The city where times are good and there’s money to spend...

Glasgow and Dundee also came in the top five, with London in second place.

The average disposable household income after outgoings like tax, mortgage payments and pension contributions rose by nearly 25 per cent in Aberdeen between 2004 and the end of 2009, when the latest figures could be obtained.

In 2004 people living in the Aberdeen area had £13,669 left over – and this figure has leapt by 24.65 per cent over five years to £17,039.

London came in second place in terms of percentage change but had the highest disposable income overall.

The capital saw a 22.13 per cent jump over the same period, with households pocketing £19,658 in 2009 compared with £16,096 five years earlier.

Accounting group UHY Hacker Young, which carried out the research, said Aberdeen’s success was buoyed by a “booming oil industry”.

Partner Marc Waterman said: “London has been seen as streets ahead of all the other UK towns and cities for growth in disposable household income, but these figures show that the gap is closing.

“Although London still has the greatest disposable income in the UK, Aberdeen is catching up fast.”

Mr Waterman said Aberdeen, known as the Granite City, has benefited from persistently high oil prices. He continued: “Despite the recent North Sea tax increases, there has been continued investment in North Sea oil and gas production.”

He added: “Although disposable incomes in Dundee and Glasgow have grown from a low base, the growth has been very rapid, aided by their low housing costs and the fact that they avoided the worst of a spike in unemployment.”