Rankings

Best value places to live in the UK 2026

Q: Where does your salary go furthest in the UK?

Your salary goes furthest in Dumfries and Galloway, where just 27.7% of average earnings goes to rent and council tax. The least affordable area is Kensington and Chelsea at 96.1%.

Q: How is the affordability score calculated?

The affordability score shows what percentage of average gross earnings goes to rent and council tax. It's based on a single person earning the area's median salary, renting a one-bedroom home, and paying Band D council tax with the 25% single occupier discount. A lower percentage means your salary stretches further. Areas need rent, council tax and earnings data to be included.

Q: Why are some areas not included in the rankings?

Areas are only included if they have all three data points: average rent, council tax and average earnings. Some areas - particularly recently reorganised local authorities - don't yet have complete data from the ONS.

Q: Is this based on take home pay or gross salary?

The affordability score uses gross (pre-tax) earnings as published by the ONS. This provides a consistent benchmark across all areas. For take home pay calculations, try our salary calculator.

Where is the most affordable place to live in the UK? We rank the most affordable areas by what percentage of average earnings goes to rent and council tax. The lower the percentage, the further your salary stretches. In Dumfries and Galloway, just 27.7% of average earnings goes to essential housing costs. This ranking is based on a single person earning the area's median salary, renting a one-bedroom home, and paying council tax at Band D with the 25% single occupier discount. Your affordability will differ based on your household size, income, and housing situation — explore individual area profiles for a fuller picture.

Data last updated: 13 May 2026

This table ranks areas by what percentage of average earnings goes to rent and council tax combined. A lower percentage means more of your salary is left after paying essential housing costs. You can search for a specific area, filter by region, or click any column header to sort by rent or earnings instead. Click any area name to see its full cost of living profile.

This is one of the more useful rankings on the site because it combines two things: how much people earn in an area and how much it costs to live there. An area might have very low council tax but also very low earnings, which would not make it good value.

