Sheffield Identified As The UK’s Second-Fastest-growing City Economy, A New Study Finds.

A new data study has named Sheffield as the UK’s second fastest-growing city economy. The booming city has a growth rate of 12.4%, boasting a particularly impressive expansion of its advanced manufacturing, energy storage and digital creative industries.

As the second fastest-growing city, Sheffield is developing three times faster than London, with a growth rate of 4.1%. It finds itself ahead of the rapidly expanding city economies of Bradford, the third fastest growing city, Portsmouth and Manchester. Liverpool has been identified as the UK’s fastest-growing city economy.

These cities constitute the top five fastest-growing UK cities ranked by data-as-a-service company, The Data City.

Sheffield is a renowned centre for advanced manufacturing. Its advanced manufacturing and engineering strengths have created many interesting applications, including high-growth sectors such as energy storage. In Sheffield, energy storage is a big focus, with organisations like the Translational Energy Research Center and the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Center at the forefront of the emerging sector.

The work done by these institutions is enabling significant breakthroughs in areas such as Synthetic Air Fuels (SAF). Late last year, the RAF successfully tested SAF in one of their larger aircraft. Sheffield’s SAF Innovation Center supports testing for this year's first Net Zero transatlantic flight.

One of the other key areas for growth in the city is in the digital creative industries arena. Many of the city’s leading architecture, photography, and gaming companies have all been making their mark on the global stage.


The overall UK picture is reinforced when looking at the hotspots for growth around the UK, and with a growth rate of 4.1%, London is positioned as the UK’s 26th fastest-growing city.

The Data City is an established leader in mapping the UK’s emerging economy. Researchers, policymakers, and investors use it to access real-time data on dynamic sectors and the companies within them.

As a data-as-a-service company, the Leeds-based business provides unique, real-time industrial data on the most dynamic emerging economic sectors. Delivered by a cutting-edge AI, The Data City’s platform combines all the data needed in one place, from open data sets and website text to company financials and investment data, allowing users to make impactful discoveries in minutes.