# Bristol vs Edinburgh

> On balanced weights, Bristol and Edinburgh are too close to call: 52 and 52 out of 100. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/bristol-gb-vs-edinburgh-gb/

Scores out of 100: Bristol 52, Edinburgh 52. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=bristol-gb,edinburgh-gb

## Line by line

| Line | Bristol | Edinburgh |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €3,950 take-home a month | €3,795 take-home a month |
| Cost of living | €3,239 a month (Price Index of Private Rents; World Development Indicators) | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 17 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 6 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 7 h 50 min | 6 h 57 min |
| Sunshine | 1,653 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) | 1,312 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) |
| Dry days | 162 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 167 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 8.3 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 4.8 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 1.1 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 1.1 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 81.4 years (World Development Indicators) | 81.4 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €64 a month (World Development Indicators) | €64 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 12 weeks (mother 12, father 0) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 12 weeks (mother 12, father 0) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.45 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | 7.45 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 60 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 68 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 12 km (OurAirports airports) | 11 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | 12 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 31 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Rail and metro stations | 24 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 13 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | no data | no data |
| Cycle network | 1.17 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 1.16 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 96 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 99 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | 28.3 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 23.0 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Quick way out by bike | 2.2 km, about 9 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 5.3 km, about 21 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 9 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 2 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 300 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 112 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 17.9 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 25.6 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 55 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 52 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 98 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 98 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | 15.9 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 20.9 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Doctors | 3.3 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 3.3 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 4.7 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 4.7 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 59.1 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 63.2 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Developers around | 15.9 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 20.2 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 1.53 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 1.53 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | centre, 5.6 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) | centre, 5.6 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) |
| Abortion law | also on social or economic grounds; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | also on social or economic grounds; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 5 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 19 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 9 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 4 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 7 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 10 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 6 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 273 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 238 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 174 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 183 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 5 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 15 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 28 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Bristol and in Edinburgh?

About £39,727 a year in Bristol (United Kingdom 2026 tax rules) and £38,171 in Edinburgh (United Kingdom 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Bristol or Edinburgh?

Bristol is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 14.3 °C against 12.6 °C in Edinburgh (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Bristol or Edinburgh?

Edinburgh has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 4.8 µg/m³ against 8.3 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2021 and 2021).

## Cite

Borgo, "Bristol vs Edinburgh", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/bristol-gb-vs-edinburgh-gb/, figures as of 2026-11-05.