Creative Cities: Discover The Top 50 UK Cities for Design Creatives

The UK’s creative industries are growing at four times the rate of the overall economy. As they continue to buck the national trend, Affinity has revealed which UK cities are disrupting traditional creative hubs and which have the best access to opportunities and to space.

Quick summary from Affinity’s Creative Cities Report:

• Affinity’s Creative Cities Report analysed career opportunities, education, funding, amenities, and cost-of-living data. The final ranking of the top 50 UK creative cities was then defined by their access to opportunities, access to space and cost of living. 
• Worcester is the UK’s most creative city, offering a well-rounded balance between creative opportunity, spaces, and affordability.
• Winchester ranks highest for access to space, boasting a concentration of 14 creative and cultural locations – like art galleries and museums – per 10,000 people.
• Cambridge ranks highest for access to opportunities, with an average of 6 creative job listings per 10,000 people.
• Major cities such as London fell lower in the overall rankings, despite their scale and funding, suggesting that creatives don’t have to relocate to ‘traditional’ creative hubs to find opportunities. 
• Smaller cities consistently outperform on liveability and creative balance. The report challenges the idea of the UK’s traditional creative hubs and highlights the importance of a balanced local ecosystem that combines space, opportunity, and affordability.

The Creative Cities Report

To identify the UK’s creative hubs, we analysed the top 50 cities officially granted letters patent against three core pillars – access to space, access to opportunities, and affordability. By standardising data per 10,000 residents, Affinity ensured that cities were measured fairly.

• Access to Space:

Measures the access to creative spaces by finding the number of creative locations (museums, theatres, art galleries, and music venues), coworking spaces, green spaces, and total arts funding.

• Access to Opportunities:

Shows the access to opportunities by finding the number of creative job opportunities and the average salary across four key roles: Product Designer, UX Designer, Graphic Designer and Photo Editor. It also considered the number of creative design agencies and related university courses. 

• Affordability:

Indicates the monthly cost of living by using average rent and utility costs.

Each metric was weighted evenly to produce a standardised Creative Benchmark score (out of 100), allowing fair comparison of how UK cities perform across space, opportunity, and affordability. A score of 50 represents the UK creative average across all cities in the study.

More than half (27) of the UK’s top 50 creative cities outperform the national average score of 50, signalling a broad national shift in where creative activity is concentrated.  

Redistributing Creativity: UK Regional Shift

The UK’s creative industries are currently the engine of national growth, accounting for an estimated £145.8 billion to the economy and employing 2.4 million people – consistently creating new jobs at three times the national average. 

Under the Government's 10-year Creative Industries Sector Plan, the ambition is to cement the UK as the number one worldwide destination for creative investment by 2035, specifically by decentralising London as the top creative hub and driving growth into smaller UK cities and regions.

This comes as professionals face a high ‘cost of creativity’ barrier. Studio rents have surged by 30% nationwide and, in London especially, tenure insecurity now affects 31% of the workforce. For many, these overheads are making other smaller cities increasingly desirable, too. 

Deciding on the right home for a creative career requires navigating a complex landscape. While London offers high top-line salaries, the geographic pay gap remains a hurdle. With 53% of professionals planning to change roles this year, citing salary and bonuses as primary motivators, the decision to move rests on the critical balance between income and outgoings.

Furthermore, the talent pipeline in these regions is under strain. A growing number of universities have been cutting back on art degree offerings to manage budget deficits, further intensifying existing regional inequalities. Meanwhile, research shows that rural, coastal, and historically underserved areas are already cold spots for arts degrees.

The cities driving the UK’s next wave of creative growth

The Creative Cities Report revealed that a new group of high-performing creative hubs is emerging across the UK, with cities like Worcester, Carlisle, and Dundee significantly outperforming the national average score. 

With a leading score of 79, Worcester emerged as the top up-and-coming location for creatives, outperforming every city nationwide, including traditional creative hubs like London and Manchester.

With over 32 green spaces, 10 co-working offices, and 10 creative-related courses (including illustration and graphic design) at the University of Worcester, the city offers a well-balanced environment, combining access to opportunity and to space, all with a low cost of living (£1,028 per month).

Carlisle secured second place, driven by a lower-than-average cost of living (£752 per month). With average salaries ranging from £24,420 to £44,725 for creative roles such as UX designer and photo editor, the city offers an exceptional salary-to-rent-and-bills ratio, providing designers with greater freedom and flexibility. 

