Cost of living in the UK: Calculator to compare cities

Use our dedicated cost of living calculator to find out how much you need in your bank account to rent in cities around the UK. The calculator will also show you the salary you’d need in each city to afford the rent on a 1-bedroom flat – and how this compares to the average annual salary.

Cost of living difference calculator

From city

To city

Select 2 cities from the dropdowns above to begin.

How does our calculator work?

Enter two cities you want to compare the cost of living between. The calculator will show how much more or less expensive the second city is compared to the first as a percentage.

It also gives a more detailed breakdown below so you can understand the costs. This includes the estimated cost of living in each city including rent and the rent for a 1-bedroom flat in each city.

To find out the cost of living without rent – you can simply subtract the rent price from the total cost of living. This cost of living figure includes monthly outgoings such as groceries, bills and entertainment, plus saving 20% of your income.

Salary needed to live in each city

This calculator also includes a handy indication of the yearly salary you would need to afford the cost of living in each city.

This accounts for rent, living costs, savings and pension contributions, so you can assess whether you could comfortably afford to live in that city with the salary you have in mind.

How should I interpret the results?

The cost of living will vary depending on your lifestyle and circumstances so is not an absolute figure – but it acts as a guide for a single person living and renting in a major UK city.

What is included in the ‘cost of living’?

To give an overall picture of the cost of living, we took the total given in each city for bills, groceries and other regular outgoings, added 20% of income for savings, and then added rent for a 1-bedroom flat in the area.

Why does the cost of living vary between cities?

Rent is a major factor in the cost of living and this tends to be quite different across cities, which can account for a lot of differences. Other costs will also vary – with entertainment and food in London, for example, generally more expensive than a city in the north of the UK.

Methodology for the cost of living calculator

The most recent ONS figures were used for the average salary in cities around the UK. The equivalent figures for Belfast and Derry were taken from the latest NISRA figures. To find the average rent for a 1-bedroom flat in each city, data was taken from home.co.uk. For the student rent, the price of a 4-bedroom house was taken and divided by 4. The median rental price was taken to avoid skewing by expensive properties.

To find the cost of living (without rent) in each city, data for a single person’s estimated monthly costs were taken from Numbeo’s cost of living database. Where specific cost of living was not available for a city due to a low number of data points, the nearest large city or UK average cost of living was taken. This includes food, entertainment, transport, bills, and all other regular living costs.

The research assumed that the average person would want to save 20% of their income as a general rule of thumb, and this is included in overall living costs. It also assumed that they would be saving for their retirement by paying auto-enrolment contributions to their workplace pension – and this was included when calculating take-home pay.

The Salary Calculator’s take-home pay calculator and required salary calculator were used to calculate the average UK salary after tax and pension and the salary required to live in each city.

Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact:

Matt Mckenna
UK communications manager
M: +44 747 921 7816
T: +44 20 8191 8806

Thank you for your feedback!

Written by

Chris Lilly

Head of publishing

Chris Lilly is Head of publishing at finder.com. He's a specialist in personal finance, from day-to-day banking to investing to borrowing, and is passionate about helping UK consumers make informed decisions about their money. In his spare time Chris likes forcing his kids to exercise more. See full bio

Chris's expertise

Chris has written 609 Finder guides across topics including:

Loans & credit cards
Building credit
Financial health

Co-written by

Sophie Barber

Author

Sophie Barber is a content marketing manager for Finder in the UK after previously working as a content manager at a digital marketing agency. She has over 5 years experience in writing and publishing clear, concise and informative online articles for a variety of websites. See full bio

Sophie's expertise

Sophie has written 77 Finder guides across topics including:

Publishing original personal finance research
Creating data-led statistics pages to highlight industry trends
Cost of living and money saving tips

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