High earnings help make East Renfrewshire Scotland's 'happiest place to live'

26 March 2019, 06:27 | Updated: 26 March 2019, 06:28

East Renfrewshire has been ranked the happiest place to live in Scotland in a new study.

Research for Royal Mail analysed eight separate measures thought to be linked to happiness, including life expectancy, crime levels and earnings.

The council area south-west of Glasgow topped the Scottish list, with its position cemented by a high placing in the earnings index.

The area scored in the 90th percentile across all local authorities in the UK for income, Royal Mail said.

East Dunbartonshire came second in the Scottish study after boasting low levels of crime and good access to health services.

Aberdeenshire completed the top three, also scoring highly for health services.

Stirling, in fourth place, was found to have a comparatively good level of earnings relative to other local authorities in Scotland.

The Scottish Borders secured the next position on the list with the second lowest level of crime in Scotland, followed closely by Midlothian and East Lothian.

Highland (eighth) and the Shetland Islands (10th) were the two northernmost local authorities on the top 10 list.

Highland had the joint highest score for reported well-being across the UK, while the Shetland Islands' low crime rate and low deprivation levels edged it past other areas.

South Ayrshire finished in ninth position with its strong performance in access to local services.

Winchester was declared the happiest place to live in the UK.

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: "This new study takes a look at the areas across the UK sparking the most joy.

"For people across the UK looking to live in or visit the happiest places, there are plenty to choose from."

Royal Mail commissioned Cebr to construct the happiness index earlier this year.

The eight measures studied were reported personal well-being, life expectancy, earnings, inequality, carbon emissions, crime, deprivation and access to health services.