Savings balances are not linked to quality of life

Residents of Kensington and Chelsea have the highest average savings balance of £10,185 in the country, but the royal borough is well outside the top 50 best areas for quality of life, currently ranking 80th.

Seven other areas in Britain's top 20 for the highest savings balances also rank outside the top 50 areas with the best quality of life, including Christchurch (110) , Shetland Islands (207), Derbyshire Dales (133), Cambridge (172) and the London boroughs of Harrow (97), Barnet (150) and Westminster (168).

Most of the top 50 areas with the highest savings balances and the top 50 areas for quality of life are dominated by locations in southern England. However, none of the 11 areas in northern Britain that feature in the top 50 for savings balances appear in the top 50 for quality of life. These areas include Shetland Islands (207), Aberdeenshire (178), East Dunbartonshire (208) in Scotland and Hambleton (78), Ryedale (83) and Harrogate (127) in Yorkshire and the Humber.

There are some areas where residents rank highly in terms of both savings balances and quality of life. Nine of the 20 areas with the highest savings balances in the country are also amongst the 20 areas with the highest quality of life.

Nitesh Patel, economist at Halifax, commented: "It is in many ways encouraging to see that there is not a direct correlation between the quality of life ranking and the level of savings balances, with keen savers showing it is important to build a healthy savings pot regardless of location

"Eight of the local areas in the UK's top 20 with the highest savings balances rank outside the top 50 areas with the best quality of life. Most notably, the area with the nation's highest savers - Kensington and Chelsea - is well outside the top 50 in terms of quality of life."