#	Area	Region	Affordability score	Avg. rent (£/mo)	Avg. earnings (£/yr)
1	Dumfries and Galloway	Scotland	27.7%	£554	£29,649
2	North Ayrshire	Scotland	27.8%	£663	£34,689
3	South Ayrshire	Scotland	28.4%	£663	£33,986
4	Shetland Islands	Scotland	28.5%	£723	£35,716
5	East Renfrewshire	Scotland	28.9%	£826	£39,965
6	East Ayrshire	Scotland	29.2%	£663	£33,117
7	Cumberland	North West	30.8%	£659	£33,840
8	Powys	Wales	32.4%	£621	£30,275
9	Hartlepool	North East	32.6%	£570	£28,830
10	Orkney Islands	Scotland	32.6%	£723	£31,737
11	Highland	Scotland	32.8%	£723	£31,416
12	Barnsley	Yorkshire and The Humber	33.1%	£670	£31,359
13	North Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	33.1%	£631	£30,012
14	North Lanarkshire	Scotland	33.1%	£812	£34,105
15	Doncaster	Yorkshire and The Humber	33.3%	£684	£31,119
16	Forest of Dean	South West	33.6%	£820	£36,589
17	Perth and Kinross	Scotland	33.6%	£753	£31,851
18	Carmarthenshire	Wales	33.7%	£668	£30,774
19	Burnley	North West	33.8%	£624	£29,680
20	Hyndburn	North West	34.1%	£638	£29,647
21	North East Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	34.1%	£614	£28,898
22	County Durham	North East	34.3%	£632	£29,718
23	Blaenau Gwent	Wales	34.3%	£668	£30,734
24	East Riding of Yorkshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	34.4%	£709	£31,881
25	Neath Port Talbot	Wales	34.4%	£668	£30,709
26	Wigan	North West	34.6%	£732	£31,615
27	Northumberland	North East	34.7%	£664	£30,456
28	Darlington	North East	34.8%	£666	£30,100
29	Fife	Scotland	34.9%	£812	£32,445
30	Chorley	North West	35.1%	£773	£33,337
31	Fylde	North West	35.1%	£848	£36,020
32	Scottish Borders	Scotland	35.1%	£707	£28,796
33	South Lanarkshire	Scotland	35.2%	£884	£34,293
34	Ribble Valley	North West	35.3%	£803	£34,077
35	Staffordshire Moorlands	West Midlands	35.3%	£718	£31,065
36	Renfrewshire	Scotland	35.3%	£826	£32,832
37	Rugby	West Midlands	35.4%	£1,028	£41,814
38	West Lindsey	East Midlands	35.4%	£711	£30,741
39	Na h-Eileanan Siar	Scotland	35.4%	£723	£28,746
40	Caerphilly	Wales	35.4%	£736	£30,854
41	Rotherham	Yorkshire and The Humber	35.5%	£678	£29,664
42	Westmorland and Furness	North West	35.5%	£797	£33,988
43	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	35.5%	£860	£33,799
44	Derbyshire Dales	East Midlands	35.6%	£797	£33,700
45	Calderdale	Yorkshire and The Humber	35.7%	£741	£31,708
46	Redcar and Cleveland	North East	35.7%	£640	£28,630
47	Flintshire	Wales	35.8%	£778	£32,675
48	Bridgend	Wales	35.9%	£736	£31,475
49	Isle of Anglesey	Wales	36.0%	£710	£29,944
50	South Derbyshire	East Midlands	36.1%	£871	£35,452
51	Rutland	East Midlands	36.3%	£968	£39,559
52	South Ribble	North West	36.3%	£787	£32,740
53	Chesterfield	East Midlands	36.4%	£735	£30,621
54	Middlesbrough	North East	36.5%	£709	£30,253
55	Bolsover	East Midlands	36.6%	£692	£29,674
56	Stoke-on-Trent	West Midlands	36.8%	£708	£29,041
57	Merthyr Tydfil	Wales	36.9%	£753	£31,504
58	Wyre	North West	37.1%	£717	£29,814
59	Stirling	Scotland	37.1%	£900	£33,832
60	St. Helens	North West	37.2%	£774	£31,443
61	Aberdeen	Scotland	37.2%	£860	£32,399
62	Knowsley	North West	37.3%	£805	£32,542
63	Ceredigion	Wales	37.3%	£710	£29,326
64	Torfaen	Wales	37.3%	£853	£33,201
65	Halton	North West	37.4%	£732	£29,819
66	Sunderland	North East	37.6%	£695	£27,989
67	West Lancashire	North West	37.6%	£794	£31,884
68	Rhondda Cynon Taf	Wales	37.6%	£744	£29,802
69	South Holland	East Midlands	37.7%	£759	£30,196
