
UK parents cut working hours and household spending to pay for childcare
Around 1 in 5 parents are now spending more than £10,000 a year on childcare as costs soar, new research shows.
Read more…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 £782 a month in disposable income after paying taxes, bills and necessary living costs. This is £84 less a month (or £1,007 less a year) compared to 2022, when the average was £866.
City | Disposable Income |
---|---|
Colchester | £1,100 |
Doncaster | £1,068 |
Milton Keynes | £1,053 |
Coventry | £990 |
Aberdeen | £982 |
Chester | £982 |
Newcastle-upon-Tyne | £980 |
Bradford | £961 |
Cambridge | £954 |
Edinburgh | £937 |
Leeds | £933 |
Norwich | £864 |
Southampton | £850 |
Canterbury | £849 |
Belfast | £842 |
Durham | £835 |
Derby | £814 |
Portsmouth | £807 |
Kingston Upon Hull | £779 |
Cardiff | £772 |
Lincoln | £769 |
Glasgow | £764 |
Sunderland | £764 |
Stoke on Trent | £764 |
Birmingham | £740 |
Dundee | £731 |
Sheffield | £731 |
Liverpool | £727 |
Bristol | £698 |
Newport | £674 |
Exeter | £673 |
Bath | £672 |
Preston | £662 |
Brighton & Hove | £600 |
York | £598 |
Oxford | £598 |
Leicester | £589 |
Manchester | £580 |
Plymouth | £574 |
London | £500 |
Nottingham | £482 |
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.
1. Colchester, £1,198
2. Doncaster, £1,068
3. Milton Keynes, £1,053.03
4. Coventry, £990
5. Aberdeen, £982.25
1. Nottingham, £482
2. London, £500
3. Plymouth, £574
4. Manchester, £580
5. Leicester, £589
Of the cities analysed, those in Colchester had the most disposable income each month, with an average of £1,100, 41% higher than the average in UK cities of £782. They are closely followed by Doncaster residents, who have an average of £1,068 to spare, and Milton Keynes residents, who have an average of £1,053 left over.
At the other end of the spectrum, residents in Nottingham had just £482 a month. Salaries in Nottingham were among some of the lowest in the cities analysed, but they still had higher living costs than 16 other cities, 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 £2,196 on rent and basic costs. The cost of a single room to rent in London (£1,120.45) is 2.4 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 Hull, where the average single Brit could expect to spend just £858.84 on rent and essentials.
The monthly living costs for a single person in most cities were between £1,000 and £1,600, with just London leaping ahead with living costs of over £2,000.
Just 4 cities on our list had monthly living costs of less than £1,000 a month, and these were Hull, Doncaster, Bradford and Stoke-on-Trent.
1. London, £2,196
2. Bath, £1,554
3. Oxford, £1,520
4. Cambridge, £1,515
5. Brighton and Hove, £1,483
1. Hull, £859
2. Doncaster, £895
3. Bradford, £972
4. Stoke-on-Trent, £980
5. Sunderland, £1,025
Those living in London have 44% 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 Newcastle coming in next with a decrease of 22%.
Just 2 cities in the analysis have seen an increase in disposable income compared to 2022. These are Norwich, with a decrease of 4% and Chester, with a decrease of 9%.
Overall, disposable income in UK cities has decreased by just under 10% year on year since 2022, and the average UK city dweller has just over £1000 less in disposable income for the year.
