Town

Living in Fort William: Liveability Score 46/100

Last updated 7 August 2026

Fort William comes out at 46/100 on the 8 categories we can score here. Measured against other towns, bills stands out most: 71/100 where the typical UK town scores 47/100. The biggest shortfall against other towns is broadband: 25/100 versus a median of 60/100.

Fort William places 4th of 5 in the PH33 postcode district. Environment (80) also clears 80/100. On the national picture that lands Fort William in the middle half of all the places we score. For the surrounding area, see PH33 postcode district.

46
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.

Fort William scores 46 but individual postcodes tell the full story

See the exact score for any postcode, side by side with Fort William.
Or compare:
PH33 6AA PH33 7AA PH33 9AR PH33

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
80
Air Quality NO₂ 1.9 · PM2.5 3.7 · PM10 5.6 µg/m³
87
Green Space 63
Parks Ample 8
Sports Pitches Ample 6
Allotments None
Golf Courses Some 1
Tennis Courts Some 1
Bowling Greens Some 1
Playgrounds Ample 12

Services

Schools
25
3 schools in area · 5 within 4km
3Good
  • Inverlochy Primary SchoolPrimary · inspected 2013
    Good
  • Lochaber High SchoolSecondary · inspected 2013
    Good
  • Lundavra Primary SchoolPrimary · inspected 2018
    Good

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

Healthcare
41
A&E departmentsCumberland Infirmary156.4 mi
Community Paramedic Service161.2 mi
Hexham General Hospital172.9 mi
Hospital waitsNorthumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust139.4 mi
Routine referral (median)9 wks
Treated within 18 weeks82.8%
A&E seen within 4 hrs91.1%
Nearest GP surgeryGlen Mor Medical Practice1.7 mi
GP capacity1,324 patients per GP

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

Broadband
25
Full fibre (FTTP)62.1%
available across Highland
Gigabit-capable · incl. cable
43.6%
Ultrafast (300+ Mbps)
43.6%
Superfast (30+ Mbps)
99.8%
Ofcom Connected Nations · 207 postcodes · full fibre at local-authority level

Economy & Bills

Economic Health
53
Employment rate64.3%
Above the Great Britain average of 57.3% of residents aged 16+
Economic activity (16+)
Employed64.5%Unemployed2.5%Retired19.9%Student3.7%Other inactive9.4%
Occupation mix
Professional & managerial29%Skilled & technical33%Routine & elementary37.9%
Degree-level (Level 4+) qualifications25.8%
Home ownership53.6%
Around the Scotland average for deprivation
Census 2021/22 (Great Britain) · deprivation: IoD 2025 / SIMD
Bills
71
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 South 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
43
Fort William 0.2 mi
Banavie 1.8 mi
Corpach 1.9 mi
No motorway junctions within 30 mi

Lifestyle

Lifestyle
40
Pubs & Bars Ample 9
Restaurants & Cafes Ample 26
Supermarkets & Convenience Ample 9
Retail Shopping Ample 62
Takeaways Adequate 6
Fitness Adequate 4

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House Prices

Not published for Scotland

Sold-price data isn't available for Fort William. 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

Caol 50 1.4 mi away ⇄
Lochyside 51 1.8 mi away ⇄
Corpach 42 2.1 mi away ⇄
Spean Bridge 46 8.7 mi away ⇄
Kinlochmore 36 8.8 mi away ⇄
North Ballachulish 0 9.0 mi away ⇄
Glencoe 38 9.4 mi away ⇄
Ballachulish 42 9.9 mi away ⇄
Roybridge 47 11 mi away ⇄
Glenfinnan 0 14 mi away ⇄
Duror 0 15 mi away ⇄
Strontian 43 19 mi away ⇄

Frequently asked questions

Is Fort William a nice place to live?

Fort William has some challenges compared to many UK areas. Our liveability score for Fort William is 46/100, 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 Fort William?

Among the top-rated schools in Fort William are Inverlochy Primary School, Lochaber High School and Lundavra Primary School, rated Good by Ofsted. There are 3 rated schools in Fort William in total.

Postcode districts in Fort William

PH33 47 ⇄

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