Town

Living in Stromness: Liveability Score 44/100

Last updated 7 August 2026

Our overall score for Stromness is 44/100, built from 8 categories. Lifestyle is where Stromness most outperforms the national norm: 85/100 against a median of 21/100 across UK towns. Broadband falls furthest short: 10/100 where the typical UK town reaches 60/100.

It scores 5 points above the KW16 postcode district as a whole, which averages 39/100. On lifestyle specifically, Stromness sits 11 points above the KW16 district figure of 74/100. Environment (88) also clears 80/100. For the surrounding area, see KW16 postcode district.

44
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.

Stromness scores 44 but individual postcodes tell the full story

See the exact score for any postcode, side by side with Stromness.
Or compare:
KW16 3AA KW16

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
88
Air Quality NO₂ 3.3 · PM2.5 3.5 · PM10 5.5 µg/m³
86
Green Space 92
Parks Ample 6
Sports Pitches Adequate 3
Allotments None
Golf Courses Some 1
Tennis Courts None
Bowling Greens Some 1
Playgrounds Adequate 6

Services

Schools
15
1 school in area
1Good
  • Stromness Primary SchoolPrimary · inspected 2011
    Good
Healthcare
42
A&E departmentsCommunity Paramedic Service257.5 mi
Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital276.1 mi
Hexham General Hospital279.3 mi
Hospital waitsNorthumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust226.1 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)25.4%
available across Orkney Islands
Gigabit-capable · incl. cable
4.5%
Ultrafast (300+ Mbps)
4.5%
Superfast (30+ Mbps)
97.2%
Ofcom Connected Nations · 72 postcodes · full fibre at local-authority level

Economy & Bills

Economic Health
64
Employment rate58.3%
Above the Great Britain average of 57.3% of residents aged 16+
Economic activity (16+)
Employed58.5%Unemployed1.5%Retired29%Student1.8%Other inactive9.2%
Occupation mix
Professional & managerial34%Skilled & technical31.9%Routine & elementary34%
Degree-level (Level 4+) qualifications35.8%
Home ownership60.5%
Among the least-deprived 35% of areas in Scotland
Census 2021/22 (Great Britain) · deprivation: IoD 2025 / SIMD
Bills
66
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
14
No motorway junctions within 30 mi

No nearby stations or motorway junctions found.

Lifestyle

Lifestyle
85
Pubs & Bars Some 1
Restaurants & Cafes Adequate 7
Supermarkets & Convenience Some 1
Retail Shopping Ample 32
Takeaways None
Fitness Some 1

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House Prices

Not published for Scotland

Sold-price data isn't available for Stromness. 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

Finstown 42 7.0 mi away ⇄
Dounby 47 7.5 mi away ⇄
Hackness 0 11 mi away ⇄
Kirkwall 51 12 mi away ⇄
Tankerness 0 14 mi away ⇄
St Margaret's Hope 38 15 mi away ⇄
Burray Village 36 16 mi away ⇄
Dunnet 0 24 mi away ⇄
Castletown 45 26 mi away ⇄
Scrabster 48 26 mi away ⇄
Pierowall 37 27 mi away ⇄
Thurso 55 27 mi away ⇄

Frequently asked questions

Is Stromness a nice place to live?

Stromness has some challenges compared to many UK areas. Our liveability score for Stromness is 44/100, 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 Stromness?

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

Postcode districts in Stromness

KW16 39 ⇄

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