Here are the country’s most clean areas according to a new report.
12:36, 09 Feb 2026Updated 12:37, 09 Feb 2026
Scotland’s “cleanest” areas have been named(Image: High Street, Falkirk by habiloid, CC BY-SA 2.0)
A new list of the cleanest areas in Scotland has been revealed, with 10 destinations across the country singled out for their “purity and cleanliness”. One town in the country, situated between Edinburgh and Glasgow, even scored a perfect rating based on a wide range of categories.
On Thursday, February 5, Online Marketing Surgery and water management service Water and Air Management shared its latest cleanliness report. As part of the report, the experts assessed and ranked areas in Scotland based on standards of purity and cleanliness.
To put together the list, Online Marketing Surgery and Water and Air Management used data from Numbeo to analyse pollution levels across the country with a specific focus on purity and cleanliness scores for each area. Six out of Scotland’s eight cities were named among the cleanest places in the country.
According to Online Marketing Surgery and Water and Air Management, the number one cleanest area to live in Scotland is Falkirk. The town was given a perfect 100 per cent rating for purity and cleanliness, being the only location anywhere in the country to achieve this feat.
Falkirk is situated in the Central Lowlands, around 23 miles northwest of Edinburgh and 20 miles northeast of Glasgow. It is home to a population of around 35,000 people and features renowned green spaces such as Callendar Park and Dollar Park.
Coming in at number two on Online Marketing Surgery and Water and Air Management’s cleanliness report is Dundee. The city, which as reported by the Daily Record is home to Scotland’s “coolest postcode”, earned a rating of 82.10 per cent.
Dundee was named the number two area in Scotland for “purity and cleanliness”(Image: Gannet77 / Getty Images)
The third-cleanest place in Scotland as named by the report is Edinburgh. The Scottish capital, which earned a score of 75.38 out of 100 on the new cleanliness report, was previously named one of the most “eco-friendly” cities anywhere in the UK.
Rounding out the top five cleanest areas in Scotland, according to Online Marketing Surgery and Water and Air Management are Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire and Dumfries in Dumfries and Galloway. The former received a rating of 73.95 per cent, while the latter was given a score of 72.91 per cent.
Elsewhere, placing at numbers six and seven with ratings of 69.77 per cent and 65.90 per cent respectively are the cities of Glasgow and Aberdeen. Following behind in eighth is Inverness, which according to the experts has a cleanliness rating of 65.22 per cent out of 100.
The city of Inverness was named the eighth cleanest place in Scotland(Image: Nadia Audigie / Getty Images)
Completing the list of the top 10 areas in Scotland for purity and cleanliness are Livingston in West Lothian and the city of Perth. Livingston was assigned a cleanliness score of 62.50 per cent, while Perth received a rating of 51.87 per cent.
A spokesperson for Online Marketing Surgery commented: “It’s great to see places like Falkirk doing so well for purity and cleanliness. Clean air, good-quality drinking water, and well-kept public spaces make a real difference to everyday life, and this data shows the benefits of putting environmental quality first at a local level.”
Each area was assessed on a scale of zero to 100 across a number of categories. These included air quality, drinking water quality and accessibility, garbage disposal satisfaction, cleanliness and tidiness, noise and light pollution, the quality of green space and parks, and more.
Scores from all categories were combined, and a mean average was calculated for each location. According to Online Marketing Surgery, this approach allowed the experts to identify the areas with the highest overall standards of purity and cleanliness.
See below for the full list of the top 10 areas in Scotland for purity and cleanliness, according to Online Marketing Surgery and Water and Air Management.
Top 10 areas in Scotland for purity and cleanlinessFalkirk — 100 per centDundee — 82.10 per centEdinburgh — 75.38 per centKilmarnock — 73.95 per centDumfries — 72.91 per centGlasgow — 69.77 per centAberdeen — 65.90 per centInverness — 65.22 per centLivingston — 62.50 per centPerth — 51.87 per cent