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Living in Kirkwall: Liveability Score 51/100

Last updated 7 August 2026

Kirkwall comes out at 51/100 on the 8 categories we can score here. Lifestyle is where Kirkwall most outperforms the national norm: 81/100 against a median of 21/100 across UK towns. Furthest below the national norm is broadband, at 11/100 against a town median of 60/100.

Environment (87) sits at 80/100 or above. On the national picture that lands Kirkwall in the top quarter of all the places we score. For the surrounding area, see KW15 postcode district.

51
OUT OF 100
Average
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.

Kirkwall scores 51 but individual postcodes tell the full story

See the exact score for any postcode, side by side with Kirkwall.
Or compare:
KW15 1AA KW15 9BR KW15

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
87
Air Quality NO₂ 2.5 · PM2.5 4 · PM10 6.1 µg/m³
85
Green Space 92
Parks Ample 14
Sports Pitches Ample 8
Allotments Adequate 2
Golf Courses Some 1
Tennis Courts None
Bowling Greens Adequate 2
Playgrounds Ample 11

Services

Schools
27
3 schools in area
3Good
  • Glaitness SchoolOther · inspected 2023
    Good
  • Kirkwall Grammar SchoolSecondary · inspected 2014
    Good
  • Papdale Primary SchoolPrimary · inspected 2023
    Good
Healthcare
61
A&E departmentsCommunity Paramedic Service256.2 mi
Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital274.3 mi
Hexham General Hospital278.5 mi
Hospital waitsNorthumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust224.9 mi
Routine referral (median)9 wks
Treated within 18 weeks82.8%
A&E seen within 4 hrs91.1%
3 GP surgeries 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
11
Full fibre (FTTP)25.4%
available across Orkney Islands
Gigabit-capable · incl. cable
14.1%
Ultrafast (300+ Mbps)
14.1%
Superfast (30+ Mbps)
99.2%
Ofcom Connected Nations · 292 postcodes · full fibre at local-authority level

Economy & Bills

Economic Health
58
Employment rate63.3%
Above the Great Britain average of 57.3% of residents aged 16+
Economic activity (16+)
Employed63.6%Unemployed1.5%Retired24.6%Student2%Other inactive8.4%
Occupation mix
Professional & managerial31.8%Skilled & technical33.3%Routine & elementary34.9%
Degree-level (Level 4+) qualifications29.1%
Home ownership60.7%
Around the Scotland average for deprivation
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
30
No motorway junctions within 30 mi

No nearby stations or motorway junctions found.

Lifestyle

Lifestyle
81
Pubs & Bars Adequate 8
Restaurants & Cafes Ample 14
Supermarkets & Convenience Ample 9
Retail Shopping Ample 89
Takeaways Adequate 5
Fitness Some 1

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House Prices

Not published for Scotland

Sold-price data isn't available for Kirkwall. 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

Tankerness 0 2.6 mi away ⇄
Finstown 42 5.8 mi away ⇄
Burray Village 36 9.5 mi away ⇄
St Margaret's Hope 38 11 mi away ⇄
Hackness 0 11 mi away ⇄
Dounby 47 11 mi away ⇄
Stromness 44 12 mi away ⇄
Pierowall 37 23 mi away ⇄
Dunnet 0 28 mi away ⇄
Castletown 45 31 mi away ⇄
Scrabster 48 33 mi away ⇄
Thurso 55 34 mi away ⇄

Frequently asked questions

Is Kirkwall a nice place to live?

Kirkwall is a decent place to live for many people. Our liveability score for Kirkwall is 51/100, placing it among an 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 Kirkwall?

Among the top-rated schools in Kirkwall are Glaitness School, Kirkwall Grammar School and Papdale Primary School, rated Good by Ofsted. There are 3 rated schools in Kirkwall in total.

Postcode districts in Kirkwall

KW15 50 ⇄

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