York is the highest performing city in the annual Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index (‘the Index’), with Edinburgh rising to second place and Bristol in third place. These cities scored highly across high streets, skills, and jobs which are key indicators of prosperity that the public increasingly values. York ranked among the top three cities for both high street and jobs.
The Index ranks 50 of the UK’s largest cities, excluding London, based on both the public’s assessment and the actual performance of 12 economic measures. These measures include jobs, health, income, safety and skills, as well as work-life balance, housing, transport, income equality, high street and shops, environment and business startups.
Cities across the South West region continue to perform well with Bristol (3rd), Exeter (4th) and Swindon (5th) all in the top five highest performing cities. All three cities score significantly above the UK average o jobs and high streets, and Swindon and Exeter both performed well in skills.
Scottish cities have performed well this year. Edinburgh secured the second overall position, while Aberdeen was this year’s most improved city, jumping 25 spots to 12th place. Glasgow also showed considerable progress, climbing 13 places to rank 18th, making it the third most improved city of the year. Aberdeen has climbed up the rankings due to significant improvements in jobs and income distribution and Glasgow with stronger performances in skills, safety, and work-life balance.
