Town

Living in East Helmsdale: Liveability Score 43/100

Last updated 7 August 2026

East Helmsdale scores 43/100 overall, across 7 scored categories. Its biggest lead over the typical UK town is broadband: 96/100 against a national town median of 60/100. Furthest below the national norm is economic health, at 36/100 against a town median of 67/100.

Its broadband score runs 53 points above the KW8 district's 43/100. Lifestyle (8), schools (9) and transport (13) all fall below 30/100. On the national picture that lands East Helmsdale in the middle half of all the places we score. The same breakdown for the wider area is on the KW8 postcode district.

43
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.

East Helmsdale scores 43 but individual postcodes tell the full story

See the exact score for any postcode, side by side with East Helmsdale.
Or compare:
KW8 6HH KW8

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
75
Air Quality NO₂ 1.047 · PM2.5 3.772 · PM10 5.705 µg/m³
87
Green Space 47
Parks Some 1
Sports Pitches Some 1
Allotments None
Golf Courses Some 1
Tennis Courts Some 1
Bowling Greens None
Playgrounds Some 2

Services

Schools
9
1 school in area
1Good
  • Helmsdale Primary SchoolPrimary · inspected 2023
    Good
Healthcare
—
A&E departmentsCommunity Paramedic Service205.1 mi
Cumberland Infirmary224.2 mi
Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital224.7 mi
Hospital waitsNorthumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust173.8 mi
Routine referral (median)9 wks
Treated within 18 weeks82.8%
A&E seen within 4 hrs91.1%
Nearest GP surgeryHelmsdale/Brora Med Practice10.4 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
96
Full fibre (FTTP)62.1%
available across Highland
Gigabit-capable · incl. cable
98.6%
Ultrafast (300+ Mbps)
98.6%
Superfast (30+ Mbps)
99.7%
Ofcom Connected Nations · 26 postcodes · full fibre at local-authority level

Economy & Bills

Economic Health
36
Employment rate49.2%
Below the Great Britain average of 57.3% of residents aged 16+
Economic activity (16+)
Employed49.4%Unemployed2.2%Retired33.5%Student2.4%Other inactive12.5%
Occupation mix
Professional & managerial28.9%Skilled & technical38.1%Routine & elementary33%
Degree-level (Level 4+) qualifications26.4%
Home ownership63.7%
Among the most-deprived 32% of areas in Scotland
Census 2021/22 (Great Britain) · deprivation: IoD 2025 / SIMD
Bills
66
Council tax Highland · 2025-26
A £1,018
B £1,188
C £1,357
D £1,527
E £2,006
F £2,481
G £2,990
H £3,741
Energy North Scotland region
Typical bill regional £1,641/yr
Ofgem price cap, GB average · Apr–Jun 2026
Typical home efficiency local EPC band E
Water Scottish Water
Average bill regional £456/yr
Combined water & sewerage · GB average £520

Transport

Transport
13
Helmsdale 0.3 mi
Kildonan 8.8 mi
Brora 10.4 mi
No motorway junctions within 30 mi

Lifestyle

Lifestyle
8
Pubs & Bars Some 1
Restaurants & Cafes Some 3
Supermarkets & Convenience Adequate 3
Retail Shopping Some 5
Takeaways Some 1
Fitness None

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House Prices

Not published for Scotland

Sold-price data isn't available for East Helmsdale. 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

Brora 48 10 mi away ⇄
Golspie 49 16 mi away ⇄
Embo 38 19 mi away ⇄
Portmahomack 46 21 mi away ⇄
Dornoch 41 21 mi away ⇄
Fendom 0 25 mi away ⇄
Tain 51 26 mi away ⇄
Balintore 41 27 mi away ⇄
Watten 33 28 mi away ⇄
Halkirk 43 28 mi away ⇄
Lairg 42 28 mi away ⇄
Burghead 40 29 mi away ⇄

Frequently asked questions

Is East Helmsdale a nice place to live?

East Helmsdale has some challenges compared to many UK areas. Our liveability score for East Helmsdale is 43/100, 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 East Helmsdale?

Among the top-rated schools in East Helmsdale is Helmsdale Primary School, rated Good by Ofsted. There are 1 rated schools in East Helmsdale in total.

Postcode districts in East Helmsdale

KW8 39 ⇄

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