City

Edinburgh area guide

Who lives in Edinburgh, how they live, and how it compares on crime, schools and transport.

Council: City of Edinburgh
Region: Scotland
Population: 507,814 (2024)

EdinburghCity

At a glance

What Edinburgh is like

Edinburgh is a city in City of Edinburgh in Scotland. It is home to about 507,814 people across 229,072 households. 58.1% of households own their home, 23.6% rent privately and 15.9% are in social housing. The largest age group is 20–24, and 55.8% of adults are in work. On deprivation, it sits near the middle of the scale for Scotland.

Scores

How Edinburgh compares

Headline figures for Edinburgh, set against Scotland as a whole.

AffluenceMore

6.9/ 10

Around the middle. Scored from 1 (most deprived in Scotland) to 10 (least deprived).

CrimeMore

74per 1,000

Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in City of Edinburgh a year, against 57 across Scotland.

TransportMore

8.0/ 10

Excellent: 5 stations within a mile, 77 bus stops within 800m.

SchoolsMore

116

116 schools in Edinburgh. None has a published inspection grade.

What stands out

Worth knowing before you invest

Where Edinburgh differs most from the national average.

01
A big private rental marketPositive
23.6% of households rent privately, against 12.9% across Scotland. Tenant demand is established here.
02
A student area
15.7% of adults are full-time students, against 8.8% across Scotland. Expect HMO demand and term-time turnover.
03
A young populationPositive
27.3% of residents are aged 20 to 34 (the peak renting age), against 19% across Scotland.
04
Well connectedPositive
5 stations within a mile and 77 bus stops within a ten-minute walk.

Questions

Edinburgh FAQs

Is Edinburgh a good place to live?

Deprivation, crime, schools and transport at a glance.

It scores 6.9 out of 10 on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020, where 10 is the least deprived in Scotland. Transport connectivity scores 8.0 out of 10 (excellent).

Is Edinburgh safe?

How recorded crime here compares with the national average.

Police Scotland publishes crime by council area only. City of Edinburgh recorded 74 crimes per 1,000 residents in 2025-26, against 57 across Scotland.

Who lives in Edinburgh?

Age, home ownership and housing from the census.

The largest age group is 20–24, at 10% of residents. 58.1% of households own their home. The most common property type is purpose-built flat (61.8%).

Which council covers Edinburgh?

The local authority for Edinburgh is City of Edinburgh.

Edinburgh comes under City of Edinburgh in Scotland. Council tax, planning applications and bin collections are handled there.

How well connected is Edinburgh?

Connectivity scores 8.0 out of 10.

There are 77 bus stops within 800m and 5 stations and tram stops within a mile, scoring 8.0 out of 10 (excellent). The nearest station is Haymarket Rail Station, 0.3 miles away.

Sources: Scotland's Census 2022 (NRS); ONS mid-year population estimates; police recorded crime; the English, Welsh and Scottish indices of deprivation; ONS small area income estimates; ONS private rents; DfE, Welsh and Scottish school registers and Ofsted; DfT NaPTAN; ORR estimates of station usage. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right.

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