South East, England

Cost of living in Southampton

Data last updated: 8 October 2026
Page last reviewed: 8 October 2026
£1,534 estimated monthly cost
Rent £881
Council tax £149
Groceries £220
Transport £80
Energy £144
Water £60

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.

£1,257/mo
Average rent
£32,907/yr
Average earnings
£260,000
Average house price
£2,381/yr
Council tax (Band D)
£204/mo
Est. energy & water

Rent in Southampton

The average monthly rent in Southampton is £1,257.

1 Bed
£881
2 Bed
£1,114
3 Bed
£1,357
4+ Bed
£1,890

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR)

Earnings in Southampton

The average annual salary for residents of Southampton is £32,907.

Average salary
£32,907
per year
Mean salary (pulled up by top earners)
£34,762
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 Southampton

The average house price in Southampton was £260,000.

Detached
£385,000
Semi-detached
£300,000
Terraced
£260,000
Flat
£160,000

How house prices have changed in Southampton

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

£0£70k£140k£210k£280k£350k19952000200520102015202020252026

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

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Climate and weather in Southampton

Summer daytime highs in Southampton typically reach 22.9°C in July, dropping to around 8.9°C in January. Southampton is much drier than average for the UK, with rain falling on about 2.3 days a week. It gets around 28% less rainfall than the UK average. The area is sunnier than most of the UK, averaging around 6.8 hours of sunshine per day in summer. Expect frost on around 82 days per year, mostly between November and April.

Month Daytime high Rainfall Rain days Sunshine Frost days
Jan 8.9°C 94mm 13 62h 15
Feb 9.5°C 66mm 10 81h 14
Mar 11.9°C 57mm 10 124h 13
Apr 15.0°C 56mm 9 176h 9
May 18.1°C 49mm 8 212h 2
Jun 21.0°C 53mm 8 208h 0
Jul 22.9°C 46mm 8 220h 0
Aug 22.7°C 61mm 9 199h 0
Sep 20.3°C 64mm 9 154h 0
Oct 16.2°C 96mm 12 112h 3
Nov 12.1°C 103mm 13 74h 9
Dec 9.4°C 95mm 13 56h 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 1 observation grid point covering the Southampton local authority area.

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

Council tax in Southampton

Band D council tax in Southampton is £2,381 per year.

Band A
£1,588
Band B
£1,852
Band C
£2,117
Band D Benchmark
£2,381
Band E
£2,911
Band F
£3,440
Band G
£3,969
Band H
£4,763

Source: MHCLG / Scottish Government / Welsh Government

Energy costs in Southampton

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

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

Energy region: South East

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 Southampton

The average annual water and sewerage bill for Southern Water customers is £720/year (£60/month).

Annual
£720
per year
Monthly
£60
per month

Water company: Southern 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 Southampton

Southampton has 93.9% full fibre coverage and 96.5% gigabit-capable coverage across residential premises.

Gigabit-capable
96.5%
of premises
Full fibre (FTTP)
93.9%
of premises
Superfast (30+ Mbit/s)
98.5%
of premises
No decent broadband
0%
of premises

Full fibre take-up: 32% 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 Southampton

Southampton has 76 schools, with 82.4% rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.

Outstanding
6
schools (17.6%)
Good
22
schools (64.7%)
Requires Improvement
5
schools (14.7%)
Inadequate
1
schools (2.9%)

54 primary schools, 13 secondary schools, 9 special / nursery / alternative provision. Approximately 34,253 pupils across all schools.

2 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 Southampton

There were 1,202 recorded crimes per 10,000 people in Southampton, which is above the England and Wales average of 837. Southampton ranks #289 out of 303 areas for lowest crime rate.

Violence & sexual offences
501 /10k
(12,982 offences)
Burglary
51 /10k
(1,335 offences)
Theft
346 /10k
(8,965 offences)
Criminal damage
93 /10k
(2,413 offences)
Drug offences
60 /10k
(1,563 offences)
Public order
109 /10k
(2,835 offences)
Other
41 /10k
(1,054 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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