Town

Living in Portlethen: Liveability Score 49/100

Last updated 7 August 2026

Our overall score for Portlethen is 49/100, built from 8 categories. Bills is where Portlethen most outperforms the national norm: 77/100 against a median of 47/100 across UK towns. That makes it the 2nd highest-scoring of the 3 places in the AB12 postcode district.

Against the wider AB12 district average of 57/100, that is 8 points below. Broadband (87) and economic health (81) also clear 80/100. Schools (29) and healthcare (29) all fall below 30/100. Wider context for the surrounding area: AB12 postcode district.

49
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.

Portlethen scores 49 but individual postcodes tell the full story

See the exact score for any postcode, side by side with Portlethen.
Or compare:
AB12 3AA AB12 4AA AB12 5AA AB12 9DU AB12 AB39

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
63
Air Quality NO₂ 3.9 · PM2.5 4.2 · PM10 8 µg/m³
83
Green Space 18
Parks Ample 5
Sports Pitches Ample 6
Allotments None
Golf Courses Some 1
Tennis Courts Some 2
Bowling Greens Some 1
Playgrounds Ample 25

Services

Schools
29
4 schools in area · 6 within 4km
1Outstanding2Good1Requires Improvement
  • Fishermoss SchoolOther · inspected 2018
    Outstanding
  • Hillside SchoolOther · inspected 2018
    Good
  • Portlethen Primary SchoolPrimary · inspected 2019
    Good
  • Portlethen AcademySecondary · inspected 2024
    Requires Improvement

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 Service121 mi
Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital138.5 mi
Hexham General Hospital144 mi
Hospital waitsNorthumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust89.4 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
87
Full fibre (FTTP)43.9%
available across Aberdeenshire
Gigabit-capable · incl. cable
96.5%
Ultrafast (300+ Mbps)
96.5%
Superfast (30+ Mbps)
99.7%
Ofcom Connected Nations · 136 postcodes · full fibre at local-authority level

Economy & Bills

Economic Health
81
Employment rate69.4%
Above the Great Britain average of 57.3% of residents aged 16+
Economic activity (16+)
Employed69.3%Unemployed2.3%Retired18.5%Student2.5%Other inactive7.4%
Occupation mix
Professional & managerial44.5%Skilled & technical33.5%Routine & elementary22%
Degree-level (Level 4+) qualifications34.6%
Home ownership82%
Among the least-deprived 17% of areas in Scotland
Census 2021/22 (Great Britain) · deprivation: IoD 2025 / SIMD
Bills
77
Council tax Aberdeenshire · 2025-26
A £1,022
B £1,192
C £1,363
D £1,533
E £2,014
F £2,491
G £3,002
H £3,756
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
40
Portlethen 0.6 mi
Aberdeen 5.6 mi
Stonehaven 7.6 mi
No motorway junctions within 30 mi

Lifestyle

Lifestyle
33
Pubs & Bars Adequate 3
Restaurants & Cafes Adequate 4
Supermarkets & Convenience Ample 7
Retail Shopping Adequate 19
Takeaways Adequate 8
Fitness Some 1

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House Prices

Not published for Scotland

Sold-price data isn't available for Portlethen. 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

Marywell 34 1.6 mi away ⇄
Newtonhill 35 2.4 mi away ⇄
Chapelton (Aberdeenshire) 40 2.6 mi away ⇄
Bieldside 0 3.7 mi away ⇄
Cults 49 3.9 mi away ⇄
Milltimber 42 4.4 mi away ⇄
Peterculter 41 5.2 mi away ⇄
Blacktop 51 5.5 mi away ⇄
Aberdeen 71 6.4 mi away ⇄
Kingswells 51 6.8 mi away ⇄
Redcloak 0 7.1 mi away ⇄
Stonehaven 53 7.5 mi away ⇄

Frequently asked questions

Is Portlethen a nice place to live?

Portlethen has some challenges compared to many UK areas. Our liveability score for Portlethen is 49/100, 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 Portlethen?

Among the top-rated schools in Portlethen are Fishermoss School, Hillside School and Portlethen Primary School, rated Outstanding by Ofsted. There are 4 rated schools in Portlethen in total.

Postcode districts in Portlethen

AB12 57 ⇄
AB39 47 ⇄

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