A new ranking report from Demos-PwC’s ‘Good Growth for Cities’ Index 2017 has revealed the nation’s second city, Birmingham, to be the fastest improving city in the UK. The report also suggests that the Midlands and northern cities are now catching up with their southern relatives, with Birmingham topping the list as the best city to live and work in. By analysing wellbeing and public regard for career success, the survey placed Leeds second and Leicester third. By comparison, the nation’s capital, London, didn’t even make it into the top ten highest ranking cities.
John Hawksworth, Chief Economist at PwC, said of the study: ‘The UK has been a great job-creating machine in recent years and this has driven improvement in our good growth index this year across all major UK cities. However, there has also been a price to pay for this in terms of worsening housing affordability, increased average commuting times and more people having to work long hours. The cities that are highest ranked on our index also tend to suffer the highest price of success.’
- Birmingham
- Leeds
- Leicester
- Newcastle
- Southampton
- London
- Middlesbrough & Stockton
- Wolverhampton & Walsall
- Liverpool
- Derby
