Plymouth and Bristol have been ranked as Britain’s top performing cities in an influential index based on a number of measures from life expectancy to new business start-up rates.
The annual Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index aims to rank the 海角视频’s 51 largest cities, plus the London boroughs.
Plymouth rose from sixth to first in the table thanks to high scores on work-life balance, income distribution and jobs. Bristol – which rose two places to second on the Index – performs well on jobs and work-life balance, as well as skills.
Swindon was fourth in the table, while Exeter was sixth, with South West places consistently scoring above the 海角视频 average for health and safety and skills. But the region’s towns and cities scored less well on new businesses and house price-to-earnings ratios relative to the rest of the 海角视频.
The index's 11 measures also include house prices to earnings, commuting times and store open and closures rates.
The report said public administration and defence was one of the highest-growth sectors in 2024, growing by 2.2%. Both Plymouth and Bristol are world-leading defence hubs.
It says that in 2025, cities home to high growth sectors such as transportation and storage, public sector and defence, and construction are set to perform well. And it warned that Plymouth, Bristol and Swindon “are forecasted to have relatively average economic outlooks for 2024” as other places that have performed poorly this year start to bounce back.
John-Paul Barker, regional market lead for PwC in the West of England & Wales, said: “It’s great to see that South West cities continue to perform strongly in the Index; it chimes with the conversations we have with stakeholders and reflects what we see in the vibrant communities that we work in. The Index is a useful tool in that it shows the relative strengths of cities across the South West, and charts them against the priorities of people who live here.
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“It also points out clear areas for action, which, across the South West, are the high prices of housing relative to earnings, and the rate at which new businesses are started. Although these – and especially a lack of housing – are national issues, local leaders will be best-placed to find local solutions to deliver the priorities of central government.”
Across the 海角视频, the PwC research showed the public was increasingly focused on issues around financial wellbeing, including income, jobs, and housing. That meant places that had previously performed strongly, including Oxford and Milton Keynes, saw significant declines as they performed less well in areas including income distribution and housing.
The index shows the average house now costs over eight times average earnings, compared to just four times in the 1990s. Cities with the largest social housing waiting lists, including London, Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle, were among the index’s lowest performing cities.
Rachel Taylor, government & health industries leader at PwC, said: “Raising prosperity across the 海角视频 is needed more than ever as we continue to see growing inequality in housing, jobs and education. There is an increasing imbalance within and between neighbourhoods, which is being driven by disparities in access to quality education, jobs and housing. This is felt not only across different regions, but also between people living within the same postcodes in cities.
“If we are serious about economic growth as a country we need to provide people and places with the foundations on which they can fuel that growth - access to jobs, skills and education and affordable homes. The public’s priorities are clear and together local and national government, businesses and the third sector need to work together through local growth plans tailored to local needs and opportunities to make this a reality.”
Cross-party think tank Demos hopes the index will spark more debate about the need for devolution – and the fact that devolution will look different across the 海角视频.
It said: “The Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index is a great example of how you can evaluate economic progress in a way that is true to local citizens’ priorities, as they are a key feature of the scoring system, measured through polling.”
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