70	West Lothian	Scotland	37.7%	£911	£33,302
71	Wirral	North West	37.8%	£830	£32,959
72	Angus	Scotland	37.8%	£834	£30,681
73	North East Derbyshire	East Midlands	38.0%	£775	£30,931
74	Stafford	West Midlands	38.0%	£882	£33,872
75	Stockton-on-Tees	North East	38.1%	£732	£29,877
76	Warrington	North West	38.1%	£880	£34,144
77	Swansea	Wales	38.1%	£833	£32,091
78	Kirklees	Yorkshire and The Humber	38.2%	£759	£30,238
79	Pembrokeshire	Wales	38.2%	£687	£27,243
80	Amber Valley	East Midlands	38.3%	£784	£30,823
81	Wrexham	Wales	38.4%	£759	£29,752
82	Hull	Yorkshire and The Humber	38.5%	£684	£27,309
83	South Tyneside	North East	38.5%	£720	£28,784
84	Dundee	Scotland	38.5%	£834	£30,523
85	Falkirk	Scotland	38.7%	£900	£32,330
86	Blackpool	North West	38.8%	£696	£27,979
87	Pendle	North West	38.8%	£645	£26,742
88	Erewash	East Midlands	38.9%	£831	£31,673
89	Bromsgrove	West Midlands	39.0%	£977	£36,409
90	East Lindsey	East Midlands	39.0%	£678	£26,705
91	Clackmannanshire	Scotland	39.0%	£900	£31,992
92	East Staffordshire	West Midlands	39.2%	£833	£31,517
93	Newcastle-under-Lyme	West Midlands	39.2%	£824	£31,205
94	Wakefield	Yorkshire and The Humber	39.2%	£787	£29,954
95	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	39.4%	£737	£28,424
96	Argyll and Bute	Scotland	39.4%	£851	£30,436
97	Telford and Wrekin	West Midlands	39.6%	£850	£31,459
98	Bassetlaw	East Midlands	39.7%	£716	£28,314
99	Preston	North West	39.7%	£778	£30,038
100	Blackburn with Darwen	North West	39.8%	£707	£27,502
101	Dudley	West Midlands	39.9%	£846	£30,822
102	North Tyneside	North East	39.9%	£830	£31,106
103	Inverclyde	Scotland	39.9%	£826	£29,020
104	Rossendale	North West	40.1%	£810	£30,487
105	Denbighshire	Wales	40.1%	£701	£26,812
106	West Dunbartonshire	Scotland	40.3%	£934	£31,962
107	Harborough	East Midlands	40.5%	£960	£34,321
108	North Warwickshire	West Midlands	40.5%	£972	£35,067
109	East Suffolk	East of England	40.7%	£831	£30,261
110	Newark and Sherwood	East Midlands	40.7%	£787	£29,806
111	Monmouthshire	Wales	40.7%	£987	£35,020
112	North Yorkshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	40.8%	£831	£30,683
113	Derby	East Midlands	40.9%	£847	£30,467
114	High Peak	East Midlands	40.9%	£900	£32,258
115	Lancaster	North West	40.9%	£802	£29,651
116	North West Leicestershire	East Midlands	40.9%	£899	£32,252
117	Rushcliffe	East Midlands	40.9%	£1,031	£36,705
118	Mid Devon	South West	41.0%	£869	£31,908
119	Charnwood	East Midlands	41.1%	£949	£33,550
120	Gateshead	North East	41.1%	£785	£29,494
121	Shropshire	West Midlands	41.1%	£803	£29,603
122	East Dunbartonshire	Scotland	41.2%	£1,159	£38,000
123	Cannock Chase	West Midlands	41.3%	£841	£30,178
124	North Kesteven	East Midlands	41.3%	£857	£30,585
125	Fenland	East of England	41.5%	£830	£30,125
126	Dover	South East	41.6%	£962	£33,704
127	Nuneaton and Bedworth	West Midlands	41.6%	£914	£32,402
128	Tamworth	West Midlands	41.9%	£966	£33,167
129	Torridge	South West	41.9%	£788	£28,752
130	Conwy	Wales	41.9%	£776	£28,113
131	Mansfield	East Midlands	42.0%	£770	£28,170
132	Worcester	West Midlands	42.0%	£955	£32,997
133	Herefordshire	West Midlands	42.1%	£815	£29,361
134	South Kesteven	East Midlands	42.2%	£835	£29,071
135	Rochdale	North West	42.3%	£824	£29,535
136	Great Yarmouth	East of England	42.4%	£816	£28,808
137	Cheshire East	North West	42.5%	£972	£33,221
138	Hinckley and Bosworth	East Midlands	42.5%	£920	£31,591
