Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, a large center for education, culture, and finance. It’s also a significant tourist destination, a large job market, and an extensive tech hub.
IT salaries
Edinburgh offers the highest IT salaries in the UK after London and Reading, with the average remuneration of tech specialists standing at £53,020 per year (£4,420 per month).
Average IT salaries in Edinburgh depending on the specialization (£, before taxes, per year / per month):
- Software developer: 33,380 / 2,780
- Front-end developer: 28,940 / 2,410
- Full-stack developer: 29,370 / 2,450
- DevOps engineer: 36,660 / 3,055
- Database administrator: 42,390 / 3,530
- Web designer: 18,495 / 1,540
- System administrator: 36,100 / 3,010
- IT project manager: 52,300 / 4,360
- QA engineer: 32,800 / 2,730
- Technical writer: 30,390 / 2,530
- Security analyst: 35,130 / 2,930
Economy
Edinburgh has the strongest economy of any city in the United Kingdom outside London and the highest percentage of professionals in the country with almost one half of the population holding a degree or professional qualification.
Edinburgh is also the UK’s second-largest financial center after London and one of the leading digital tech clusters.
The unemployment rate in Edinburgh is 4.4% — a little higher than the national average of 3.8%.
Important economic sectors in Edinburgh include:
- Finance
- Retail
- Technology and software
- Tourism
There are over 25,000 digital jobs, an estimated 17,140+ people working within digital companies, and more than 360 start-ups in Edinburgh. The popular tech industries are FinTech, software development, and video games.
The largest technology companies present in Edinburgh include:
- Amazon Development Centre Scotland
- FanDuel
- FreeAgent
- Microsoft
- Rockstar North
- Skyscanner
Cost of living
Consumer prices in Edinburgh are 15% lower and rent prices are 50% lower than in London.
The average monthly costs without rent in Edinburgh are £650 for a single person and £2,290 for a four-person family.
The average prices in Edinburgh (GDP):
- Meal at McDonald’s: 4–7
- Meal at another inexpensive restaurant: 9–25
- Average food basket (milk, bread, eggs, cheese, chicken, apples, potatoes, water, beer): 24
- Monthly fee at a fitness club: 20–50
- Monthly pass: 50–60
- Monthly rent (1 bedroom): 500–900
- Monthly rent (3 bedrooms): 900 – 2,000
- Property prices per square meter: 2,200 – 5,000
- Utilities: 90–300 per month
Travel
Edinburgh Airport is Scotland’s busiest and largest airport. It serves many international destinations, such as Amsterdam, Boston, Gdańsk, Hamburg, Istanbul, Kraków, Munich, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Prague, Toronto, Warsaw, Wroclaw, and many others.
Entertainment
Edinburgh is the second most visited city in the UK after London. The Scottish capital is famous for its beautiful architecture, many landmarks, museums, libraries, and art galleries. Historic sites include Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the churches of St. Giles, Greyfriars and the Canongate, and Old Town and New Town, which are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Like many other cities in the UK, Edinburgh also has many nightclubs with dance music events.
Popular events held in the city include the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe, the world’s largest annual international arts festival.