At £823 per month, Edinburgh is now the second most expensive UK city in which to rent a room, beaten only by London (£980), according to average rent data from flatshare site SpareRoom.
City centre living is becoming increasingly unaffordable, even for those renters who are flatsharing. And steep rent increases in areas like Stirling, Musselburgh and Paisley, and their proximity to major cities, suggest they’re becoming more popular among those who’ve been priced out.
Postcode district FK8 which covers parts of Stirling has seen the highest rent increase in Scotland since 2019, up 69%. Competition for rooms here is also extremely stiff with 8.5 people searching per room available to rent.
However, demand is still highest in G2 (Glasgow city centre) where 16.1 people are competing for each available room.
The table below shows the top 10 postcodes in Scotland where rents have increased most since 2019. All these areas have seen increases higher than the average rent rise for Scotland, which is currently £691 per month, up from £476 pm in 2019 (+45%).
| Postcode | Ave monthly room rent Q2 2025 | Ave monthly room rent Q2 2019 | Rent change 2019 vs 2025 | Demand Q2 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FK8 (Stirling centre & west, Aberfoyle, Arnprior, Buchlyvie, Gargunnock, Gartmore, Inversnaid, Kippen, Port of Menteith, Ruskie, Thornhill) | £677 | £401 | 68.6% | 8.5 |
| 2 | G11 (Glasgow West End, Broomhill, Partick, Partickhill) | £855 | £510 | 67.7% | 5.1 |
| 3 | EH6 (Leith, Edinburgh) | £900 | £568 | 58.4% | 8.5 |
| 4 | G12 (Glasgow Hillhead/West End) | £784 | £506 | 54.9% | 9.9 |
| 5 | EH9 (Edinburgh South) | £873 | £564 | 54.8% | 14.4 |
| 6 | EH4 (Edinburgh NW) | £813 | £526 | 54.5% | 11.6 |
| 7 | EH21 (Musselburgh) | £672 | £438 | 53.3% | 9.7 |
| 8 | PA1 (Paisley central, east and north east, Ralston | £557 | £365 | 52.6% | 12.8 |
| 9 | DD4 (Dundee East) | £532 | £350 | 51.9% | 6.4 |
| 10 | EH11 (Edinburgh West) | £798 | £531 | 50.4% | 7.8 |
This table shows the top 10 postcode districts in Scotland where demand is now highest, and how that demand has changed since 2019:
| Postcode | Ave monthly room rent Q2 2025 | Demand Q2 2025 | Demand Q2 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G2 (Glasgow City Centre) | £804 | 16.1 | 8.4 |
| 2 | IV3 (Inverness) | £693 | 15.7 | 5.0 |
| 3 | EH9 (Edinburgh South) | £873 | 14.4 | 11.6 |
| 4 | EH5 (Edinburgh North) | £789 | 13.6 | 8.4 |
| 5 | G41 (Glasgow Southside: Pollokshields, Shawlands) | £660 | 13.3 | 6.6 |
| 6 | G1 (Glasgow City Centre) | £783 | 13.2 | 10.7 |
| 7 | G21 (Glasgow: Balornock, Barmulloch, Cowlairs, Royston, Springburn, Sighthill) | £538 | 13.0 | 6.4 |
| 8 | PA1 (Paisley central, east and north east, Ralston | £557 | 12.8 | 4.3 |
| 9 | G20 (Glasgow: Maryhill, North Kelvinside, Ruchill) | £650 | 12.7 | 6.7 |
| 10 | EH10 (Corridor along A702 from Bruntsfield, through Morningside as far as Fairmilehead) | £751 | 12.6 | 13.6 |
Matt Hutchinson, director of flatshare site SpareRoom, comments:
“Enabled by remote work, we’re now seeing heightened demand from flatsharers in commuter areas and suburbia where supply is lower, pushing up rents. The proximity of places like Stirling, Musselburgh and Paisley to major cities mean they’re becoming more popular with flatsharers. Although demand in cities is clearly still strong, city centre living has become increasingly unaffordable for renters.
“It comes down to affordability. The average room rent in Edinburgh, for example, is now £823 per month so it is, on average, £1,812 cheaper to live in Musselburgh, just five miles east of Edinburgh city centre.
“When renters reach their ceiling of affordability, there isn't really a choice, they have to move somewhere cheaper. The worry is that demand in some areas is now so high it's inevitable prices will rise, until average rents are similar to those in the city they originally moved out of. And then where do renters go?”