139	Gwynedd	Wales	42.5%	£685	£25,179
140	Boston	East Midlands	42.6%	£793	£27,729
141	Sheffield	Yorkshire and The Humber	42.6%	£920	£31,816
142	East Cambridgeshire	East of England	42.8%	£1,016	£34,311
143	South Norfolk	East of England	42.8%	£969	£32,934
144	Ashfield	East Midlands	42.9%	£777	£27,797
145	South Staffordshire	West Midlands	42.9%	£942	£31,766
146	Newport	Wales	42.9%	£953	£31,495
147	Fareham	South East	43.1%	£1,206	£38,851
148	North Northamptonshire	East Midlands	43.1%	£978	£32,882
149	Wyre Forest	West Midlands	43.2%	£849	£29,408
150	Cheshire West and Chester	North West	43.3%	£959	£32,391
151	Liverpool	North West	43.3%	£893	£30,947
152	Uttlesford	East of England	43.3%	£1,285	£41,006
153	Warwick	West Midlands	43.5%	£1,237	£39,797
154	East Devon	South West	43.6%	£953	£32,154
155	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	43.7%	£928	£31,308
156	East Hampshire	South East	43.8%	£1,252	£39,682
157	Bolton	North West	44.0%	£878	£29,409
158	Broadland	East of England	44.1%	£934	£30,920
159	Gedling	East Midlands	44.3%	£891	£30,051
160	King's Lynn and West Norfolk	East of England	44.4%	£930	£30,581
161	Mid Suffolk	East of England	44.4%	£973	£31,507
162	South Oxfordshire	South East	44.4%	£1,377	£43,026
163	Blaby	East Midlands	44.5%	£977	£31,950
164	Bury	North West	44.6%	£965	£31,687
165	Stroud	South West	44.6%	£1,036	£33,495
166	Vale of Glamorgan	Wales	44.6%	£982	£31,410
167	Coventry	West Midlands	44.7%	£1,021	£33,063
168	Melton	East Midlands	44.7%	£790	£26,633
169	Tewkesbury	South West	44.7%	£983	£31,603
170	Moray	Scotland	44.7%	£860	£26,943
171	North Norfolk	East of England	44.8%	£856	£28,421
172	Tameside	North West	45.0%	£917	£29,877
173	Huntingdonshire	East of England	45.2%	£1,045	£33,375
174	North Hertfordshire	East of England	45.3%	£1,408	£42,703
175	South Cambridgeshire	East of England	45.3%	£1,399	£42,690
176	Wychavon	West Midlands	45.4%	£925	£29,661
177	Redditch	West Midlands	45.5%	£898	£29,113
178	Bedford	East of England	45.6%	£1,163	£35,987
179	North Devon	South West	45.6%	£859	£28,386
180	Lichfield	West Midlands	45.7%	£1,091	£33,763
181	Stratford-on-Avon	West Midlands	45.7%	£1,120	£34,847
182	Broxtowe	East Midlands	45.8%	£963	£30,966
183	Torbay	South West	45.8%	£899	£28,963
184	Lincoln	East Midlands	45.9%	£946	£29,824
185	Basingstoke and Deane	South East	46.2%	£1,324	£39,279
186	Breckland	East of England	46.2%	£909	£28,930
187	Ipswich	East of England	46.2%	£985	£30,928
188	West Berkshire	South East	46.2%	£1,273	£38,513
189	Walsall	West Midlands	46.3%	£904	£29,112
190	Babergh	East of England	46.4%	£969	£30,118
191	East Hertfordshire	East of England	46.4%	£1,504	£44,154
192	Oldham	North West	46.4%	£910	£29,124
193	Sefton	North West	46.4%	£919	£29,335
194	West Northamptonshire	East Midlands	46.4%	£1,070	£33,059
195	Swale	South East	46.5%	£1,104	£33,647
196	Swindon	South West	46.5%	£1,082	£33,135
197	Wokingham	South East	46.5%	£1,479	£43,538
198	Rochford	East of England	46.7%	£1,285	£38,107
199	Waverley	South East	46.7%	£1,431	£42,326
200	Stockport	North West	46.8%	£1,091	£33,565
201	Peterborough	East of England	47.0%	£976	£29,828
202	Gosport	South East	47.1%	£1,150	£34,256
203	Solihull	West Midlands	47.2%	£1,258	£36,672
204	Central Bedfordshire	East of England	47.4%	£1,238	£36,622
205	Test Valley	South East	47.4%	£1,203	£35,314
206	Castle Point	East of England	47.5%	£1,231	£35,975
