Town

Living in Fochabers: Liveability Score 35/100

Last updated 7 August 2026

Our overall score for Fochabers is 35/100, built from 8 categories. Bills is where Fochabers most outperforms the national norm: 71/100 against a median of 47/100 across UK towns. Furthest below the national norm is broadband, at 10/100 against a town median of 60/100.

That makes it the 2nd highest-scoring of the 4 places in the IV32 postcode district. That is 15 points below the national benchmark of 50, the bottom quarter of all UK towns and villages. Transport (6), schools (20), lifestyle (22) and healthcare (29) all fall below 30/100. The same breakdown for the wider area is on the IV32 postcode district.

35
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.

Fochabers scores 35 but individual postcodes tell the full story

See the exact score for any postcode, side by side with Fochabers.
Or compare:
IV32 7AA IV32

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
73
Air Quality NO₂ 1.9 · PM2.5 4.1 · PM10 6.3 µg/m³
85
Green Space 46
Parks Adequate 3
Sports Pitches None
Allotments None
Golf Courses None
Tennis Courts Some 2
Bowling Greens Some 1
Playgrounds Some 2

Services

Schools
20
2 schools in area · 3 within 4km
2Good
  • Milne's High SchoolSecondary · inspected 2017
    Good
  • Milne's Primary SchoolPrimary · 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
29
A&E departmentsCommunity Paramedic Service165.2 mi
Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital184.5 mi
Hexham General Hospital186.3 mi
Hospital waitsNorthumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust133.7 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)60.5%
available across Moray
Gigabit-capable · incl. cable
2%
Ultrafast (300+ Mbps)
2%
Superfast (30+ Mbps)
98.7%
Ofcom Connected Nations · 58 postcodes · full fibre at local-authority level

Economy & Bills

Economic Health
63
Employment rate54.6%
Below the Great Britain average of 57.3% of residents aged 16+
Economic activity (16+)
Employed54.4%Unemployed2.1%Retired31.2%Student2.4%Other inactive9.9%
Occupation mix
Professional & managerial36.9%Skilled & technical34.7%Routine & elementary28.3%
Degree-level (Level 4+) qualifications31.5%
Home ownership68.1%
Around the Scotland average for deprivation
Census 2021/22 (Great Britain) · deprivation: IoD 2025 / SIMD
Bills
71
Council tax Moray · 2025-26
A £1,049
B £1,224
C £1,399
D £1,574
E £2,068
F £2,558
G £3,082
H £3,856
Energy North Scotland region
Typical bill regional £1,641/yr
Ofgem price cap, GB average · Apr–Jun 2026
Typical home efficiency local EPC band C
Water Scottish Water
Average bill regional £456/yr
Combined water & sewerage · GB average £520

Transport

Transport
6
Keith 6.7 mi
Elgin 8.3 mi
Huntly 16.6 mi
No motorway junctions within 30 mi

Lifestyle

Lifestyle
22
Pubs & Bars None
Restaurants & Cafes None
Supermarkets & Convenience Adequate 2
Retail Shopping Some 3
Takeaways Some 2
Fitness Adequate 3

Places like Fochabers 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 Fochabers, 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 Fochabers. 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

Mosstodloch 30 1.4 mi away ⇄
Nether Dallachy 35 3.3 mi away ⇄
Garmouth 41 3.7 mi away ⇄
Portgordon 39 4.7 mi away ⇄
Lhanbryde 41 4.7 mi away ⇄
Buckie 52 6.6 mi away ⇄
Lochhill 0 6.7 mi away ⇄
Fogwatt 38 6.9 mi away ⇄
Rothes 36 7.0 mi away ⇄
Longmorn 32 7.0 mi away ⇄
Keith 40 7.1 mi away ⇄
Denhead 0 8.2 mi away ⇄

Frequently asked questions

Is Fochabers a nice place to live?

Fochabers has some challenges compared to many UK areas. Our liveability score for Fochabers is 35/100, 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 Fochabers?

Among the top-rated schools in Fochabers are Milne's High School and Milne's Primary School, rated Good by Ofsted. There are 2 rated schools in Fochabers in total.

Postcode districts in Fochabers

IV32 34 ⇄

Check your exact postcode

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

Score my postcode