Three North East cities outperforming the UK average for housing and work-life balance according to PwC’s Good Growth for Cities Index

• Three cities across the North East included in PwC’s latest Index are performing above the UK average for housing and work-life balance
• The cities also perform above or around the UK average for income distribution
• Middlesbrough & Stockton and Sunderland are the most improved cities in the North East

Middlesbrough & Stockton, Newcastle and Sunderland have come out above the UK average for housing and work-life balance, according to PwC’s Good Growth for Cities Index. The report measures housing affordability as the ratio of house prices to earnings, and work-life balance by the proportion of employed people working less than 45 hours per week.

Middlesbrough & Stockton is in line with the UK average for owner occupation rates, skills in the over 25s and high streets, while Sunderland meets the average for the environment. The data also shows that Newcastle is in line with the rest of the UK cities for skills, environment and high streets. 

Sunderland and Middlesbrough & Stockton are the two most improved cities in the North East, climbing up the rankings by five places and two places respectively. This increase is thanks to improvements in performance around income distribution and transport.

The Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index ranks 50 of the UK’s largest cities (generally considered those with populations of at least 350,000 people), plus the London boroughs as a whole, based on the public’s assessment of 12 economic measures, including jobs, health, income, safety and skills, as well as work-life balance, housing, travel-to-work times, income equality, high street shops, environment and business startups. 

Looking at the rankings as a whole, the data shows that Sunderland is the highest performing city in the North East, followed by Newcastle and Middlesbrough & Stockton.

In terms of areas for improvement, the data shows that the cities in the North East need continued focus on measures such as jobs, income, health, new business and safety.

In terms of the UK picture, PwC’s research shows little evidence of the regional disparity gap narrowing overall and argues that progress in levelling-up the UK is too slow. PwC recommends the need for more radical and ambitious devolution of governance and powers to a regional, local and hyper-local level, including greater fiscal flexibility and innovation to help cities respond to their specific challenges.

Richard Podd, Market Senior Partner for PwC Newcastle, said:

“It’s great to see the North East performing above the UK average for house price to earnings ratios and work-life balance - two issues we know are important to the people who live here. 

“The Good Growth for Cities report is important because it highlights where our cities are performing well, but it also shows us where we need to focus our efforts most. There is continued work being done on job creation and job promotion in the region, and through collaboration between businesses, local and national government and community organisations, we’re committed to showing the benefits of living, working and investing in the North East.”