Which UK city is top Trump?

This press release contains no presidential suits, blonde wigs or fake tan we’re afraid. Leading room share platform, ideal flatmate, has reproduced their own version of the classic card game, Top Trumps, pitting UK cities head to head on a range of criteria that appeal or relate to those living in room shares across the UK.

ideal flatmate took 22 major UK cities and looked at how they compared when it came to: –

  • The average rent for a room in that city.
  • The average take-home salary after tax.
  • The cost of a pint, although other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are available.
  • The cost of a meal out for two people.
  • The cost of a gym membership.
  • The percentage of singles in the city.

The cities included are: –

  • London, Belfast, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Southampton and Swansea.

You can see some of the best for each category below but you can also see them all at: https://www.idealflatmate.co.uk/flatmate-HQ/which-uk-city-is-top-trump/ 

For your city or any others in a high-res format please get in touch.

When it comes to scoring, it’s pretty straight forward.

The lower the rent, the cost of a pint, the cost of a meal and the cost of a gym membership the better. The higher the salary and the percentage of singles, the better. Easy.

So, Belfast comes out top when it comes to the cost of renting a room in the city, while London is predictably home to the highest room rental cost, although it does trump the rest where salary is concerned.

Sheffield and Liverpool tie for the honour of cheapest pint, while Manchester is home to the highest number of single people within its population and Swansea boasts the cheapest gym membership costs.

Tom Gatzen, co-founder of ideal flatmate, commented:

“As we’ve launched the ideal flatmate platform across more and more cities in the UK we wanted to do something to celebrate the diversity of these cities and we wanted to do it in a way that wouldn’t just focus on one aspect, but a number of areas that we know are important to those that rent rooms.

Everyone likes to show their hometown pride and what better way to do it then going head to head with other major UK cities.”  

Location
Average Room Rent
Average Monthly Salary
Average Cost of a Pint
Average Meal for Two
Average  Gym Membership
Singles %
Aberdeen
£266
£1,852
£3.60
£56
£34
42.70%
Belfast
£270
£1,566
£4.00
£40
£24
46.60%
Swansea
£286
£1,675
£3.50
£48
£21
36.70%
Newcastle
£350
£1,661
£3.50
£40
£23
46.50%
Birmingham
£364
£1,661
£3.62
£50
£22
41.60%
Cardiff
£399
£1,780
£3.50
£40
£24
45.00%
Plymouth
£401
£1,654
£3.50
£45
£28
37.10%
Nottingham
£412
£1,448
£3.15
£40
£26
51.30%
Sheffield
£428
£1,675
£3.00
£40
£26
41.20%
Liverpool
£438
£1,803
£3.00
£40
£25
49.70%
Leicester
£441
£1,727
£3.50
£45
£28
41.50%
Manchester
£464
£1,750
£4.00
£50
£25
54.90%
Portsmouth
£515
£1,585
£4.00
£45
£25
43.50%
Edinburgh
£525
£1,922
£4.00
£58
£32
45.30%
Bristol
£534
£2,032
£4.20
£50
£33
47.00%
Oxford
£544
£1,816
£4.00
£50
£35
53.80%
Southampton
£546
£2,070
£3.50
£40
£25
45.30%
Leeds
£548
£1,918
£3.50
£40
£26
40.80%
Cambridge
£562
£1,885
£4.00
£50
£34
52.60%
Bournemouth
£575
£1,635
£3.75
£45
£32
40.80%
Glasgow
£588
£1,729
£3.50
£50
£24
49.20%
London
£745
£2,305
£5.00
£63
£43
44.10%

 

Properganda PR

National and local media coverage for property businesses. Journo quotes delivered in minutes.

You May Also Enjoy

Rightmove logo
Breaking News

February is the best time to get your home sold

February is the best month to sell a home, based on the likelihood that a seller will be able to successfully find a buyer, new research from Rightmove reveals In a tightly contested piece of analysis based on millions of homes sold over ten years, February came out on top as the best month to…
Read More
Breaking News

Over 1.2m homes sold across the UK

The latest analysis of Government transaction data by GetAgent.co.uk has revealed that, despite widespread perceptions that 2025 was a difficult year for the property market, more than 1.2m homes sold across the UK, marking a 9.3% increase on the previous year. GetAgent analysed Government data on UK property transactions to estimate how many homes sold…
Read More
Breaking News

Planning reform alone will not fix the UK’s housing crisis

Propertymark has published a new position paper, Meeting UK house demand, moving beyond the planning system, warning that focusing solely on reforming the planning system will not deliver the number of homes the UK urgently needs. While planning reform is frequently cited as the primary solution to the housing shortage, Propertymark’s analysis shows that changes…
Read More
Breaking News

One in three mortgage hunting FTBs has at least 25% deposit

While higher loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages dominate first-time buyer demand a significant minority are seeking higher deposit deals, fresh data from Moneyfactscompare.co.uk can reveal. Of those looking for fixed term deals on moneyfactscompare.co.uk: Almost one in three (30%) first-time buyers are opting for 90% LTV mortgages, and a further 12% are looking at 95% LTV options. This…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 3/2/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Premium estate agency unveils ambitious plans to accelerate international expansion Fine & Country, the premium estate agency brand renowned for its distinctive marketing and high-end property expertise, has announced plans to significantly expand its international footprint as part of its long-term growth strategy. Over the past…
Read More
how to present your property for sale
Breaking News

Nationwide House Price Index for January 2026 – Industry Reaction

Nationwide House Price Index for January 2026. The latest index shows that: House prices increased by 0.3% between December 2025 and January 2026. This reversed the -0.4% monthly decline seen between November and December of last year. Annual growth sat at 1% in January 2026, with this annual rate of growth increasing from 0.6% in…
Read More