1. London, 44% decrease
2. Newcastle, 22% decrease
3. Leicester, 19% decrease
4. Edinburgh, 18% decrease
5. Exeter, 15% decrease
1. Chester, 9% increase
2. Norwich, 4% increase
3. Brighton and Hove, less than 1% decrease
4. Hull, 2% decrease
5. Cardiff, 2% decrease
City | Average monthly net income after tax (£) | Single room in 3 bed apartment price | Single person monthly costs without rent | Total costs | Disposable Income |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colchester | £2,298 | £483 | £715 | £1,198 | £1,100 |
Doncaster | £1,963 | £219 | £675 | £895 | £1,068 |
Milton Keynes | £2,303 | £509 | £741 | £1,250 | £1,053 |
Coventry | £2,034 | £345 | £699 | £1,044 | £990 |
Aberdeen | £2,035 | £331 | £722 | £1,053 | £982 |
Chester | £2,130 | £459 | £689 | £1,148 | £982 |
Newcastle-upon-Tyne | £2,103 | £379 | £744 | £1,123 | £980 |
Bradford | £1,932 | £300 | £672 | £972 | £961 |
Cambridge | £2,469 | £666 | £850 | £1,515 | £954 |
Edinburgh | £2,310 | £590 | £783 | £1,373 | £937 |
Leeds | £2,155 | £447 | £775 | £1,222 | £933 |
Norwich | £2,031 | £435 | £733 | £1,167 | £864 |
Southampton | £2,042 | £431 | £761 | £1,192 | £850 |
Canterbury | £2,268 | £444 | £975 | £1,419 | £849 |
Belfast | £1,920 | £377 | £701 | £1,078 | £842 |
Durham | £2,011 | £428 | £749 | £1,176 | £835 |
Derby | £1,913 | £334 | £765 | £1,099 | £814 |
Portsmouth | £1,957 | £451 | £698 | £1,150 | £807 |
Kingston Upon Hull | £1,638 | £243 | £616 | £859 | £779 |
Cardiff | £1,958 | £457 | £729 | £1,186 | £772 |
Lincoln | £1,949 | £275 | £905 | £1,180 | £769 |
Glasgow | £1,983 | £424 | £795 | £1,219 | £764 |
Sunderland | £1,789 | £328 | £698 | £1,025 | £764 |
Stoke on Trent | £1,744 | £291 | £689 | £980 | £764 |
Birmingham | £1,939 | £496 | £704 | £1,199 | £740 |
Dundee | £1,793 | £328 | £733 | £1,062 | £731 |
Sheffield | £1,938 | £422 | £786 | £1,207 | £731 |
Liverpool | £1,897 | £389 | £782 | £1,170 | £727 |
Bristol | £2,061 | £570 | £793 | £1,363 | £698 |
Newport | £1,846 | £375 | £798 | £1,173 | £674 |
Exeter | £1,904 | £509 | £723 | £1,231 | £673 |
Bath | £2,226 | £685 | £869 | £1,554 | £672 |
Preston | £1,736 | £425 | £649 | £1,074 | £662 |
Brighton & Hove | £2,083 | £671 | £812 | £1,483 | £600 |
York | £1,951 | £596 | £758 | £1,353 | £598 |
Oxford | £2,118 | £707 | £813 | £1,520 | £598 |
Leicester | £1,725 | £432 | £704 | £1,136 | £589 |
Manchester | £1,850 | £483 | £787 | £1,270 | £580 |
Plymouth | £1,711 | £361 | £776 | £1,137 | £574 |
London | £2,696 | £1,120 | £1,075 | £2,196 | £500 |
Nottingham | £1,643 | £381 | £780 | £1,161 | £482 |
We looked into what Brits are planning to sacrifice to keep their savings and finances afloat amid a cost of living crisis.
Learn more about the pros and cons of the RBS Digital Regular Saver account.
Get into the savings habit with the NatWest Digital Regular Saver account.
Find out whether the Chase Saver account is the best place for your savings.
Discover all you need to know about 5-year fixed-rate bonds, including how to find the best one for you.
While there is no such thing as absolute safety, there are a few things you can look at to try and figure out how likely your bank is to collapse.
Is your UK business looking for a savings account? We explore the benefits of opening one and what you should consider before you do.
The AER, or Annual Equivalent Rate, is the official rate for savings accounts. It’s designed to allow easy comparisons between accounts.
Explore the alternative investment options on offer with Landbay. The property backed P2P provider might be the right option for you.