East Midlands, England

Cost of living in Leicester

Data last updated: 8 October 2026
Page last reviewed: 8 October 2026
£1,368 estimated monthly cost
Rent £716
Council tax £158
Groceries £220
Transport £80
Energy £144
Water £50

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.

£1,023/mo
Average rent
£27,858/yr
Average earnings
£240,750
Average house price
£2,529/yr
Council tax (Band D)
£194/mo
Est. energy & water

Rent in Leicester

The average monthly rent in Leicester is £1,023.

1 Bed
£716
2 Bed
£892
3 Bed
£1,045
4+ Bed
£1,453

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR)

Earnings in Leicester

The average annual salary for residents of Leicester is £27,858.

Average salary
£27,858
per year
Mean salary (pulled up by top earners)
£30,887
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 Leicester

The average house price in Leicester was £240,750.

Detached
£358,000
Semi-detached
£270,000
Terraced
£220,000
Flat
£120,000

How house prices have changed in Leicester

Average house prices over time, based on quarterly rolling-year averages from Land Registry data.

£0£60k£120k£180k£240k£300k19952000200520102015202020252026

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

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Climate and weather in Leicester

Summer daytime highs in Leicester typically reach 22.2°C in July, dropping to around 7.1°C in January. Leicester is much drier than average for the UK, with rain falling on about 2.3 days a week. It gets around 43% less rainfall than the UK average. The area gets a typical amount of sunshine for the UK, averaging around 5.8 hours per day in summer. Expect frost on around 91 days per year, mostly between November and April.

Month Daytime high Rainfall Rain days Sunshine Frost days
Jan 7.1°C 54mm 11 54h 16
Feb 8.0°C 44mm 10 76h 15
Mar 10.7°C 41mm 9 114h 14
Apr 13.5°C 45mm 10 149h 10
May 16.6°C 50mm 9 186h 4
Jun 19.7°C 60mm 10 174h 1
Jul 22.2°C 65mm 9 189h 0
Aug 21.5°C 62mm 10 175h 0
Sep 18.6°C 56mm 9 137h 1
Oct 14.4°C 65mm 10 100h 5
Nov 10.2°C 60mm 12 62h 11
Dec 7.6°C 60mm 11 53h 15

Swipe sideways to see every column

How this is calculated

Climate data is based on Met Office 30-year averages (1991-2020), calculated from 4 observation grid points covering the Leicester local authority area.

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

Council tax in Leicester

Band D council tax in Leicester is £2,529 per year.

Band A
£1,686
Band B
£1,967
Band C
£2,248
Band D Benchmark
£2,529
Band E
£3,091
Band F
£3,653
Band G
£4,215
Band H
£5,058

Source: MHCLG / Scottish Government / Welsh Government

Energy costs in Leicester

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

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

Energy region: East Midlands

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 Leicester

The average annual water and sewerage bill for Severn Trent Water customers is £594/year (£50/month).

Annual
£594
per year
Monthly
£50
per month

Water company: Severn Trent 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 Leicester

Leicester has 93.8% full fibre coverage and 97.4% gigabit-capable coverage across residential premises.

Gigabit-capable
97.4%
of premises
Full fibre (FTTP)
93.8%
of premises
Superfast (30+ Mbit/s)
99.7%
of premises
No decent broadband
0%
of premises

Full fibre take-up: 24% 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

Schools in Leicester

Leicester has 113 schools, with 84.3% rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.

Outstanding
7
schools (13.7%)
Good
36
schools (70.6%)
Requires Improvement
7
schools (13.7%)
Inadequate
1
schools (2.0%)

82 primary schools, 21 secondary schools, 10 special / nursery / alternative provision. Approximately 59,740 pupils across all schools.

Ofsted grades reflect the school's most recent inspection: Outstanding means the school is exceptional across the evaluation areas, Good means it is effective, Requires Improvement means it is not yet good enough, and Inadequate means serious concerns were found.

See all areas ranked by school ratings →

Source: Ofsted, most recent inspections as at March 2026. England only; Scotland (Education Scotland) and Wales (Estyn) use separate frameworks.

Crime in Leicester

There were 1,115 recorded crimes per 10,000 people in Leicester, which is above the England and Wales average of 837. Leicester ranks #278 out of 303 areas for lowest crime rate.

Violence & sexual offences
452 /10k
(17,306 offences)
Burglary
43 /10k
(1,666 offences)
Theft
290 /10k
(11,111 offences)
Criminal damage
117 /10k
(4,478 offences)
Drug offences
49 /10k
(1,890 offences)
Public order
132 /10k
(5,053 offences)
Other
32 /10k
(1,220 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, Year ending March 2026

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