Town

Living in Ballater: Liveability Score 41/100

Last updated 7 August 2026

Our overall score for Ballater is 41/100, built from 8 categories. Its biggest lead over the typical UK town is healthcare: 50/100 against a national town median of 18/100. Broadband falls furthest short: 10/100 where the typical UK town reaches 60/100.

It scores 6 points above the AB35 postcode district as a whole, which averages 35/100. Its healthcare score runs 22 points above the AB35 district's 28/100. That is 9 points below the national benchmark of 50, the middle half of all UK towns and villages. Wider context for the surrounding area: AB35 postcode district.

41
OUT OF 100
Below Avg
Score for:

Settlement area

The built-up area boundary and the postcodes its score is averaged from, each shaded by its own score. Clustered pins are other settlements. Tap one to view or compare it, or zoom in to reveal more.

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Each postcode is coloured by its own overall score on the default weighting. Scores are filled in as postcodes get searched on the site, so a blue dot just means that postcode hasn't been scored yet.

Ballater scores 41 but individual postcodes tell the full story

See the exact score for any postcode, side by side with Ballater.
Or compare:
AB35 5AB AB35

Score breakdown

Safety & Environment

Safety
—

Crime is scored from the last 12 months of police street-level data. Police Scotland does not publish this, and there is no Scottish equivalent of the Police UK open data service, so crime has been left out of the score for this area. This is a gap in published data, not a sign of low crime.

Environment
86
Air Quality NO₂ 1.2 · PM2.5 3.8 · PM10 5.4 µg/m³
87
Green Space 85
Parks Some 1
Sports Pitches Some 1
Allotments None
Golf Courses None
Tennis Courts Some 1
Bowling Greens Some 1
Playgrounds Some 1

Services

Schools
6
1 school in area
1Requires Improvement
  • Ballater SchoolOther · inspected 2019
    Requires Improvement
Healthcare
50
A&E departmentsCommunity Paramedic Service127.9 mi
Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital147.7 mi
Hexham General Hospital148.2 mi
Hospital waitsNorthumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust96.9 mi
Routine referral (median)9 wks
Treated within 18 weeks82.8%
A&E seen within 4 hrs91.1%
1 GP surgery in area
GP capacity1,373 patients per GP

A&E, dentist and pharmacy data, and CQC ratings, are currently available for England only, not Scotland.

Broadband
10
Full fibre (FTTP)43.9%
available across Aberdeenshire
Gigabit-capable · incl. cable
1.2%
Ultrafast (300+ Mbps)
1.2%
Superfast (30+ Mbps)
100%
Ofcom Connected Nations · 71 postcodes · full fibre at local-authority level

Economy & Bills

Economic Health
66
Employment rate49.7%
Below the Great Britain average of 57.3% of residents aged 16+
Economic activity (16+)
Employed49.2%Unemployed1.1%Retired39.1%Student1.8%Other inactive8.7%
Occupation mix
Professional & managerial35.2%Skilled & technical35%Routine & elementary29.8%
Degree-level (Level 4+) qualifications34.2%
Home ownership64.3%
Among the least-deprived 22% of areas in Scotland
Census 2021/22 (Great Britain) · deprivation: IoD 2025 / SIMD
Bills
66
Council tax Aberdeenshire · 2025-26
A £1,022
B £1,192
C £1,363
D £1,533
E £2,014
F £2,491
G £3,002
H £3,756
Energy North Scotland region
Typical bill regional £1,641/yr
Ofgem price cap, GB average · Apr–Jun 2026
Typical home efficiency local EPC band D
Water Scottish Water
Average bill regional £456/yr
Combined water & sewerage · GB average £520

Transport

Transport
17
No motorway junctions within 30 mi

No nearby stations or motorway junctions found.

Lifestyle

Lifestyle
35
Pubs & Bars Some 2
Restaurants & Cafes Adequate 11
Supermarkets & Convenience Some 1
Retail Shopping Ample 30
Takeaways Some 2
Fitness None

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House Prices

Not published for Scotland

Sold-price data isn't available for Ballater. HM Land Registry's Price Paid dataset covers England and Wales only. Scottish sales are recorded separately by Registers of Scotland, which we don't yet include. This is a gap in the data we hold, not a sign of an inactive market.

Nearby places

Tarland 39 8.8 mi away ⇄
Aboyne 44 9.7 mi away ⇄
Kincardine O'Neil 31 13 mi away ⇄
Braemar 36 14 mi away ⇄
Lumphanan 37 14 mi away ⇄
Torphins 34 16 mi away ⇄
Alford (Aberdeenshire) 44 18 mi away ⇄
Inchmarlo 0 18 mi away ⇄
Banchory 46 21 mi away ⇄
Tomintoul 36 21 mi away ⇄
Rhynie 33 21 mi away ⇄
Edzell 37 22 mi away ⇄

Frequently asked questions

Is Ballater a nice place to live?

Ballater has some challenges compared to many UK areas. Our liveability score for Ballater is 41/100, placing it among a below-average areas in the UK across nine categories: safety, schools, healthcare, environment, transport, broadband, lifestyle, economic health, and bills.

Postcode districts in Ballater

AB35 35 ⇄

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