Town

Living in Dounby: Liveability Score 47/100

Last updated 7 August 2026

Our overall score for Dounby is 47/100, built from 6 categories. Its biggest lead over the typical UK town is bills: 71/100 against a national town median of 47/100. Furthest below the national norm is broadband, at 36/100 against a town median of 60/100.

That is the highest score of the 5 places in the KW17 postcode district. Against the wider KW17 district average of 32/100, that is 15 points above. Also scoring 80 or better: environment (86) and economic health (83). Wider context for the surrounding area: KW17 postcode district.

47
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.

Loading map…

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.

Dounby scores 47 but individual postcodes tell the full story

See the exact score for any postcode, side by side with Dounby.
Or compare:
KW17 2AA KW17

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 1.083 · PM2.5 3.35 · PM10 5.958 µg/m³
88
Green Space 80
Parks None
Sports Pitches Some 1
Allotments None
Golf Courses None
Tennis Courts None
Bowling Greens Some 1
Playgrounds Some 2

Services

Schools
—

School inspection data is not available for this area.

Healthcare
—
A&E departmentsCommunity Paramedic Service264.6 mi
Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital283 mi
Hexham General Hospital286.5 mi
Hospital waitsNorthumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust232.6 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
36
Full fibre (FTTP)25.4%
available across Orkney Islands
Gigabit-capable · incl. cable
35.7%
Ultrafast (300+ Mbps)
35.7%
Superfast (30+ Mbps)
100%
Ofcom Connected Nations · 7 postcodes · full fibre at local-authority level

Economy & Bills

Economic Health
83
Employment rate62.7%
Above the Great Britain average of 57.3% of residents aged 16+
Economic activity (16+)
Employed62.4%Unemployed1%Retired29.3%Student1.2%Other inactive6.1%
Occupation mix
Professional & managerial33.5%Skilled & technical39%Routine & elementary27.6%
Degree-level (Level 4+) qualifications33%
Home ownership78.1%
Among the least-deprived 29% of areas in Scotland
Census 2021/22 (Great Britain) · deprivation: IoD 2025 / SIMD
Bills
71
Council tax Orkney Islands · 2025-26
A £1,050
B £1,225
C £1,400
D £1,575
E £2,069
F £2,559
G £3,084
H £3,859
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
3
No motorway junctions within 30 mi

No nearby stations or motorway junctions found.

Lifestyle

Lifestyle
20
Pubs & Bars None
Restaurants & Cafes Some 2
Supermarkets & Convenience Some 1
Retail Shopping Some 2
Takeaways None
Fitness None

Places like Dounby Pro

Pick the categories you want to beat. Pro members see the most similar settlements that score higher in all of them.

Find somewhere like Dounby, but with a higher score in …

ProSimilar settlements is a Pro featureUpgrade to Pro

House Prices

Not published for Scotland

Sold-price data isn't available for Dounby. 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

Finstown 42 6.0 mi away ⇄
Stromness 44 7.5 mi away ⇄
Kirkwall 51 11 mi away ⇄
Tankerness 0 14 mi away ⇄
Hackness 0 16 mi away ⇄
Burray Village 36 19 mi away ⇄
Pierowall 37 19 mi away ⇄
St Margaret's Hope 38 19 mi away ⇄
Dunnet 0 31 mi away ⇄
Castletown 45 33 mi away ⇄
Scrabster 48 34 mi away ⇄
Thurso 55 35 mi away ⇄

Frequently asked questions

Is Dounby a nice place to live?

Dounby has some challenges compared to many UK areas. Our liveability score for Dounby is 47/100, 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 Dounby

KW17 32 ⇄

Check your exact postcode

Get a personalised score for any UK postcode, tailored to what matters most to you.

Score my postcode