20 best towns and cities to work in the UK

Gone are the days when everyone thought that in order to get a good job and make a success of yourself would require you moving to London. Job research website Glassdoor recently put together a handy list of the best towns and cities in the UK to work in, measuring how easy it is to get a job there, how affordable it is to live there by comparing salaries to house prices and how satisfied employees are working there, with ratings based on a 5-point scale: 5.0=very satisfied, 1.0=very dissatisfied. Surprise surprise, our wonderful capital city didn’t even make it onto the list, but here are the 20 that did.

20. Derby
Home to the likes of Rolls-Royce and Toyota Manufacturing headquarters, Derby just about made it into the top 20 with a job satisfaction rating of 3.0. Glassdoor found that there were 716 job openings in the area and a fairly small population of 255,394 – meaning the competition for jobs wouldn’t be too tough.

19. Birmingham
Despite Birmingham being the UK’s second city, it only sits at number 19 on the list. Birmingham has an impressive population of 1,085,810 and there is no wonder why seeing as the average home price is £177,941. There is over 3400 jobs to choose from in the city too.

18. Liverpool
If you can deal with Liverpool’s intense love of The Beatles, you might want to consider moving here. With the happiness of scousers every day and the city’s love for football, you can shrug off the average salary only being £26,000. Home prices are around £159,000 and workers there rate their job satisfaction as 3.2.

17. Oxford
Oxford may revolve around its prestigious university, but that doesn’t mean there are no jobs for the graduates. Glassdoor found 1362 job openings in the area with a population of 159,994. However, although the average salary is pretty good at £32,000, house prices tend to be a whopping £502, 452.

16. Edinburgh
Financial services are one of the biggest industries in the Scottish capital so if that is your calling in life, you’ll be happy to know that average salary there is £30,000. The medieval city has a population of 459,366 and over 2,800 job openings, making it an ideal place to head to for work.

15. Glasgow
We’re back in Scotland again and is it any wonder? Glasgow has an average home value of £168,797, almost £100,000 less than Edinburgh. However, the population of Glasgow is much bigger and an average salary is around £26,000, so swings and roundabouts.

14. Bristol
At number 14 on the list is the cool South West city of Bristol. Bristolians are the happiest on the list so far, with the average job satisfaction rating being 3.5. The average salary of £32,000 isn’t too shabby either and with over 2,900 jobs currently available, it could be worth booking a one-way ticket there right now.

13. Warrington
Sandwiched between Liverpool and Manchester sits the town of Warrington. Although there are only 801 jobs currently available in the area, the average house price is only £201,077, which isn’t that bad bearing in mind it is actually in Cheshire. An average salary of £30,000 will let you slowly keep up with the real housewives too.

12. Aberdeen
Aberdeen has an impressive oil and gas industry, so it is no surprise that the Scottish city has ended up on the list. Jobs are so popular there that there are currently only 400 openings but workers are happy with a 3.2 job satisfaction rating. The reason for their happiness? Most definitely the fact that the average salary of £43,000 – wow.

11. Manchester
With its rich heritage and now cool media industry, Manchester is becoming the place to be with just missing out in the top 10. The average salary is a fair £28,000 and house value is only £166,951, so you would have more than enough to enjoy yourself in the cities bars and football stadiums.

10. Swindon
Kicking off the top 10 is the large town of Swindon in Wiltshire. The towns average salary is an impressive £35,525 and the job satisfaction rating is a pleasant 3.2. However, the average house value is £235,507, so slightly more expensive than the likes of Derby and Warrington.

9. Northampton
There are currently over 800 job openings in the East Midlands town and with a relatively small population of 215,173, you wouldn’t struggle to find a good job with an average salary of £35,000. Looks like people are pretty happy in Northampton too, giving their job a 3.5 in satisfaction ratings.

8. Bradford
Historically known for its textile manufacturing, Bradford sits comfortably at number eight on the list, with a good average salary of £28,350. You would have plenty of pocket money left to enjoy the views of Yorkshire too, seeing as the average home price is a steal at £124,766. However, there are only 495 job openings, so you might want to act quick.

7. Reading
We think the question here is, why aren’t we living in Reading already?! Glassdoor found that workers rated their job satisfaction a big 3.4, the average salary is a huge £43,000 and there are currently over 2,000 jobs available to choose from! We’ll see you there.

6. Coventry
The West Midlands city main industry is cars and machinery, so if that is your cup of tea, you’ll fit right in with a very good salary of £35,000 and over 1,200 jobs available. The population of Coventry is 325,949, meaning you’ll never feel alone but you also won’t have all the hustle of bustle of a manic city centre.

5. Peterborough
With a relatively small population of 161,707, Peterborough in the county of Cambridgeshire, currently has over 900 job openings in the area. However, with the average salary being £34,755 and house prices being around the affordable £210,000 mark, we’re sure the population will soon increase.

4. Leeds
Those Yorkshire folk won’t be surprised that Leeds sits at number four in the list seeing as it boasts a 3.2 job satisfaction rating alongside an average £30,000 salary and even better, only £195,370 for a house. Looks like Leeds is a very affordable city to live and work in!

3. Nottingham
The people of Nottingham are a happy bunch aren’t they! They rated their job an impressive 4.0 out of 5, being the highest rating in the top 20. The average salary in the East Midlands city is a comfortable £27,814 and seeing as there are over 2,600 current job openings there, it is time to pack our bags.

2. Milton Keynes
The relatively new large town in Buckinghamshire comes in at number two in the list. Milton Keynes, which is made up of 99.4% SMEs, has an average salary of £36,000 and a relatively small population of 171,750. However, house prices are on average around £292,692 due to its close proximity to London.

1. Cambridge
The prestigious city of Cambridge sits proudly at number one with its high levels of tourism and even higher average house prices of £436, 932. However, those prices are worth it if you get to punt to work every day where you will earn an aspirational £35,000. Convinced to move there now? There are over 2,000 job openings currently waiting for you to apply.