Six South East cities rank among the top half of PwC’s 2025 Good Growth for Cities Index

• The highest performing city in the South East is Southampton, ranking 7th out of the 50 cities included in the Index

• Southampton, Brighton, Cambridge, Norwich, Oxford and Reading all rank in the top half of the Index

• Out of 11 regions, the South East is expected to see the seventh strongest economic growth rate in 2025 and 2026

Southampton is the highest performing city in the South East for the second year running, according to the latest Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index (‘the Index’), despite falling four places to seventh out of 50 overall.

The Index ranks 50 of the UK’s largest cities, excluding London, based on both the public’s assessment and the actual performance of 12 economic measures. These measures include jobs, health, income, safety and skills, as well as work-life balance, housing, transport, income equality, high street and shops, environment and business startups.

In relative terms, Oxford has not performed quite as strongly as it has in previous years – dropping to 19th this year from 10th in 2024. This is due to the challenges the city faces in relation to house prices to earnings ratios and income.

Overall, all nine cities in the South East perform above the national average on income, with seven of the nine cities performing above the UK average on health, adult skills, new businesses and the environment. All South Eastern cities in the Index perform below the UK average on house price to earnings ratios while seven of the nine cities perform below the national average on transport and income distribution.

The national picture shows that the public’s priorities are becoming less dominated by financial considerations and more on concerns such as high streets and shops, skills, housing and transport. While public priorities are fairly consistent region to region, people in the South East place a slightly greater importance on housing, reflecting the increased difficulty residents in the region face with affordable home ownership. Health is also of slightly greater importance in the region.  

Julian Gray, Regional Market Leader for PwC South East, said:

“The outcomes from this year's Good Growth for Cities Index for the South East provide a varied perspective. Cities like Southampton and Reading have excelled, whereas Oxford and Cambridge have experienced noticeable declines due to cost of living pressures and greater income inequality seen in this year’s indicators. It's encouraging to note that five out of the nine cities in the region are ranked within the top 20 of the 50 evaluated in our Index.

“The region's high income levels are promising, yet the higher-than-average ratio of house prices to earnings highlights affordability challenges. Strong results in areas such as health, skills development, new business formation, and environmental excellence indicate a solid foundation for future growth prospects.

“To realise potential growth, collaboration between public bodies and the private sector, alongside devolved and national government efforts, is essential. Together, they can attract skills and talent to the area, address local demands, and foster a conducive atmosphere for businesses to thrive.”

-Ends-

Notes to Editors:  
 

About the Good Growth for Cities Index 
The Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index was established in 2011 and is updated annually.  

In recognition of its unique scale and economy, London is not included in this year’s Good Growth Index. 

The Index looks beyond core economic indicators (such as GDP) and instead considers broad measures of economic wellbeing to measure success. The Index measures the performance of 50 of the UK's largest cities, each typically having a population of at least 340,000, excluding London. It also assesses 37 Rural Areas, based on the prior Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) definitions, and 16 Combined Authorities and city regions, using a set of 12 factors deemed most crucial by the public for economic well-being. These include jobs, health, income, safety and skills, as well as work-life balance, housing, travel-to-work times, income equality, high street and shops, environment and business start-ups.

More details on the methodology can be found in the report here.