100 Slightly worse health than average. Healthy life expectancy at birth is 56.5 years (men and women averaged), 2.7 years fewer than the figure for Scotland. Paisley and Renfrew weigh on the town measure; 76% of town residents live in bottom-quarter places.
Total life expectancy is 78.7 years (11th shortest).
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 Renfrewshire towns.
Jobs & income
76th of 98C−23/100 Money is tighter here. Its claimant rate, 3.0%, ranks 43rd lowest, while household income ranks 6th lowest. Households take in £41,700 a year on average before tax, against £45,600 across Scotland (6th lowest of 98 areas).
Out-of-work claimants in August 2026: 3.0% of working-age adults (43rd 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.
Renfrewshire 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
45th of 98B55/100 A bit less car-bound than most. Even its best town, Paisley, ranks #314 of 2,515. Renfrewshire ranks 33rd highest for getting to work without a car: 21% of commuters walk, cycle or ride.
Worked mainly from home at the 2022 Census: 31% 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 Renfrewshire towns.
Flood risk
50th of 87C+43/100 Somewhat more flood-prone than average. SEPA puts 2,423 homes in its towns at high or medium flood risk, 2.9% of them. 66% of town residents live in bottom-quarter towns, among them Paisley and Renfrew.
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 Renfrewshire towns.
Growth
37th of 98B63/100 Steady growth. NRS estimates put 188,610 people here in 2024, +8.0% on 2011 (41st fastest).
Since the 2021 Census: +3.4%, 34th fastest.
Source: National Records of Scotland mid-year population estimates, 2011 and 2024.
Renfrewshire 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 Renfrewshire compares to its neighbours
Against Glasgow City, Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire lands in the middle on every subject.
| Renfrewshire | Glasgow City | Inverclyde | East Renfrewshire | North Ayrshire | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | B+ 748th official · 14% in top towns | C− 1925th official | C 2815th official · 0% in top towns | A+ 991st official · 81% in top towns | C+ 4421st official · 9% in top towns |
| Cost of living | B+ 7221st official · 91% in top towns | B 5645th official | A 861st official · 90% in top towns | B− 4865th official · 82% in top towns | A 9410th official · 100% in top towns |
| Health | C+ 3724th official · 14% in top towns | C− 2025th official | C− 2328th official · 10% in top towns | A+ 953rd official · 67% in top towns | D− 330th official · 0% in top towns |
| Jobs & income | C− 2393rd official | D− 095th official | D 594th official | A+ 9712th official | D− 197th official |
| Getting about | B 5533rd official · 0% in top towns | A+ 983rd official | B 5728th official · 0% in top towns | C 3458th official · 0% in top towns | C+ 4050th official · 0% in top towns |
| Flood risk | C+ 4322nd official · 25% in top towns | A− 799th official | C− 2317th official · 5% in top towns | B+ 6711th official · 23% in top towns | C+ 4424th official · 27% in top towns |
| Growth | B 6341st official | B+ 7132nd official | D− 395th official | B+ 6835th official | D− 395th 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.