UK’s most affordable cities
Where does your area rank? takepayments releases interactive map of the UK’s most affordable cities
- Middlesbrough takes the top spot as the most affordable city, scoring 6.51/10
- Brighton is the least affordable city outside London, scoring 3.5/10
- Brighton has the highest property prices outside London (£420,181 on average), while Aberdeen has the lowest (£134,368)
The 10 most affordable locations
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Middlesborough
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Sunderland
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Newcastle
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Lisburn
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Warrington *
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Aberdeen
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Norwich
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Glasgow
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Wolverhampton
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Leicester
New research from takepayments has revealed Middlesborough is the cheapest UK city to live in.
The UK’s leading card payment solutions provider analysed data from a variety of sources before awarding 34 UK cities an affordability score out of 10 to determine the most and least expensive places to live.
Looking at 14 different measures of affordability, including property prices, public transport costs, the average salary and the price of the pint, the study was able to determine a top 10 for affordability.
All three of the most affordable cities in the study are in the North East (Middlesborough, Sunderland and Newcastle) and the research only reaffirms the clear North South divide in the UK when it comes to wealth distribution.
Although the salaries and disposable income in these North Eastern cities were amongst the lowest in the study, the affordability of essential and non-essential expenses boosted their affordability significantly.
Brighton and Bristol were found to be the most expensive cities, outside of London, and ranked amongst the most costly locations for factors including rent prices, average yearly electricity bill and the cost of a monthly bus pass.
The research highlights that property and rent prices, in particular, are currently driving unaffordability in our cities. London (£51,6710), Brighton (£420,181) and Bristol (£347,689) rank 1st, 2nd, and 3rd for the highest property prices, mirroring their rankings as the most expensive cities in the study.
The cheapest property prices were found in Aberdeen (£134,368) – with the Scottish city ranking 5th for affordability overall.
The data reveals that high salaries don’t always mean affordability. Although London (£58,163) Brighton (£46,059) and Bristol (43,164) have some of the highest average yearly salaries, their high living costs outweigh the benefits of higher earnings.
Interestingly, the highest average yearly salary outside of London was found in Edinburgh (£47,892). The Scottish capital ranked as the 8th most unaffordable city.
Manchester and Leeds were the only northern cities to appear in the top ten most unaffordable cities in the study with essential expenses ranking poorly for affordability. Rent prices in Manchester were the 5th highest in the study (£1231.80 pcm on average) and car insurance prices in Leeds were the 7th highest (£947 per year on average).
On the other end of the scale, Northern Irish cities ranked high for affordability – especially for transport costs. Belfast had the lowest petrol prices (£132 per unleaded tank) whilst Belfast, Lisburn and Derry have the most affordable monthly bus passes in the UK (£47 pcm).
Jodie Wilkinson, Head of Strategic Partnerships at takepayments said:
“The UK’s affordability landscape is shifting, and our study highlights some key trends that could have long-term implications for both businesses and consumers. While London remains the least affordable city, what’s striking is how other cities — particularly in the North — are catching up when it comes to high living costs. The idea that northern cities are universally ‘cheap’ is being challenged and as industries move away from London, cities like Manchester and Leeds have seen rapid development, pushing up property and rental prices. With continued investment in business hubs outside of London, we may see even more locations become less affordable over time.
While affordability is high in Middlesbrough, Sunderland, and Newcastle, these cities also rank among the lowest for disposable income and wages. According to ONS’ regional labour market data from the last quarter of 2024, the North East has an employment rate of 70.3%, which is below the national average of 75.0% and looking ahead, job creation is expected to favour London and Southern England. Between now and 2027, employment in the UK is set to grow by 1.1% annually, but London (1.5%), the South East (1.3%), the South West (1.2%), and the East of England (1.2%) are the only regions expected to exceed this. All other areas are estimated to increase slower than the UK’s average, including the North East which has a predicted employment growth rate of 0.9%. For jobseekers and businesses alike, this highlights the trade-off between cost of living and access to employment.”
To check where your area ranks for affordability, please visit the interactive map here.
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