Best value places to live in the UK 2026

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

Your salary goes furthest in North Ayrshire, where just 27.1% of average earnings goes to rent and council tax. The least affordable area is Kensington and Chelsea at 98.4%.

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 average 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 North Ayrshire, just 27.1% of average earnings goes to essential housing costs. This ranking is based on a single person earning the area's average 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

Found somewhere you like? See the full picture on any home there.

Prices vary a lot within one area. Enter a postcode to see what a home last sold for and how nearby sales compare.

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.

Showing 348 of 348 areas.

#
1	North Ayrshire Scotland	27.1%	£643	£34,689
2	South Ayrshire Scotland	27.7%	£643	£33,986
3	Dumfries and Galloway Scotland	27.9%	£558	£29,649
4	East Ayrshire Scotland	28.5%	£643	£33,117
5	Shetland Islands Scotland	29.0%	£739	£35,716
6	Cumberland North West	31.6%	£681	£33,840
7	Hartlepool North East	32.1%	£558	£28,830
8	Powys Wales	32.4%	£621	£30,275
9	North Lanarkshire Scotland	32.7%	£801	£34,105
10	Perth and Kinross Scotland	33.1%	£739	£31,851
11	Orkney Islands Scotland	33.2%	£739	£31,737
12	Highland Scotland	33.4%	£739	£31,416
13	Doncaster Yorkshire and The Humber	33.7%	£694	£31,119
14	Forest of Dean South West	33.8%	£828	£36,589
15	North Lincolnshire Yorkshire and The Humber	33.9%	£653	£30,012
16	Barnsley Yorkshire and The Humber	34.1%	£696	£31,359
17	Burnley North West	34.1%	£631	£29,680
18	Renfrewshire Scotland	34.4%	£800	£32,832
19	Carmarthenshire Wales	34.4%	£687	£30,774
20	Hyndburn North West	34.5%	£648	£29,647
21	Blaenau Gwent Wales	34.8%	£681	£30,734
22	East Riding of Yorkshire Yorkshire and The Humber	35.0%	£724	£31,881
23	Aberdeenshire Scotland	35.0%	£845	£33,799
24	County Durham North East	35.1%	£650	£29,718
25	Wigan North West	35.1%	£746	£31,615
26	Scottish Borders Scotland	35.1%	£708	£28,796
27	Neath Port Talbot Wales	35.2%	£690	£30,709
28	North East Lincolnshire Yorkshire and The Humber	35.3%	£643	£28,898
29	South Lanarkshire Scotland	35.5%	£893	£34,293
30	Staffordshire Moorlands West Midlands	35.6%	£728	£31,065
31	Fife Scotland	35.6%	£832	£32,445
32	Darlington North East	35.8%	£689	£30,100
33	Ribble Valley North West	35.8%	£818	£34,077
34	Rotherham Yorkshire and The Humber	35.8%	£686	£29,664
35	Caerphilly Wales	35.8%	£747	£30,854
36	Fylde North West	35.9%	£870	£36,020
37	Northumberland North East	35.9%	£695	£30,456
38	Redcar and Cleveland North East	35.9%	£644	£28,630
39	Chorley North West	36.0%	£798	£33,337
40	Rugby West Midlands	36.0%	£1,049	£41,814
41	Middlesbrough North East	36.1%	£698	£30,253
42	Rutland East Midlands	36.1%	£961	£39,559
43	Na h-Eileanan Siar Scotland	36.1%	£739	£28,746
44	Calderdale Yorkshire and The Humber	36.2%	£756	£31,708
45	Westmorland and Furness North West	36.2%	£816	£33,988
46	Isle of Anglesey Wales	36.2%	£714	£29,944
47	Derbyshire Dales East Midlands	36.4%	£819	£33,700
48	South Derbyshire East Midlands	36.5%	£882	£35,452
49	West Lindsey East Midlands	36.6%	£741	£30,741
50	Aberdeen Scotland	36.7%	£845	£32,399
