Edinburgh is the most attractive city in the UK to live and work in, according to a new study.

Commissioned by Royal Mail, the study assessed 12 cities on nine categories including access to education, green space and healthcare, cultural services and housing costs.

The capital came first on access to education and performed well on job opportunities, business community, earnings and access to green space, which covers 28% of the city.

Earnings in Edinburgh (at £578 on average per week) are second only to London and the city also has the second highest number of start-ups, while office space costs are about half that of London and the employment rate is strong at 70.8%.

Edinburgh Council leader Adam McVey said: "It is welcome news that Edinburgh is yet again receiving recognition as the UK's top city to live and work in.

"The facts demonstrating the city's attributes are plentiful and our own statistics in Edinburgh by Numbers show that Edinburgh is a vibrant capital city with a diverse economy, an increasing population with strong investment potential."

People in London, which is in second place, have the highest earnings at £697 per week on average, while employment levels are strong at 73.7%.

However housing affordability and office costs were the highest in the UK.

Bristol, Newcastle-Gateshead and Manchester rounded out the top five while Glasgow was in sixth place.

Scotland's largest city ranked third for rich cultural services, with 7.1 theatres and 60.2 libraries per million people.

Known as the dear green place, the city took first place for the share of the city which is green space, at 35%.

The research considered the UK's ten most economically significant cities as well as the capital cities of Wales and Northern Ireland.