UK Cost of Living by City 2026/27

Typical rent, council tax and median pay across 15 UK cities — all sourced from ONS Private Rental Prices, gov.uk council tax data, and ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Ordered from cheapest 2-bed rent upwards.

Browse 15 UK cities

City Country 2-bed rent/mo Council Tax Band D Median annual pay
Liverpool England £900 £2,150 £32,240
Newcastle upon Tyne England £900 £2,050 £31,980
Sheffield England £900 £2,070 £32,500
Leicester England £900 £2,100 £30,940
Belfast Northern Ireland £900 Rates * £31,200
Nottingham England £925 £2,410 £31,720
Coventry England £975 £2,150 £33,280
Birmingham England £1,050 £2,085 £33,800
Leeds England £1,050 £1,970 £34,320
Glasgow Scotland £1,100 £1,530 £34,840
Cardiff Wales £1,100 £1,960 £33,540
Manchester England £1,200 £1,900 £35,620
Edinburgh Scotland £1,450 £1,560 £37,440
Bristol England £1,450 £2,200 £36,400
London England £2,100 £1,950 £42,900

* Northern Ireland uses the Rates system instead of Council Tax — see Belfast for details.

How we compile these numbers

Rent figures come from the ONS Private Rental Market Summary Statistics, using the median for a 2-bedroom dwelling in each city's local-authority district (or the closest comparable). Council Tax Band D figures are published annually by each council on gov.uk — we use 2025/26 rates where available. Median weekly pay is the full-time workplace median from ONS ASHE Table 7 (2024), annualised for display.

Important caveat. Cost of living within a city varies materially by postcode. A 2-bed in inner London is typically £2,500+, while outer zones can be £1,500. These figures are median snapshots useful for comparison but not for budgeting — for an actual property check local listings.

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