United Kingdom · Scotland · Local Authority
The Scottish Borders
Local Authority · Scotland · population ~115k
Low pay meets high house prices. The Scottish Borders has a mean house price that is 5 times median annual pay, higher than more than half of Scotland’s local authorities, and its advertised rents, while low at £596 a month, still take 19.4% of gross pay. Earnings are particularly weak, at £707.70 a week, placing it among the lowest in Scotland. This authority offers cheaper rents than most of Scotland, but this comes at the expense of career prospects. It suits those prioritising lower housing costs over earning potential, or those who can afford to buy outright.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-08 data.
The signature
How The Scottish Borders ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£36,800/yr
Low
Worse than 77% of UK LAs
House price
£185,829
Most affordable
Better than 87% of UK LAs
Rent
£596/mo
Most affordable
Better than 99% of UK LAs
Council tax
—
no data
Crime
—
no data
Deprivation
—
no data
Schools
—
no data
Colour shows quintile position against 361 UK Local Authorities. Green is the best position for someone moving here; red is the worst. Direction is set per indicator — higher pay, lower rent, less crime, less deprivation are all green.
Schools data
School quality is published by the Education Scotland regulator, which uses a methodology distinct from England's Ofsted. We don't synthesise a Scotland schools list here — for current ratings of schools in The Scottish Borders, see the official Education Scotland.
Places with similar signatures
Nearest by quintile position across pay · housing · tax · crime · IMD · schools
What we don't know yet
Commute times · GP appointment availability · broadband speeds · air quality at LA level · green-space proximity · public transport coverage. These matter for a relocation decision. We'll add them when the source data is reliable nationally and consistent across LA boundaries.