51	Stirling Scotland	36.8%	£892	£33,832
52	South Ribble North West	37.0%	£805	£32,740
53	Bridgend Wales	37.0%	£763	£31,475
54	Merthyr Tydfil Wales	37.0%	£754	£31,504
55	Stoke-on-Trent West Midlands	37.1%	£715	£29,041
56	Flintshire Wales	37.1%	£811	£32,675
57	Bolsover East Midlands	37.2%	£706	£29,674
58	Chesterfield East Midlands	37.3%	£758	£30,621
59	Angus Scotland	37.5%	£825	£30,681
60	Torfaen Wales	37.6%	£862	£33,201
61	West Lothian Scotland	37.7%	£911	£33,302
62	Ceredigion Wales	37.8%	£723	£29,326
63	West Lancashire North West	38.0%	£805	£31,884
64	Rhondda Cynon Taf Wales	38.0%	£754	£29,802
65	Halton North West	38.1%	£749	£29,819
66	Dundee Scotland	38.1%	£825	£30,523
67	Stockton-on-Tees North East	38.2%	£735	£29,877
68	Sunderland North East	38.2%	£707	£27,989
69	Wyre North West	38.2%	£743	£29,814
70	South Holland East Midlands	38.3%	£775	£30,196
71	Argyll and Bute Scotland	38.3%	£822	£30,436
72	St. Helens North West	38.4%	£807	£31,443
73	Falkirk Scotland	38.4%	£892	£32,330
74	Pembrokeshire Wales	38.5%	£694	£27,243
75	North East Derbyshire East Midlands	38.7%	£791	£30,931
76	Stafford West Midlands	38.7%	£901	£33,872
77	Clackmannanshire Scotland	38.7%	£892	£31,992
78	Warrington North West	38.8%	£899	£34,144
79	Inverclyde Scotland	38.8%	£800	£29,020
80	Swansea Wales	38.8%	£852	£32,091
81	Wrexham Wales	38.8%	£770	£29,752
82	Amber Valley East Midlands	38.9%	£799	£30,823
83	Hull Yorkshire and The Humber	38.9%	£694	£27,309
84	Wirral North West	38.9%	£859	£32,959
85	Erewash East Midlands	39.1%	£834	£31,673
86	Kirklees Yorkshire and The Humber	39.1%	£782	£30,238
87	Knowsley North West	39.3%	£858	£32,542
88	Moray Scotland	39.3%	£739	£26,943
89	South Tyneside North East	39.4%	£743	£28,784
90	Bromsgrove West Midlands	39.5%	£992	£36,409
91	Newcastle-under-Lyme West Midlands	39.5%	£833	£31,205
92	Blackpool North West	39.8%	£719	£27,979
93	Bradford Yorkshire and The Humber	39.8%	£745	£28,424
94	Pendle North West	39.9%	£670	£26,742
95	North Kesteven East Midlands	40.0%	£824	£30,585
96	Telford and Wrekin West Midlands	40.0%	£861	£31,459
97	Wakefield Yorkshire and The Humber	40.0%	£806	£29,954
98	Blackburn with Darwen North West	40.1%	£714	£27,502
99	East Staffordshire West Midlands	40.1%	£858	£31,517
100	Preston North West	40.1%	£790	£30,038
101	Bassetlaw East Midlands	40.2%	£727	£28,314
102	East Lindsey East Midlands	40.2%	£704	£26,705
103	Rossendale North West	40.2%	£811	£30,487
104	Dudley West Midlands	40.4%	£858	£30,822
105	Tamworth West Midlands	40.4%	£925	£33,167
106	West Dunbartonshire Scotland	40.6%	£940	£31,962
107	North Warwickshire West Midlands	40.8%	£982	£35,067
108	Denbighshire Wales	40.9%	£718	£26,812
109	Harborough East Midlands	41.0%	£973	£34,321
110	North Tyneside North East	41.0%	£857	£31,106
111	Monmouthshire Wales	41.0%	£994	£35,020
112	East Suffolk East of England	41.1%	£842	£30,261
113	Mid Devon South West	41.3%	£878	£31,908
114	Derby East Midlands	41.4%	£860	£30,467
115	Rushcliffe East Midlands	41.4%	£1,047	£36,705
116	Charnwood East Midlands	41.5%	£960	£33,550
117	North West Leicestershire East Midlands	41.5%	£914	£32,252
118	North Yorkshire Yorkshire and The Humber	41.5%	£849	£30,683
119	East Dunbartonshire Scotland	41.6%	£1,171	£38,000
120	Lancaster North West	41.7%	£823	£29,651
