Ciphr is a UK-based HR company focused on HR software and programs focused on medium and large-scale companies. The company's objective is to help other organizations grow and develop their objectives by providing them with data-driven information and insight.
As part of this mission, Ciphr collected data about average salaries, wage growth, employment rate growth, unemployment rates, job listings, and the number of businesses in order to create a comprehensive list of the 100 most populous cities in the UK to determine which cities offer the highest potential for job opportunities and salary earnings
Ciphr took other factors into account as well, including housing costs and general life satisfaction and happiness in order to properly assess the affordability and satisfaction within these cities and towns.
Top 15 UK Cities and Towns for Job Opportunities and Average Salary
- Winchester -￡40,600
- Warrington -￡34,400
- St. Albans -￡47,641
- Chelmsford -￡36,200
- Sevenoaks -￡41,200
- Preston -￡33,100
- Cheltenham -￡35,900
- Guildford -￡40,100
- Aberdeen -￡35,100
- Reading -￡36,800
- Bedford -￡40,600
- Solihull -￡38,900
- Wokingham -￡40,100
- Stafford -￡37,100
- Stratford-Upon-Avon -￡36,700
Best Overall
Taking all of this data into account, the best city for job opportunities in the UK has officially been listed as Winchester, in the county of Hampshire, southwest of London. Winchester stood out among the other cities for its higher-than-average salary, high employment rate, low unemployment, and high number of businesses and jobs.
The average yearly salary for full-time workers in Winchester is just over ￡40,000, which falls 16% higher than the average full-time yearly salary in the UK, which is just under ￡35,000. Winchester also boasts a high employment rate of 81.1% and a low unemployment rate of 2.7%. The city is also one of the less competitive in the UK in terms of general affordability, though housing has proven to be an expensive front for residents, with home prices coming in at three times the average full-time worker's salary.
Standouts in Varying Categories
1. Highest Salary - Though ranked third overall, St. Albans boasted the highest overall median salary, of ￡47,641, which is 36% higher than the UK average. The second highest salaried city in the UK is London, coming in with an average of ￡41,800
For Job Hunters - For those actively searching for a job, Cambridge, Manchester, and Bristol are the places to be. Based on job listing data from LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed, there are more job vacancies in these cities than in any other city included in the study. There were 1,151 open job postings to a working population of 10,000 in Cambridge, 807 in Manchester, and 779 in Bristol. These numbers are staggering compared to the UK average of 243.
Affordability to Buy or Rent - Despite COVID-19 opening the door for remote work, only 8% of UK employees work completely from home, with all other employees either splitting their time between remote and in-person or working entirely in-person. This means that the housing market is still a significant factor when job-hunting.
The best places for renters, according to Ciphr's data, are Hull, Doncaster, and Barnsley, where the average rent takes up about 20% of renters' income. London is the most expensive, with the average rent eating up 47% of income.
The best place for home-buyers is Stockton-on-Tees, where the average home price is ￡146,465, which is a sharp contrast to the average cost of ￡840,600 in Guildford.
Happiest Cities - Based on a survey of personal well-being, residents of Sevenoaks, St. Albans, and Maidstone are the happiest in the UK, with an average score of personal satisfaction of 15.58 out of 20.
St. Albans and Maidstone residents are most satisfied with their lives overall, ranking 7.97 and 7.92 out of 10 on average. Residents of Sevenoaks, Chelmsford, and Preston ranked the happiness, with an average of 7.82 out of 10. The UK average for overall satisfaction is 7.45 and 7.39 for happiness.
Adjusting to Your Needs
Ciphr's incredibly comprehensive list provides data on all facets of the job market, enabling UK job-seekers to determine which city is categorically best suited to their needs and desires when searching for new opportunities. The data is organised in a series of engaging infographics that provide information on every important part of gathered information correlating to the job market in these towns and cities.