207	Cheltenham	South West	47.7%	£1,233	£36,014
208	Vale of White Horse	South East	47.8%	£1,332	£38,859
209	Wiltshire	South West	47.8%	£1,056	£31,873
210	Somerset	South West	47.9%	£980	£29,908
211	West Devon	South West	48.0%	£837	£26,556
212	Folkestone and Hythe	South East	48.3%	£1,132	£33,355
213	Teignbridge	South West	48.3%	£944	£28,911
214	Dorset	South West	48.4%	£1,037	£31,444
215	Cardiff	Wales	48.5%	£1,157	£32,756
216	Eastleigh	South East	48.7%	£1,205	£34,474
217	Malvern Hills	West Midlands	48.7%	£938	£28,167
218	Sandwell	West Midlands	48.8%	£938	£27,652
219	Hart	South East	49.0%	£1,406	£39,341
220	South Hams	South West	49.0%	£996	£29,721
221	Braintree	East of England	49.2%	£1,227	£34,546
222	Plymouth	South West	49.2%	£985	£28,992
223	West Suffolk	East of England	49.2%	£1,176	£33,437
224	Cherwell	South East	49.4%	£1,289	£36,568
225	Maldon	East of England	49.5%	£1,151	£32,599
226	York	Yorkshire and The Humber	49.6%	£1,173	£32,961
227	Leeds	Yorkshire and The Humber	50.0%	£1,130	£31,679
228	Tendring	East of England	50.2%	£1,048	£29,545
229	West Oxfordshire	South East	50.3%	£1,270	£35,388
230	Edinburgh	Scotland	50.3%	£1,432	£37,380
231	Bromley	London	50.4%	£1,670	£43,981
232	Hastings	South East	50.4%	£1,008	£29,323
233	Runnymede	South East	50.5%	£1,567	£42,203
234	Thurrock	East of England	50.5%	£1,344	£36,407
235	Milton Keynes	South East	50.8%	£1,329	£36,061
236	Medway	South East	50.9%	£1,241	£33,857
237	Birmingham	West Midlands	51.0%	£1,086	£30,180
238	Gloucester	South West	51.0%	£1,099	£30,455
239	North Somerset	South West	51.0%	£1,194	£32,996
240	Mid Sussex	South East	51.3%	£1,405	£37,705
241	Havant	South East	51.4%	£1,127	£30,819
242	Oadby and Wigston	East Midlands	51.6%	£1,020	£28,368
243	Cornwall	South West	51.9%	£1,004	£28,210
244	Gravesham	South East	52.0%	£1,319	£35,065
245	Isle of Wight	South East	52.0%	£940	£26,740
246	Havering	London	52.1%	£1,566	£40,726
247	Trafford	North West	52.2%	£1,358	£35,593
248	Ashford	South East	52.4%	£1,239	£32,991
249	Maidstone	South East	52.4%	£1,282	£34,151
250	Southend-on-Sea	East of England	52.4%	£1,278	£33,594
251	Southampton	South East	52.7%	£1,246	£32,907
252	Epsom and Ewell	South East	52.8%	£1,682	£43,006
253	Winchester	South East	53.0%	£1,498	£38,352
254	Glasgow	Scotland	53.0%	£1,276	£32,121
255	Eastbourne	South East	53.1%	£1,160	£31,199
256	Welwyn Hatfield	East of England	53.1%	£1,468	£37,805
257	Cotswold	South West	53.3%	£1,263	£32,927
258	Leicester	East Midlands	53.3%	£1,026	£27,858
259	Colchester	East of England	53.4%	£1,216	£31,589
260	Norwich	East of England	53.4%	£1,146	£30,421
261	Wealden	South East	53.4%	£1,259	£33,376
262	Brentwood	East of England	54.0%	£1,605	£39,864
263	Rother	South East	54.1%	£1,162	£30,790
264	Horsham	South East	54.2%	£1,444	£36,448
265	Salford	North West	54.2%	£1,161	£30,495
266	Surrey Heath	South East	54.2%	£1,493	£37,793
267	Stevenage	East of England	54.3%	£1,417	£35,747
268	Sutton	London	54.5%	£1,545	£38,359
269	Chelmsford	East of England	54.8%	£1,442	£35,791
270	New Forest	South East	55.0%	£1,234	£31,344
271	Reigate and Banstead	South East	55.2%	£1,628	£40,014
272	Worthing	South East	55.4%	£1,310	£32,823
273	Rushmoor	South East	55.6%	£1,369	£33,734
274	St Albans	East of England	55.7%	£1,912	£45,543
275	Thanet	South East	55.7%	£1,107	£28,323
276	Basildon	East of England	55.9%	£1,396	£34,133
277	Buckinghamshire	South East	56.0%	£1,467	£35,937
