Scotland

Cost of living in Argyll and Bute

Data last updated: 8 October 2026
Page last reviewed: 8 October 2026
£1,158 estimated monthly cost
Rent £562
Council tax £111
Groceries £220
Transport £80
Energy £144
Water £41

Single: 1-bed home. Couple: 2-bed home. Family: 3-bed home with one child. Estimates use average local rent, Band D council tax, and standard figures for groceries, transport and childcare.

£822/mo
Average rent
£30,436/yr
Average earnings
£1,783/yr
Council tax (Band D)
£198/mo
Est. energy & water

Rent in Argyll and Bute

The average monthly rent in Argyll and Bute is £822.

1 Bed
£562
2 Bed
£754
3 Bed
£980
4+ Bed
£1,653

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR)

Scottish rent figures are based on Broad Rental Market Area (BRMA) averages from the Scottish Government Private Sector Rent Statistics and ONS PIPR, not directly at council level. Councils within the same BRMA share the same headline figure.

Earnings in Argyll and Bute

The average annual salary for residents of Argyll and Bute is £30,436.

Average salary
£30,436
per year
Mean salary (pulled up by top earners)
£33,207
per year

The average salary is the middle value: half of residents earn more and half earn less. The mean salary adds up everyone's pay and divides it by the number of people, so a few very high earners pull it up. We use the middle value as the average throughout this site.

Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)

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Average house prices in Argyll and Bute

House price data is not currently available for Argyll and Bute.

Source: ONS / HM Land Registry. Historical trend based on quarterly rolling-year average prices.

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Climate and weather in Argyll and Bute

Summer daytime highs in Argyll and Bute typically reach 17.0°C in July, dropping to around 6.3°C in January. Argyll and Bute is much wetter than average for the UK, with rain falling on about 4.1 days a week. It gets around 91% more rainfall than the UK average. The area gets less sunshine than average for the UK, averaging around 4.7 hours per day in summer. Expect frost on around 91 days per year, mostly between October and April.

Month Daytime high Rainfall Rain days Sunshine Frost days
Jan 6.3°C 258mm 21 32h 15
Feb 6.6°C 203mm 18 63h 14
Mar 8.0°C 179mm 18 94h 13
Apr 10.6°C 124mm 15 150h 10
May 13.6°C 116mm 14 191h 5
Jun 15.7°C 121mm 15 153h 2
Jul 17.0°C 143mm 17 143h 0
Aug 16.8°C 170mm 18 138h 1
Sep 14.9°C 179mm 17 105h 2
Oct 11.7°C 235mm 20 74h 6
Nov 8.7°C 236mm 21 46h 10
Dec 6.8°C 251mm 21 29h 14

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How this is calculated

Climate data is based on Met Office 30-year averages (1991-2020), calculated from 278 observation grid points covering the Argyll and Bute local authority area.

Source: Met Office HadUK-Grid , 1991-2020 averages. Crown copyright. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Council tax in Argyll and Bute

Band D council tax in Argyll and Bute is £1,783 per year.

Band A
£1,189
Band B
£1,387
Band C
£1,585
Band D Benchmark
£1,783
Band E
£2,343
Band F
£2,898
Band G
£3,492
Band H
£4,369

Source: MHCLG / Scottish Government / Welsh Government

Energy costs in Argyll and Bute

A typical household in Argyll and Bute pays approximately £1,723/year (£144/month) for gas and electricity.

Annual
£1,723
per year
Monthly
£144
per month

Energy region: South Scotland

This estimate is based on the Ofgem price cap for a typical dual-fuel household using 2,700 kWh of electricity and 11,500 kWh of gas per year, paying by Direct Debit. Your actual costs will depend on your usage, tariff, and whether you're on a fixed deal.

Source: Ofgem Energy Price Cap, Q4 2026

Water costs in Argyll and Bute

The combined water and waste water charge from Scottish Water for a Band D home is £652/year (£54/month).

Annual
£652
per year
Monthly
£54
per month

Water company: Scottish Water

In Scotland, water and waste water charges follow the council tax band and are billed with council tax. A lower band pays less and a higher band pays more. A home with one adult gets 25% off, as with council tax: £489 a year (£41 a month). Our single-person monthly cost uses that figure.

Source: Scottish Water 2026-27 charges for a Band D home (water £301.95 and waste water £350.37 a year, billed with council tax)

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Broadband in Argyll and Bute

Argyll and Bute has 21.8% full fibre coverage and 21.8% gigabit-capable coverage across residential premises.

Gigabit-capable
21.8%
of premises
Full fibre (FTTP)
21.8%
of premises
Superfast (30+ Mbit/s)
89%
of premises
No decent broadband
1.6%
of premises

Full fibre take-up: 45% of premises with full fibre available have taken it up.

"Gigabit-capable" means a connection of 1 Gbit/s or faster is available at the premises (full fibre or upgraded cable). "Full fibre" is fibre-to-the-premises specifically. "No decent broadband" counts premises below the 10 Mbit/s down / 1 Mbit/s up Universal Service Obligation.

See all UK areas ranked by broadband coverage →

Source: Ofcom Connected Nations 2025, July 2025

Crime in Argyll and Bute

There were 411 recorded crimes per 10,000 people in Argyll and Bute, which is below the Scotland average of 569. Argyll and Bute ranks #16 out of 303 areas for lowest crime rate.

Violence & sexual offences
152 /10k
(1,332 offences)
Burglary
6 /10k
(54 offences)
Theft
91 /10k
(801 offences)
Criminal damage
48 /10k
(417 offences)
Drug offences
55 /10k
(479 offences)
Public order
0 /10k
(0 offences)
Other
60 /10k
(523 offences)

Recorded crime statistics reflect crimes reported to and recorded by police. They may not capture the full picture of crime in an area, and recording practices vary between forces.

Source: Home Office police recorded crime, 2025-26

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