It’s no secret that prices and salaries vary widely across the UK, and with the cost of living increasing, many Brits are likely to resort to measures such as cost-cutting and taking advantage of financial offers like bank switching deals. Which cities are the best to live in if you want to benefit from the highest disposable income?
The average British adult living in a UK city has £939 a month in disposable income in 2024 after paying taxes, bills and essential living costs. This is £34 more a month (or £413 more a year) compared to 2023, when the average was £905. Disposable income can be used for savings, holidays or other spending.
| City | Disposable income |
|---|---|
| Colchester | £1,392 |
| Milton Keynes | £1,280 |
| Cambridge | £1,235 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | £1,211 |
| Leeds | £1,196 |
| Chester | £1,170 |
| Canterbury | £1,151 |
| Coventry | £1,146 |
| Aberdeen | £1,131 |
| Bradford | £1,123 |
| Edinburgh | £1,088 |
| Belfast | £1,020 |
| Lincoln | £1,019 |
| Derby | £1,009 |
| Southampton | £978 |
| Doncaster | £958 |
| Birmingham | £955 |
| Portsmouth | £953 |
| York | £926 |
| Norwich | £919 |
| Newport | £906 |
| Bath | £905 |
| Bristol | £903 |
| Sheffield | £894 |
| Glasgow | £887 |
| Cardiff | £885 |
| Dundee | £874 |
| Liverpool | £871 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | £861 |
| Sunderland | £827 |
| Brighton and Hove | £824 |
| Swansea | £812 |
| London | £784 |
| Oxford | £777 |
| Kingston upon Hull | £749 |
| Durham | £734 |
| Exeter | £729 |
| Leicester | £716 |
| Manchester | £712 |
| Preston | £708 |
| Nottingham | £638 |
| Plymouth | £592 |
We studied the income and the cost of living in 41 cities around the UK to find out which cities have the most and least money to spare. For this analysis, disposable income means the money left over after paying for essentials, including taxes, bills and recurring monthly living costs. It assumes a single UK adult is renting a room within a shared property in a UK city.
1. Colchester, £1,392
2. Milton Keynes, £1,280
3. Cambridge, £1,234
4. Newcastle, £1,211
5. Leeds, £1,196
1. Plymouth, £592
2. Nottingham, £638
3. Preston, £708
4. Manchester, £711
5. Leicester, £716
Of the cities analysed, those in Colchester had the most disposable income each month, with an average of £1,392, 48% higher than the
average in UK cities of £939. They are closely followed by Milton Keynes residents, who have an average of £1,280 to spare, and Cambridge residents, who have an average of £1,234 left over.
At the other end of the spectrum, residents in Plymouth had just £592 a month while those in Nottingham were not far ahead with £638 a month. Average salaries in Nottingham and Plymouth were among some of the lowest in the cities analysed, but they still had higher living costs than many other cities on the list, meaning those living here have less disposable income.
Unsurprisingly, London has the highest living costs of the UK cities analysed, with an average monthly spend of £2,320 on rent and basic costs. The cost of a single room to rent in London (£1,231) is 2.5 times higher than the average, so it’s no shock that living costs are so high in the capital.
The cheapest city on the list for living costs was Bradford, where the average single Brit could expect to spend just £1,066 on rent and essentials. Other cities with low living costs include Lincoln (£1,086) and Hull (£1,088).
The monthly living costs for a single person in most cities were between £1,000 and £1,650, with just London leaping ahead with living costs of over £2,000.
1. London, £2,320
2. Bath, £1,636
3. Oxford, £1,625
4. Cambridge, £1,597
5. Edinburgh, £1,555
1. Bradford, £1,066
2. Lincoln, £1,086
3. Hull, £1,088
4. Sunderland, £1,098
5. Stoke-on-Trent, £1,102
Canterbury residents have had the biggest increase in disposable income, up 30% on average since last year. They are followed by those in Lincoln, who have seen a signidicant increase of 28% in disposable income on average according to the research. In third place is Newport, where residents have seen disposable income boosted by 15% on average since 2023.
