As of September 2024, 13% of workers in Great Britain worked exclusively from home, while 23% adopted a hybrid approach1. Employees in the UK have said that amongst several factors, lack of commute and savings on costs are some the main benefits of working from home2, but what if the city you lived in catered to all your needs as an employee?
Adobe Express have delved into all the aspects of working life to reveal the best cities for employees in the UK.
To generate the employee-friendly cities list, Adobe Express compared 30 UK cities, looking into factors including but not limited to; average annual salary, the price of a cappuccino, the cost of public transport and access to green space.
These are the UK’s top employee-friendly cities:
| Rank | City | Salary (£) | Unemployment (%) | Green Space (%) | Public Transport Ticket (£) | Coffee (£) | Total Score |
| 1 | Swindon | 35,605 | 2.4 | 27.15 | 2.40 | 2.98 | 6.541 |
| 2 | Milton Keynes | 39,623 | 3.6 | 31.11 | 2.90 | 3.25 | 6.309 |
| 3 | Stoke-on-Trent | 30,657 | 4 | 46.09 | 2.10 | 2.97 | 6.234 |
| 4 | Reading | 40,570 | 3.7 | 42.04 | 2.20 | 3.52 | 6.151 |
| 5 | Plymouth | 33,004 | 3.7 | 24.53 | 2.30 | 3.33 | 6.089 |
| 6 | Sheffield | 32,603 | 3.9 | 33.98 | 2 | 3.56 | 6.048 |
| 7 | Leeds | 34,354 | 4.1 | 41.9 | 2 | 3.29 | 5.996 |
| 8 | Peterborough | 33,425 | 5 | 32.71 | 2 | 2.83 | 5.991 |
| 9 | Kingston upon Hull | 30,966 | 2.9 | 18.71 | 2 | 2.87 | 5.958 |
| 10 | Brighton and Hove | 34,876 | 4.4 | 27.27 | 2.10 | 3.32 | 5.791 |
Swindon ranks as the UK’s most employee friendly city
Swindon comes out on top when it comes to employee havens scoring 6.541 overall, so it’s no surprise that Swindon’s employment rate was higher than across the South West as a whole in the year ending December 20233 and has one of the best scores for unemployment in Adobe’s rankings.
The Swindon and Wiltshire area has an above average number of large companies, including brands like BMW, Ministry of Defence and Nationwide Building Society. Swindon also ranks seventh in Britain when it comes to the rate of productivity per worker4.
Milton Keynes is one of the best employee friendly cities
In close second, Milton Keynes ranks as one of the best employee friendly cities in the UK, scoring highly for average annual salary.
According to Milton Keynes council, Milton Keynes has one of the highest rates of private sector opportunities5.
The private sector brings variety in businesses and competition between companies means that businesses will offer different set ups, and benefits to attract more workers – making it an ideal place for an employee to build a career.
Stoke-on-Tent takes third in employee friendly city rankings
Scoring highly for percentage of green space areas, Stoke-on-Trent ranks third overall with a score of 6.234.
Known as “The Potteries,” Stoke-on-Trent has a rich cultural history, particularly in the ceramics industry, which still plays a significant role in the local economy. For employees interested in heritage and arts, there are many museums, galleries, and events celebrating this legacy.
Stoke-on-Trent is centrally located in the UK with excellent transport links, including a direct rail link to major cities like Birmingham, Manchester, and London. This makes commuting and business travel convenient for employees working in or out of the city.
For further information, data and expert insights, visit: https://www.adobe.com/uk/express/learn/blog/most-employee-friendly-uk-cities
Methodology
This dataset ranks the 30 most populated UK cities, based on how good they are for employees. To do this, 11 different factors were used. Once the data for the factors was collected, the factors were then normalised, to provide each factor with a score between 0 and 1. If data was not available, a score of 0 was given. The normalised values were then summed, to give each city a total score out of 12. The cities were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on their total scores.
The factors used are as follows:
Search Volume – The total number of searches within the UK between Sep 23 – Aug 24, for the prompt “jobs in X”, where X is the city.
Annual Salary – The average annual gross salary in each city as of 2023, according to the ONS. [Weighted 2x]
Unemployment – The percentage of unemployment in each city as of Jul 24, of those aged 16 and over, according to the ONS. [Weighted 2x]
Safety Score – A score representing the safety levels in each city, according to numbeo.
Inexpensive Meal – The average price of an inexpensive meal in each city, according to numbeo.
Cappuccino – The average price of a cappuccino in each city, according to numbeo.
Public Transport Ticket – The average price of a one-way public transport ticket, according to numbeo.
Internet – The average price of internet in each city, having speeds of 60mbps+, according to numbeo.
Green Space – The percentage of land in each city which is dedicated to green space, such as parks, gardens etc. [Weighted 0.5x]
Noise Pollution – A score rating noise & light pollution levels in each city, based on numbeo survey responses with a lower score indicating lower pollution. [Weighted 0.5x]
Creative Jobs – The number of jobs in each city that include “creative” in the job title, according to adzuna.
The factors that were indexed are as follows:
Search Volume – High values get a high score. Low values get a low score.
Annual Salary – High values get a high score. Low values get a low score.
Unemployment – Low values get a high score. High values get a low score.
Safety Score – High values get a high score. Low values get a low score.
Inexpensive Meal – Low values get a high score. High values get a low score.
Cappuccino – Low values get a high score. High values get a low score.
Public Transport Ticket – Low values get a high score. High values get a low score.
Internet – Low values get a high score. High values get a low score.
Green Space – High values get a high score. Low values get a low score.
Noise Pollution – Low values get a high score. High values get a low score.
Creative Jobs – High values get a high score. Low values get a low score.
All data is correct as of 24/09/24. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representitive of real life. All data is accurate with regards to the sources provided.
References
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1207746/coronavirus-working-location-trends-britain/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1111396/benefits-of-working-remote-2020/
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/labourmarketlocal/E06000030/
- https://www.swindon.gov.uk/info/20017/business_and_investment/891/swindons_economy
- Data taken from Milton Keynes Statistical Profile 2022/23: https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/file/6376/download?token=ifXtMnv3#:~:text=Milton%20Keynes%20has%20been%20growing,than%20national%20and%20regional%20averages.&text=Milton%20Keynes’%20economy%20has%20also,people%20employed%20in%20the%20city.
