EDINBURGH has been rated the best Scottish city to live in according to an influential report which grades the health of the UK's metropolitan areas.
The capital came out top when rated against criteria including how easy it is to get a job, the levels of pay and the work-life balance enjoyed by its residents.
READ MORE: Marketing chief says Edinburgh's performance is strong
The city was ranked fourth in a league table covering the whole of the UK, the only Scottish entry to do so, and was placed higher than Cambridge, Bristol and London.
Glasgow was placed 29th on the list of 42 areas,which included urban centres in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
The Good Growth for Cities Index was produced by the leading think-tank Demos for accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and is based on the views of the public in their respective areas.
READ MORE: Edinburgh still leads the way as average capital home costs £246,000
Edinburgh was said to be above the national average for jobs, income, work-life balance and the skills of its inhabitants, and scored 'around average' for health, the number of new businesses, home affordability, the level of home ownership, income distribution and the local environment.
The only major blackspot on the city's horizon was the state of its transport links, which was said to be below average despite the millions spent on the tram line.
Mark Hoskyns-Abrahall, PwC Edinburgh office senior partner said: “Edinburgh is holding up well – income, work-life balance and skills are all above the UK average. We have also seen an improvement in the number of new businesses being set up.
“A lot of this will be in technology and especially Fintech-related areas which spells good news not only for tech hubs like CodeBase but also the larger financial services sector because a lot of these startups will seek alliances and partnerships in the coming years.
“The one area we have to be careful of is that the city’s transport performance is seen as below average. Now, while this is a typical feature of growing cities, it demonstrates concerns that the local transport operators and council will need to face, especially looking ahead to tramline expansion.”
READ MORE: Edinburgh still leads the way as average capital home costs £246,000
By comparison, Glasgow was rated above average for jobs, work-life balance, the ratio of house price to earnings and its residents' skills.
The main problems identified in Scotland's largest city were the poor health of many inhabitants and the lack of widespread home ownership.
Kenny Wilson, Glasgow office senior partner, said: “Glasgow scoring above average for jobs and skills is certainly to be welcomed, though we have to make sure the jobs are permanent or at least longer-term positions for the city to truly prosper.
"Many gig economy positions can be very transient and are not of a long-term stable calibre that the city would hope for.
"One area that is slightly disappointing is that more Glaswegians are not seeing opportunities in creating new businesses. Not only do we have a wealth of knowledge coming through the universities, we have a strong mix of age groups and industries."
Aberdeen, ranked 11th and was the only other Scottish city to appear on the list, with the highest ranked areas mostly in the South of England.
Oxford was said to be the highest ranked city in the UK, followed by Reading and Southampton. London was placed 19th.
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