278	Croydon	London	56.0%	£1,560	£38,080
279	Nottingham	East Midlands	56.0%	£1,008	£26,512
280	East Lothian	Scotland	56.0%	£1,432	£33,737
281	Bexley	London	56.2%	£1,531	£36,883
282	Bracknell Forest	South East	56.2%	£1,501	£36,067
283	Lewes	South East	56.2%	£1,320	£33,088
284	Newcastle upon Tyne	North East	56.4%	£1,206	£30,144
285	Hillingdon	London	56.6%	£1,549	£36,429
286	South Gloucestershire	South West	56.8%	£1,445	£35,002
287	Tonbridge and Malling	South East	57.2%	£1,467	£35,106
288	Arun	South East	57.3%	£1,217	£29,809
289	Guildford	South East	57.3%	£1,698	£39,985
290	Elmbridge	South East	57.6%	£1,832	£42,607
291	Woking	South East	57.6%	£1,615	£38,172
292	Kingston upon Thames	London	57.8%	£1,796	£41,833
293	Tunbridge Wells	South East	57.9%	£1,501	£35,319
294	Canterbury	South East	58.1%	£1,260	£30,188
295	Dartford	South East	58.1%	£1,556	£36,210
296	Spelthorne	South East	58.3%	£1,633	£37,918
297	Dacorum	East of England	58.5%	£1,577	£36,473
298	Crawley	South East	58.8%	£1,475	£34,225
299	Luton	East of England	59.1%	£1,211	£28,741
300	Broxbourne	East of England	59.3%	£1,649	£37,283
301	Mole Valley	South East	59.6%	£1,545	£35,341
302	Midlothian	Scotland	59.6%	£1,432	£31,856
303	Slough	South East	59.7%	£1,567	£35,521
304	Portsmouth	South East	60.0%	£1,357	£30,962
305	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	South West	60.3%	£1,397	£31,848
306	Lewisham	London	60.6%	£1,810	£39,505
307	Reading	South East	60.8%	£1,579	£35,454
308	Three Rivers	East of England	60.9%	£1,807	£39,615
309	Manchester	North West	61.4%	£1,347	£30,067
310	Redbridge	London	61.7%	£1,720	£37,190
311	Waltham Forest	London	61.7%	£1,753	£37,971
312	Exeter	South West	61.8%	£1,312	£29,531
313	Cambridge	East of England	62.0%	£1,795	£38,711
314	Merton	London	62.4%	£2,083	£43,507
315	Windsor and Maidenhead	South East	62.8%	£1,809	£37,653
316	Adur	South East	63.2%	£1,379	£30,217
317	Epping Forest	East of England	63.4%	£1,826	£38,171
318	Greenwich	London	63.6%	£1,944	£39,984
319	Chichester	South East	64.0%	£1,319	£28,585
320	Barnet	London	64.4%	£1,928	£39,239
321	Richmond upon Thames	London	64.6%	£2,302	£46,594
322	Watford	East of England	65.1%	£1,813	£37,172
323	Wandsworth	London	65.2%	£2,593	£49,310
324	Tandridge	South East	65.3%	£1,596	£33,316
325	Harrow	London	65.4%	£1,754	£36,000
326	Hertsmere	East of England	66.0%	£1,787	£36,159
327	Harlow	East of England	66.7%	£1,513	£30,654
328	Enfield	London	67.2%	£1,770	£34,962
329	Tower Hamlets	London	67.7%	£2,396	£45,183
330	Barking and Dagenham	London	68.2%	£1,687	£32,911
331	Sevenoaks	South East	68.3%	£1,781	£34,969
332	Newham	London	69.0%	£1,912	£36,080
333	Hounslow	London	71.0%	£1,907	£35,301
334	Southwark	London	71.2%	£2,388	£43,006
335	Oxford	South East	71.5%	£1,952	£36,517
336	Brighton and Hove	South East	73.1%	£1,826	£33,506
337	Lambeth	London	74.1%	£2,525	£43,666
338	Brent	London	74.2%	£1,969	£34,871
339	Islington	London	74.4%	£2,763	£47,411
340	Bristol	South West	74.5%	£1,888	£34,051
341	Ealing	London	75.0%	£2,051	£35,665
342	Bath and North East Somerset	South West	76.6%	£1,876	£32,481
343	Haringey	London	76.7%	£2,209	£37,563
344	Camden	London	77.2%	£2,654	£44,088
345	Hammersmith and Fulham	London	79.9%	£2,724	£42,811
346	Hackney	London	82.6%	£2,598	£40,237
347	Westminster	London	85.3%	£3,122	£45,172
348	Kensington and Chelsea	London	96.1%	£3,599	£46,690

