Cost of living in Cardiff
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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.
Cardiff is the Welsh capital and one of the better-value city-living options in the UK. Average overall rent of £1,177/month and a typical single-person monthly cost of around £1,530 put it well below most English cities of similar scale. Average earnings of £32,756/year sit close to the UK average, and the affordability score of 49.3% (rank #218 of 348) lands well within the comfortable middle of UK areas. The city is compact and walkable, with the universities, the bay, the castle, and the centre all within a tight radius. The job market leans toward financial services, the public sector, and a growing media and creative cluster anchored by the BBC Wales and S4C presence. Cardiff University and Cardiff Metropolitan University add a student population of around 40,000. Honest downsides: rail to London takes nearly two hours and isn't on the HS network, which limits commuter options eastward. The job market is smaller in absolute terms than Manchester or Birmingham, so career options in some niche industries are thin. And while the city centre is good, the wider Cardiff economy still has some catching up to do with the more dominant English city economies.
- Known for:
- Welsh capital; the Principality Stadium and rugby; BBC Wales and S4C; Cardiff Bay redevelopment; Cardiff Castle in the city centre.
- Transport:
- Cardiff Central runs trains to London Paddington in about 1hr 50min. Buses run by Cardiff Bus cover the city; trains and metro lines connect to the valleys. M4 access to the east and west.
- Character:
- A small, compact capital city. Affordable by capital-city standards, walkable, with the centre, bay, and castle all in a tight radius. Strong food scene, good arts and music infrastructure, and a friendly student-heavy population.
Rent in Cardiff
The average monthly rent in Cardiff is £1,177.
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR)
Earnings in Cardiff
The average annual salary for residents of Cardiff is £32,756.
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 Cardiff
The average house price in Cardiff was £272,000.
How house prices have changed in Cardiff
Average house prices over time, based on quarterly rolling-year averages from Land Registry data.
Source: ONS / HM Land Registry. Historical trend based on quarterly rolling-year average prices.
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Climate and weather in Cardiff
Summer daytime highs in Cardiff typically reach 21.6°C in July, dropping to around 8.0°C in January. Cardiff is wetter than average for the UK, with rain falling on about 3.1 days a week. It gets around 11% more rainfall than the UK average. The area is sunnier than most of the UK, averaging around 6.4 hours of sunshine per day in summer. Expect frost on around 93 days per year, mostly between November and April.
| Month | Daytime high | Rainfall | Rain days | Sunshine | Frost days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8.0°C | 137mm | 16 | 52h | 16 |
| Feb | 8.5°C | 102mm | 13 | 77h | 15 |
| Mar | 10.9°C | 92mm | 13 | 122h | 14 |
| Apr | 14.0°C | 77mm | 11 | 170h | 10 |
| May | 17.2°C | 80mm | 11 | 202h | 4 |
| Jun | 19.8°C | 79mm | 11 | 201h | 1 |
| Jul | 21.6°C | 91mm | 12 | 205h | 0 |
| Aug | 21.1°C | 109mm | 13 | 183h | 0 |
| Sep | 18.7°C | 94mm | 12 | 149h | 1 |
| Oct | 14.7°C | 139mm | 15 | 103h | 5 |
| Nov | 11.0°C | 142mm | 16 | 64h | 11 |
| Dec | 8.5°C | 153mm | 16 | 50h | 16 |
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How this is calculated
Climate data is based on Met Office 30-year averages (1991-2020), calculated from 6 observation grid points covering the Cardiff local authority area.
Source: Met Office HadUK-Grid , 1991-2020 averages. Crown copyright. Open Government Licence v3.0.
Council tax in Cardiff
Band D council tax in Cardiff is £2,013 per year.
Source: MHCLG / Scottish Government / Welsh Government
Energy costs in Cardiff
A typical household in Cardiff pays approximately £1,723/year (£144/month) for gas and electricity.
Energy region: South Wales
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 Cardiff
The average annual water and sewerage bill for Dwr Cymru Welsh Water customers is £627/year (£52/month).
Water company: Dwr Cymru Welsh Water
Water bills vary based on whether you have a meter and your household's water usage. This figure is the company average for unmetered customers.
Source: Water UK / Discover Water, 2026-27
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Broadband in Cardiff
Cardiff has 85.2% full fibre coverage and 94.1% gigabit-capable coverage across residential premises.
Full fibre take-up: 42% 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 Cardiff
There were 944 recorded crimes per 10,000 people in Cardiff, which is above the England and Wales average of 837. Cardiff ranks #238 out of 303 areas for lowest crime rate.
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, Year ending March 2026
Compare Cardiff with another area
How does Cardiff compare?
Side-by-side comparisons against three other UK areas, using the same single-person basket as the rest of the site.
Bristol costs around £377/month more than Cardiff on the same basket (£1,907/month vs £1,530/month).
See the full comparison → Cardiff vs SwanseaSwansea costs around £206/month less than Cardiff on the same basket (£1,324/month vs £1,530/month).
See the full comparison → Cardiff vs BirminghamBirmingham costs around £58/month less than Cardiff on the same basket (£1,472/month vs £1,530/month).
See the full comparison →Or compare Cardiff with any UK area using the comparison tool.
Nearby areas
Explore the cost of living in areas close to Cardiff.