Living in Belfast

Belfast is a city in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, home to 340,220 people. Of the 29 household profiles on Nestlyzer, its strongest are students (top 2%, #5 of 354), digital natives (top 2%, #6 of 368), remote workers (top 4%, #15 of 387).

Residents340,220

Density2,471 per km²

Area137.7 km²

Hub airport19 km (Belfast International)

Nearest city of 100k+Itself

Within 30 km784,700 people

Sea coast3 km

Climate typeOceanic (Cfb)

Terrain around itabout 80 m, height range 200 m

Nearest large lakeLough Neagh, 21 km

Main railway line1.2 km

Border with Ireland58 km

Distance to London519 km

Within 10 km482,860 people

Greater areaGreater Belfast, the core

Winter daylight7 h 15 min, sunset 16:00

See Belfast on the map

Open in Nestlyzer

Good to know about Belfast

The Hebrides sea is 3 km away.
On the shortest day the sun is up for 7 h 15 min and sets around 16:00; in late June it sets around 22:04.

How Belfast ranks

Scores run 0 to 100 against every municipality in United Kingdom. Ranks count only the places that pass each profile's minimums, so the totals differ by profile. Local data: official statistics on affordability, education and family, health and elderly, jobs and economy, lifestyle and amenities, mobility and connectivity, safety and community and taxes and wealth (local or regional figures, sources on every place page) plus population and geography.

Profile	Score	In United Kingdom	In Northern Ireland
Young family	53	#201 of 378	#9 of 11	Map
Low-income household	75	#53 of 387	#5 of 11	Map
Low-income family	66	#65 of 378	#6 of 11	Map
Single parent	65	#87 of 378	#7 of 11	Map
Pensioner couple	47	#319 of 378	#11 of 11	Map
Single pensioner	43	#298 of 378	#11 of 11	Map
Early retiree	53	#319 of 387	#11 of 11	Map
Single professional	62	#122 of 368	#4 of 11	Map
Young professional	65	#122 of 367	#4 of 11	Map
DINKS	59	#153 of 362	#6 of 11	Map
Remote worker	75	#15 of 387	#8 of 11	Map
Commuter	74	#151 of 368	#5 of 11	Map
Car-free household	76	#62 of 361	#2 of 11	Map
Student	85	#5 of 354	#1 of 11	Map
First-home buyer	74	#35 of 378	#5 of 11	Map
Budget-constrained mover	73	#21 of 388	#4 of 11	Map
Urban lifestyle seeker	65	#71 of 363	#2 of 11	Map
Expat professional	56	#154 of 387	#8 of 11	Map
Healthcare-first mover	21	#303 of 378	#11 of 11	Map
Nature-focused household	36	#299 of 388	#11 of 11	Map
Cross-border commuter		not ranked: must-have: a border within 45 km where pay is higher on the other side	–	Map
Outdoor and mountain lover	51	#78 of 388	#9 of 11	Map
Rural value seeker	45	#229 of 388	#11 of 11	Map
High-net-worth mover	52	#188 of 388	#10 of 11	Map
Lottery winner	68	#28 of 388	#3 of 11	Map
Climate-resilient relocation	69	#229 of 388	#11 of 11	Map
Coastal living	71	#79 of 209	#10 of 11	Map
Business owner	60	#170 of 388	#7 of 11	Map
Digital native	75	#6 of 368	#1 of 11	Map

Strengths and trade-offs

Services nearby (people within 10 km: shops, doctors, cafes, transport)100
Climate exposure (estimate: coastal and river flooding, heat; 100 = low)100
Sea or lake shore99
Freight access (motorway, rail, port)98
Mobility and connectivity96
Port access (major sea or inland port)93
Universities in town (universities and universities of applied sciences within 10 km)93
University-town character (universities relative to the people nearby)91
Affordability88
Foundation83
City scale (people within 10 km: big-city life, transit, scenes)70
Mountains and water (terrain relief, lakes and the sea nearby)61
Lifestyle and amenities60
Climate (mild and sunny: climate class and winter daylight)59
Safety and community55
Jobs and economy36
Education and family26
Green space20
One-day truck radius (residents within 300 km, across borders)12
Flat land (terrain relief)12
Market reach (residents within 100 km, across borders)8
Home market (residents of the same country within 150 km)6
Health and elderly6
Chemical park nearby (sites with pipeline links)0
National border nearby (straight line)0
Financial centre (banking and capital markets) within commuting distance0
Commodity-trading or gold hub within commuting distance0
Crypto hub within commuting distance0
Wealth-management centre within commuting distance0

Nearby

Lisburn and Castlereagh 7 km
Antrim and Newtownabbey 12 km
Ards and North Down 17 km
Mid and East Antrim 33 km
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon 35 km
Newry, Mourne and Down 43 km
Mid Ulster 50 km
Causeway Coast and Glens 67 km

Data: Eurostat GISCO LAU 2024; locations EDJNet LAU centres; airports OurAirports; coastline Natural Earth. Updated 2026-10-31. Rankings are decision aids, not advice.