Professionals working in Edinburgh among richest in UK, finds new study

Edinburgh workers have some of the highest levels of disposable income in the country.

Research produced by one of the country’s largest employment websites, CV-Library, found those living and working in the Capital had the third highest levels of disposable income out of Britain’s major cities, behind only Aberdeen and Hull.

Despite the soaring cost of renting or buying property in Edinburgh, average monthly wages of £2,303,30 meant that professionals in the Capital were left with an average monthly disposable income of £1116.39.

CV-Library drew its data from more than 4.3 million job seekers who use its services each month ranging from those in starter level posts to senior executives. It covers a wide range of professions including banking, IT, tourism and leisure, healthcare, education, law and charities.

The Study

Only staff in Aberdeen (£1,449.95) and Hull (£1,238.58) had a higher monthly disposable income.

The study compared basic living costs – estimated to be £1,186.91 a month in Edinburgh – against average salaries in 18 of the UK’s biggest cities from July 1 to October 30 this year.

Living costs included rent, council tax, a local monthly travel card, basic utility bills and groceries. Rent was based on living in a one-bedroom flat located close to the city centre.

The highest monthly salaries are in Aberdeen, London and Edinburgh. However, those living and working in London were among the poorest in the UK, with an average of just £221.16 in disposable income each month.

Workers in Manchester and Bristol rounded out to be the poorest in terms of surveyed cities.

Lee Biggins, chief executive of CV-Library, said: “Companies are certainly under pressure to offer fair salaries that reflect the cost of living in their location.”

Glasgow ranked fourth highest in terms of disposal income, with workers boasting an average of £1,101.92 – narrowly behind Edinburgh – thanks to significantly lower living costs.

Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow were the Scottish cities included in the research.

Mr Biggins said: “We know that these are uncertain times and it’s interesting to note that pay has gone up in a lot of major cities across the UK. The key driving force behind this is the fact that businesses are struggling to hire right now and are therefore pulling out all the stops in a bid to attract more people to their roles.”