Dundee places third. As the UK’s first UNESCO City of Design, it excels as a creative hub by combining significant cultural investment (£237,102 in arts funding per 10,000 residents) and a high concentration of creative spaces (98) with an affordable living cost (£1,291 per month), making it a standout all-rounder for creative designers.

All of the top 10 cities scored 60 or above on the Creative Index, placing them firmly ahead of the UK creative baseline score of 50 and highlighting the clear emergence of new creative growth hubs.

Top 10 emerging creative cities

Cities keeping pace with UK creative baseline

Elsewhere on the index, a cluster of locations sits just above or around the UK creative benchmark of 50, with Leeds (59), Cambridge (55), and Belfast (54), continuing to demonstrate strong creative reputations.  

Leeds benefits from a proactive council-backed cultural programme, a high concentration of creative agencies (90), and strong arts funding of £598,651 per 10,000 residents. With 200 job listings and nine university courses, opportunities are plentiful, though a monthly rent of £1,234 may create barriers for early-career creatives.

Cambridge offers strong earning potential, with a weighted average salary of £48,070 and 87 job listings, supported by a healthy spread of co-working and green spaces. However, at £1,760 per month, it remains one of the most expensive cities outside of London, which risks alienating talent. 

Belfast, a UNESCO City of Music since 2021, offers a rich cultural environment with 187 creative locations and 48 green spaces, alongside a competitive average salary of £47,403. 

However, its limited co-working provisions (0.5 per 10,000 residents) and its arts funding (£199,319 per 10,000) fall short of what comparable cities like Winchester and Leeds are channelling, making it a place with real creative energy, but where opportunity remains harder to come by.  

Cities with lower access to creative resources

Southampton ranks below the national benchmark with a final score of 19, facing challenges in opportunities for those in the sector. The city’s sheer size means its creative spaces are under more pressure than smaller counterparts. 

While it offers a decent number of creative spaces (118), the city faces challenges in translating these into a high per capita number (1.2). Its professional infrastructure and green spaces face similar obstacles at 0.2 and 0.4. 

Compounded by a lower level of arts funding, which sits at £57,085 per 10,000 capita – the lowest of the major UK cities – it demonstrates the growing pressure Southampton’s infrastructure is under.

Newport’s access to creative resources also sits below the national benchmark. It’s falling behind primarily due to the lack of a local talent pipeline. With no local creative degree offerings and one of the lowest per-capita arts funding in the UK, Newport’s infrastructure is struggling to keep pace with the needs of the workforce.

Despite its reputation as a major creative hub, Manchester ranks lower on a per capita basis. While overall creative output remains high, access to key resources such as creative spaces and green areas is more limited when spread across a large and rapidly growing population. Rising living costs (£1,486 per month) may also be contributing to increasing barriers for locally based creatives.

Cities below the UK creative benchmark

Where creatives have the greatest access to creative spaces

Winchester ranked best for access to space, offering an unrivalled 14 creative locations per 10,000 residents, more than double that of established hubs like Cambridge or Oxford, and the highest out of all cities. To maintain these standards, it secures £782,339 in arts funding per 10,000 residents, the highest outside London.

The city ranks as a top-tier working environment for designers with 2 coworking spaces and 5 green spaces per capita, second only to Salford. Partnered with its infrastructure and strong funding, Winchester has earned its place as a hub for creatives.

Salford emerged as a standout city boasting 6 co-working spaces per capita – nearly five times that of Winchester. It leads the way in terms of green spaces, with 6 per capita, and has a significant amount of arts funding at £260,205. While the cost of living is going up, Salford’s extensive co-working spaces have positioned it as a leading city for the flexible creative.

Worcester came in third, with a healthy 6 creative locations per 10,000 residents, and after several landmark funding awards, a strong arts funding of £248,977. The consistent, all-around access and funding Worcester receives make it a reliable place for creatives seeking balance.

Top 10 cities for access to space (per capita)

Where access to creative space is under pressure

The sheer number of people who call the major UK cities home adds mounting pressure to the infrastructure. This trend highlights a broader pattern across the nation, where smaller cities often outperform larger urban centres on a per capita basis, particularly when it comes to access to space and infrastructure.

Southampton, as noted, continues to feel this pressure most, with only 1.2 creative spaces per 10,000 residents and £57,085 arts funding per capita remaining among the lowest of any city in the study.

Birmingham faces similar challenges. Despite offering among the highest number of creative locations in the UK (178), due to the scale of the city, it translates to just under 1 creative location per 10,000 capita. And while its overall funding is higher than Southampton's at £122,920, the city’s scale means that funding stretches less far per resident.

