Cost of living in Sheffield
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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.
Sheffield is one of the more affordable major cities in the UK. Average overall rent of £931/month, a one-bed averaging just £690, and a single-person monthly basket of around £1,344 all sit well below the cities further south. Earnings of £31,816/year are healthy for a northern city, and the affordability score of 43.0% (rank #138 of 348) is among the better ratios in our data: local pay genuinely stretches further here than in most large UK cities. The economy has been working through the post-industrial transition for decades, with the steel industry now small but with newer growth around advanced manufacturing, healthcare, education (the two universities support around 60,000 students), and digital. The city sits right against the Peak District; from many neighbourhoods you can be in a national park within 20 minutes. Honest downsides: parts of the city still bear the marks of de-industrialisation, average earnings still lag the southern cities, and the topography (Sheffield is built on seven hills) is a constant feature. The cultural and food scenes have improved fast but remain smaller than Manchester or Leeds.
- Known for:
- Two large universities; the Peak District literally at the edge of the city; a long industrial steel heritage; one of the greenest UK cities by tree canopy.
- Transport:
- Trains to London St Pancras take about 2hrs, Manchester is around 1hr by train. The Supertram covers parts of the city; buses fill in the rest. M1 access to the north and south.
- Character:
- Hilly, friendly, and outdoors-minded. Among the most affordable big cities in England, with a smaller cultural scene than Manchester or Leeds but a strong sense of identity and the Peak District on the doorstep.
Rent in Sheffield
The average monthly rent in Sheffield is £931.
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR)
Earnings in Sheffield
The average annual salary for residents of Sheffield is £31,816.
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 Sheffield
The average house price in Sheffield was £215,000.
How house prices have changed in Sheffield
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 Sheffield
Summer daytime highs in Sheffield typically reach 20.1°C in July, dropping to around 6.1°C in January. Sheffield is drier than average for the UK, with rain falling on about 2.9 days a week. It gets around 12% less rainfall than the UK average. The area gets a typical amount of sunshine for the UK, averaging around 6.0 hours per day in summer. Expect frost on around 95 days per year, mostly between November and April.
| Month | Daytime high | Rainfall | Rain days | Sunshine | Frost days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6.1°C | 96mm | 15 | 49h | 17 |
| Feb | 6.6°C | 86mm | 13 | 77h | 16 |
| Mar | 8.9°C | 74mm | 12 | 118h | 14 |
| Apr | 12.0°C | 70mm | 11 | 153h | 9 |
| May | 15.3°C | 65mm | 10 | 195h | 4 |
| Jun | 18.0°C | 83mm | 11 | 178h | 1 |
| Jul | 20.1°C | 75mm | 11 | 194h | 0 |
| Aug | 19.7°C | 76mm | 12 | 177h | 0 |
| Sep | 16.9°C | 77mm | 11 | 135h | 1 |
| Oct | 12.8°C | 98mm | 14 | 96h | 5 |
| Nov | 8.9°C | 106mm | 15 | 59h | 10 |
| Dec | 6.5°C | 112mm | 15 | 48h | 16 |
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How this is calculated
Climate data is based on Met Office 30-year averages (1991-2020), calculated from 15 observation grid points covering the Sheffield local authority area.
Source: Met Office HadUK-Grid , 1991-2020 averages. Crown copyright. Open Government Licence v3.0.
Council tax in Sheffield
Band D council tax in Sheffield is £2,510 per year.
Source: MHCLG / Scottish Government / Welsh Government
Energy costs in Sheffield
A typical household in Sheffield pays approximately £1,723/year (£144/month) for gas and electricity.
Energy region: Yorkshire
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 Sheffield
The average annual water and sewerage bill for Yorkshire Water customers is £636/year (£53/month).
Water company: Yorkshire 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 Sheffield
Sheffield has 91.4% full fibre coverage and 93.4% gigabit-capable coverage across residential premises.
Full fibre take-up: 46% 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 Sheffield
Sheffield has 178 schools, with 89.7% rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.
132 primary schools, 30 secondary schools, 16 special / nursery / alternative provision. Approximately 84,797 pupils across all schools.
3 schools have been inspected under Ofsted's renewed framework (November 2025 onwards) and are not included in the percentage above.
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 Sheffield
There were 974 recorded crimes per 10,000 people in Sheffield, which is above the England and Wales average of 837. Sheffield ranks #249 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 Sheffield with another area
How does Sheffield compare?
Side-by-side comparisons against three other UK areas, using the same single-person basket as the rest of the site.
Leeds costs around £78/month more than Sheffield on the same basket (£1,422/month vs £1,344/month).
See the full comparison → Sheffield vs ManchesterManchester costs around £300/month more than Sheffield on the same basket (£1,644/month vs £1,344/month).
See the full comparison → Sheffield vs NottinghamNottingham costs around £57/month more than Sheffield on the same basket (£1,401/month vs £1,344/month).
See the full comparison →Or compare Sheffield with any UK area using the comparison tool.
Nearby areas
Explore the cost of living in areas close to Sheffield.