A closer look at the top 10

Scotland dominates the top of this ranking in a way it does not dominate almost any other. Seven of the ten best-value areas are Scottish: Dumfries and Galloway (27.7%), North Ayrshire (27.8%), South Ayrshire (28.4%), the Shetland Islands (28.5%), East Renfrewshire (28.9%), East Ayrshire (29.2%) and the Orkney Islands (32.6%). The pattern is the same each time: average one-bedroom rent between £550 and £830 a month paired with average earnings of £29,000 to £40,000.

That combination is what the affordability score is designed to spot. High earnings alone do not qualify, and low rent alone does not either. Dumfries and Galloway leads the table because its £554 average rent is unusually low even for Scotland, while the £29,649 average salary is high enough that the combined bill only eats around 28% of gross pay.

The three non-Scottish entries in the top 10 are Cumberland in the North West (30.8%), Powys in Wales (32.4%) and Hartlepool in the North East (32.6%). All three follow the same rural, low-rent, moderate-earnings pattern. There is no southern English area anywhere near the top 10; the closest is much further down the table, because South East rents pull the ratio up faster than local salaries can compensate.

This ranking is one useful lens, but it is not the whole picture. It does not factor in energy, groceries, travel, or how easy it is to reach a big-city job market from a rural authority. It captures how far a local salary stretches against local housing costs, which is the single most important number for most people, but the trade-offs are worth checking on the individual area profiles.

Key findings

Dumfries and Galloway is the most affordable area: rent and council tax take just 27.7% of average earnings.
7 of the top 10 most-affordable areas are in Scotland.
The ranking includes 348 areas where rent, earnings and council tax data are all available.
In Kensington and Chelsea, 96.1% of average earnings goes to rent and council tax - the least affordable place on the list.

Methodology

The affordability score is calculated as: (average monthly rent + monthly council tax Band D) divided by average monthly gross earnings, expressed as a percentage. A lower score means housing costs take up less of your income. Rent uses the ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR) latest month; council tax is the 2026-27 Band D figure inclusive of all major precepts; earnings are the ONS ASHE median annual gross. The ranking is limited to the 348 areas where all three inputs are available. The score is based on a single person earning the area's median salary, renting a one-bedroom home, and paying council tax at Band D with the 25% single occupier discount — your own affordability will differ based on household size, income and housing situation.

Read more about our data sources and approach on the About page.

Frequently asked questions about the most affordable places

Where does your salary go furthest in the UK?

How is the affordability score calculated?

Why are some areas not included in the rankings?

Is this based on take home pay or gross salary?

Use this research

Journalists, researchers and bloggers are welcome to cite and share this analysis. Please include a follow link back to this page when referencing our data. For bespoke analysis, expert comment, or high-resolution graphics, get in touch via our press office.

Data on this page is sourced from: ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR), Scottish Government Private Sector Rent Statistics, ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, ONS / HM Land Registry House Price Statistics, and MHCLG / Scottish Government / Welsh Government council tax data. All data is published under the Open Government Licence.