Additionally, the city's growing population means there is limited access to coworking locations and green space per resident.

Similarly, Manchester residents may find access to creative spaces is more competitive. Despite having £102,054 in arts funding, its resident-to-space ratio is lower than that of smaller cities, with access to green space at 0.2 per capita and coworking spaces at 0.3.

Cities with the lowest access to creative space (per capita)

Where opportunity is most accessible for creatives

Our research highlights a significant shift in the UK’s creative job market as regional salary disparities begin to close and competition in major cities intensifies. Smaller cities are increasingly providing better per capita career access and more competitive financial packages than traditional creative centres.

Cambridge ranked as the best city for access to opportunities, offering the highest density of active job listings at 6 per capita. 

Combined with a strong average creative salary of £48,070 and a healthy pipeline of seven creative university courses, it has established itself as the UK’s best city for high-growth design careers, particularly for roles where experience in graphic design software and digital creative tools is increasingly important.

Worcester emerged as the second-best city for opportunities, particularly for those looking to build a career within an agency environment. With 6 agencies per 10,000 residents, it ranks in the top three for creative degree offerings, boasting a total of 10 creative courses. This makes Worcester a great place to kick-start a creative career. 

Salford secured the third spot, standing out with almost 11 agencies per capita and one of the highest average creative salaries in the nation at £52,648. 

As the home of MediaCityUK, job availability remains high at 4.4 per 10,000 residents. While Salford falls short on local creative degree offerings with only one available, its immediate proximity to Manchester’s major universities ensures it remains a top-tier city for creatives.

Top 10 cities for access to opportunities (per capita)

Cities with limited access to creative opportunities

While some UK cities are emerging as strong creative hubs, others sit below the national creative benchmark for access to opportunities, reflecting more limited local job density, agency presence and education pathways.

Bradford has more limited access to opportunity pathways with 1 job listing per 10,000 residents, an average creative salary of £36,415, and no creative degrees currently available in the city. 

Aberdeen has lower levels of local provisions with one of the lowest average creative salaries in the research, at £34,924, and a job density of 0.6 per 10,000 capita. However, it has more pathways than Bradford, with one creative university course and 2 agencies per 10,000 capita

Kingston upon Hull also falls below the national benchmark for creative opportunities. Despite offering a higher average creative salary of £38,853, its creative job availability remains lower at 1 per 10,000 capita. Its agency density and creative university also struggle to keep pace with the other cities.

Cities with limited access to opportunities (per capita)

A new creative geography is emerging

While traditional hubs still play a major role in shaping the country’s creative geography, smaller cities are starting to outperform on key measures such as access to creative spaces, affordability, and opportunity. 

Growing demand for digital skills, including proficiency in using graphic design software and other industry-standard creative tools, is also reshaping how and where creative work is delivered. 

More than half the cities exceed the national average creative score, meaning the UK’s creative economy is no longer concentrated in a handful of traditional locations, but is becoming more distributed, accessible, and regionally diverse. 

On the findings, Deanna German, Global Creative Director at Affinity, said: 

“The UK’s creative sector isn’t just shifting, it’s growing at four times the rate of the wider economy. For years, the assumption has been that creatives need to be based in the major cities to succeed, but our research shows that growth is no longer confined to the borders of London or Manchester. 

“Instead, smaller, often underappreciated cities like Worcester and Carlisle are quietly leading the way. Our analysis highlights that they offer a greater balance between quality of life and career opportunity, alongside a lower cost of living – a combination that’s becoming increasingly rare in bigger cities.

“While these major cities still make waves in the creative scene and are great places for budding designers, we’re seeing a regional reset.”

Methodology

To identify the UK’s creative hubs, Affinity analysed 50 cities against three core pillars – access to space, access to opportunities, and affordability. By standardising data per 10,000 residents, Affinity ensured that cities were measured fairly.

• Access to Space:

Measures the access to creative spaces (art galleries, museums, performing arts theatres, and live music venues), coworking spaces, parks, and total art funding.

• Access to Opportunities:

Shows the access to opportunities by finding the number of creative job availability (product designer, UX designer, graphic designer, and photo editor), salary of every job, and creative university undergraduate degrees (graphic design, product design, UX/UI design, illustration, digital media, and digital marketing).

• Affordability:

Indicates the monthly cost of living by using average rent and utilities costs.

Each metric was then weighted evenly to determine which cities are best for design creatives.

All data is correct as of May 2026.