Those living in Doncaster have 20% less disposable income on average in 2023 compared to 2022. This is largely due to increases in rent but also the cost of living in the capital. This is by far the biggest change of all UK cities, with Durham coming in next with a decrease of 15%, followed by Hull with a decrease of 14%.
1. Canterbury, 30% increase
2. Lincoln, 28% increase
3. Newport, 15% increase
4. Chester, 14% increase
5. London, 13% increase
1. Doncaster, 20% decrease
2. Durham, 15% decrease
3. Hull, 14% decrease
4. Plymouth, 12% decrease
5. Exeter, 8% decrease
| City | Monthly salary after tax | Monthly living costs | Single room cost | Total living costs | Disposable income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colchester | £2,628 | £811 | £425 | £1,236 | £1,392 |
| Milton Keynes | £2,634 | £811 | £542 | £1,353 | £1,280 |
| Cambridge | £2,832 | £889 | £707 | £1,597 | £1,235 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | £2,394 | £796 | £388 | £1,184 | £1,211 |
| Leeds | £2,457 | £780 | £481 | £1,261 | £1,196 |
| Chester | £2,426 | £811 | £446 | £1,257 | £1,170 |
| Canterbury | £2,463 | £811 | £502 | £1,312 | £1,151 |
| Coventry | £2,312 | £764 | £401 | £1,165 | £1,146 |
| Aberdeen | £2,313 | £819 | £363 | £1,182 | £1,131 |
| Bradford | £2,189 | £811 | £256 | £1,066 | £1,123 |
| Edinburgh | £2,642 | £916 | £639 | £1,555 | £1,088 |
| Belfast | £2,175 | £749 | £406 | £1,155 | £1,020 |
| Lincoln | £2,105 | £811 | £275 | £1,086 | £1,019 |
| Derby | £2,167 | £811 | £347 | £1,158 | £1,009 |
| Southampton | £2,321 | £811 | £532 | £1,342 | £978 |
| Doncaster | £2,227 | £811 | £458 | £1,269 | £958 |
| Birmingham | £2,198 | £762 | £481 | £1,243 | £955 |
| Portsmouth | £2,220 | £811 | £456 | £1,267 | £953 |
| York | £2,343 | £811 | £606 | £1,417 | £926 |
| Norwich | £2,197 | £811 | £467 | £1,277 | £919 |
| Newport | £2,086 | £811 | £369 | £1,180 | £906 |
| Bath | £2,541 | £811 | £825 | £1,636 | £905 |
| Bristol | £2,344 | £825 | £615 | £1,441 | £903 |
| Sheffield | £2,196 | £847 | £455 | £1,302 | £894 |
| Glasgow | £2,251 | £853 | £511 | £1,364 | £887 |
| Cardiff | £2,220 | £778 | £557 | £1,335 | £885 |
| Dundee | £2,023 | £811 | £338 | £1,149 | £874 |
| Liverpool | £2,148 | £845 | £432 | £1,277 | £871 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | £1,964 | £811 | £292 | £1,102 | £861 |
| Sunderland | £1,925 | £811 | £288 | £1,098 | £827 |
| Brighton and Hove | £2,371 | £829 | £718 | £1,547 | £824 |
| Swansea | £2,069 | £811 | £446 | £1,257 | £812 |
| London | £3,104 | £1,090 | £1,231 | £2,320 | £784 |
| Oxford | £2,412 | £896 | £738 | £1,635 | £777 |
| Kingston upon Hull | £1,837 | £811 | £277 | £1,088 | £749 |
| Durham | £2,174 | £811 | £629 | £1,440 | £734 |
| Exeter | £2,156 | £811 | £617 | £1,427 | £729 |
| Leicester | £1,941 | £830 | £394 | £1,225 | £716 |
| Manchester | £2,090 | £843 | £536 | £1,379 | £712 |
| Preston | £1,955 | £811 | £436 | £1,247 | £708 |
| Nottingham | £1,844 | £809 | £397 | £1,205 | £638 |
| Plymouth | £1,925 | £811 | £522 | £1,333 | £592 |
Matt Mckenna
UK Head of Communications
T: +44 20 8191 8806
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