Scottish city ranks as the most affordable place to live and work
The study, by HR and payroll software provider Ciphr, ranked 100 towns and cities against key criterias including; relocating, HR manager’s average earnings, the number of medium and large employers and housing affordability.
Aberdeen rates as the top place for HR managers to live and work- thanks to its high average HR manager salary of £50,450 (data compiled from Indeed, Glassdoor, and Adzuna) and high business density per capita. The number of Aberdeen businesses with over 50 employees is 17.2 per 10,000 working-age adults – above the UK average of 12.4 per 10,000. The Scottish city is one of the UK’s most economical places to live with average rental properties costing £786 a month and average properties selling for £187,543.
In comparison, a typical UK home costs £287,506, 6.5 times the average annual HR manager salary of £44,050. HR managers who rent, expect to spend a quarter of their wages on housing – around £923 per month.
After Aberdeen, Northampton and London scored highly for HR professionals to work, followed by Huddersfield, Slough with Warwick, in joint fourth place, and Manchester, Bournemouth, Stockton-on-Tees, and Reading also made the top 10.
Chichester enjoys the highest average HR manager salary of £51,800 compared to the average full-time salary of £30,298 (according to the Office of National Statistics’ latest ’employee earnings by workplace’ figures). While the pay is high, all the top 10 highest paying towns and cities (except Aberdeen) are among some of the least economical places to rent or buy in the UK (comparative to average HR manager salaries).
Besides salary, job hunters are influenced by;
- Work-life balance
- Remote and flexible working hours
- Good employee benefits and rewards
- Job security and job satisfaction
- Learning and development opportunities.
Across the UK, HR managers need to spend over 6.5 times their annual earnings to buy a property in their town – in London they need 14.5 times their income. The least affordable location is; Sevenoaks in Kent, closely followed by Bath, St Albans, and Winchester. The most affordable housing is in Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, and Blackpool.
Top 10 UK towns and cities with the highest density of businesses (over 50 employees) are:
Winchester (19.1 per 10,000 working-age adults) at the top and Northampton / West Northamptonshire (16.3) in 10th place. For more information, please visit www.ciphr.com.
