Town

Living in Cruden Bay: Liveability Score 33/100

Last updated 7 August 2026

Our overall score for Cruden Bay is 33/100, built from 8 categories. Its biggest lead over the typical UK town is bills: 77/100 against a national town median of 47/100. Furthest below the national norm is schools, at 8/100 against a town median of 23/100.

Cruden Bay places 6th of 10 in the AB42 postcode district. It scores 9 points below the AB42 postcode district as a whole, which averages 42/100. That sits 17 points below the UK-wide average of 50, putting it in the bottom 10% of the towns and villages we score. The same breakdown for the wider area is on the AB42 postcode district.

33
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.

Cruden Bay scores 33 but individual postcodes tell the full story

See the exact score for any postcode, side by side with Cruden Bay.
Or compare:
AB42 0AA AB42 1AA AB42 2AA AB42 3AA AB42 4AA AB42 5AA AB42 9AN AB42

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
62
Air Quality NO₂ 1.675 · PM2.5 3.7 · PM10 7.124 µg/m³
86
Green Space 5
Parks Some 1
Sports Pitches Adequate 2
Allotments None
Golf Courses Some 1
Tennis Courts Some 2
Bowling Greens Some 1
Playgrounds Adequate 3

Services

Schools
8
1 school in area · 2 within 4km
1Good
  • Port Erroll SchoolOther · inspected 2016
    Good

Score reflects proximity-weighted access to rated schools within 4km: areas with more nearby schools score higher regardless of settlement boundary.

Healthcare
8
A&E departmentsCommunity Paramedic Service145.6 mi
Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital162 mi
Royal Victoria Infirmary168.4 mi
Hospital waitsNorthumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust113.8 mi
Routine referral (median)9 wks
Treated within 18 weeks82.8%
A&E seen within 4 hrs91.1%
Nearest GP surgeryCruden Medical Group2.6 mi
GP capacity1,373 patients per GP

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

Broadband
48
Full fibre (FTTP)43.9%
available across Aberdeenshire
Gigabit-capable · incl. cable
77.7%
Ultrafast (300+ Mbps)
77.7%
Superfast (30+ Mbps)
99.9%
Ofcom Connected Nations · 43 postcodes · full fibre at local-authority level

Economy & Bills

Economic Health
58
Employment rate58.2%
Above the Great Britain average of 57.3% of residents aged 16+
Economic activity (16+)
Employed58.3%Unemployed1.7%Retired28.4%Student1.9%Other inactive9.6%
Occupation mix
Professional & managerial38.3%Skilled & technical33.9%Routine & elementary27.8%
Degree-level (Level 4+) qualifications27.3%
Home ownership79.7%
Around the Scotland average for deprivation
Census 2021/22 (Great Britain) · deprivation: IoD 2025 / SIMD
Bills
77
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
15
No motorway junctions within 30 mi

No nearby stations or motorway junctions found.

Lifestyle

Lifestyle
9
Pubs & Bars Adequate 3
Restaurants & Cafes None
Supermarkets & Convenience Adequate 2
Retail Shopping None
Takeaways Some 1
Fitness None

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House Prices

Not published for Scotland

Sold-price data isn't available for Cruden Bay. 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

Hatton (Aberdeenshire) 33 2.4 mi away ⇄
Boddam 38 4.7 mi away ⇄
Peterhead 50 6.2 mi away ⇄
Inverugie 0 6.9 mi away ⇄
Longside 34 7.5 mi away ⇄
Newburgh (Aberdeenshire) 38 8.8 mi away ⇄
Ellon 48 8.8 mi away ⇄
Mintlaw 38 9.2 mi away ⇄
Stuartfield 30 9.2 mi away ⇄
St Fergus 33 11 mi away ⇄
Fetterangus 31 11 mi away ⇄
Maud 39 12 mi away ⇄

Frequently asked questions

Is Cruden Bay a nice place to live?

Cruden Bay has some challenges compared to many UK areas. Our liveability score for Cruden Bay is 33/100, placing it among a below-average areas in the UK across nine categories: safety, schools, healthcare, environment, transport, broadband, lifestyle, economic health, and bills.

What are the best schools in Cruden Bay?

Among the top-rated schools in Cruden Bay is Port Erroll School, rated Good by Ofsted. There are 1 rated schools in Cruden Bay in total.

Postcode districts in Cruden Bay

AB42 42 ⇄

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