121	Gateshead North East	41.9%	£804	£29,494
122	Newark and Sherwood East Midlands	41.9%	£818	£29,806
123	Shropshire West Midlands	41.9%	£823	£29,603
124	Fenland East of England	42.0%	£842	£30,125
125	Nuneaton and Bedworth West Midlands	42.0%	£925	£32,402
126	Torridge South West	42.0%	£789	£28,752
127	East Renfrewshire Scotland	42.1%	£1,266	£39,965
128	Fareham South East	42.2%	£1,176	£38,851
129	High Peak East Midlands	42.2%	£937	£32,258
130	Wyre Forest West Midlands	42.2%	£825	£29,408
131	Cannock Chase West Midlands	42.3%	£867	£30,178
132	Herefordshire West Midlands	42.3%	£821	£29,361
133	South Kesteven East Midlands	42.7%	£845	£29,071
134	Worcester West Midlands	42.8%	£977	£32,997
135	Conwy Wales	42.8%	£796	£28,113
136	Mansfield East Midlands	42.9%	£790	£28,170
137	Cheshire East North West	43.0%	£985	£33,221
138	Hinckley and Bosworth East Midlands	43.0%	£934	£31,591
139	Sheffield Yorkshire and The Humber	43.0%	£931	£31,816
140	Boston East Midlands	43.2%	£806	£27,729
141	Newport Wales	43.2%	£959	£31,495
142	South Norfolk East of England	43.3%	£981	£32,934
143	Great Yarmouth East of England	43.4%	£841	£28,808
144	Uttlesford East of England	43.4%	£1,289	£41,006
145	East Cambridgeshire East of England	43.5%	£1,038	£34,311
146	Rochdale North West	43.5%	£855	£29,535
147	South Staffordshire West Midlands	43.5%	£958	£31,766
148	North Northamptonshire East Midlands	43.6%	£992	£32,882
149	Warwick West Midlands	43.6%	£1,241	£39,797
150	Ashfield East Midlands	43.7%	£795	£27,797
151	Dover South East	43.7%	£1,021	£33,704
152	Liverpool North West	44.0%	£913	£30,947
153	East Hampshire South East	44.1%	£1,262	£39,682
154	East Devon South West	44.2%	£968	£32,154
155	Broadland East of England	44.3%	£938	£30,920
156	Wolverhampton West Midlands	44.3%	£945	£31,308
157	Gwynedd Wales	44.3%	£724	£25,179
158	Cheshire West and Chester North West	44.5%	£991	£32,391
159	Bolton North West	44.6%	£894	£29,409
160	Coventry West Midlands	44.6%	£1,020	£33,063
161	Vale of Glamorgan Wales	44.6%	£982	£31,410
162	Stroud South West	44.7%	£1,041	£33,495
163	Bury North West	44.8%	£969	£31,687
164	Gedling East Midlands	44.8%	£904	£30,051
165	King's Lynn and West Norfolk East of England	44.9%	£941	£30,581
166	Broxtowe East Midlands	45.0%	£942	£30,966
167	North Devon South West	45.1%	£846	£28,386
168	South Oxfordshire South East	45.1%	£1,402	£43,026
169	North Norfolk East of England	45.2%	£865	£28,421
170	Blaby East Midlands	45.3%	£998	£31,950
171	Melton East Midlands	45.4%	£806	£26,633
172	South Cambridgeshire East of England	45.5%	£1,408	£42,690
173	Mid Suffolk East of England	45.6%	£1,005	£31,507
174	Tameside North West	45.6%	£931	£29,877
175	Basingstoke and Deane South East	45.7%	£1,309	£39,279
176	Huntingdonshire East of England	45.7%	£1,057	£33,375
177	Lincoln East Midlands	45.7%	£942	£29,824
178	Bedford East of England	46.0%	£1,173	£35,987
179	North Hertfordshire East of England	46.0%	£1,434	£42,703
180	Wokingham South East	46.1%	£1,466	£43,538
181	Babergh East of England	46.2%	£965	£30,118
182	Lichfield West Midlands	46.2%	£1,103	£33,763
183	Ipswich East of England	46.6%	£995	£30,928
184	Torbay South West	46.6%	£920	£28,963
185	Wychavon West Midlands	46.6%	£954	£29,661
186	Stratford-on-Avon West Midlands	46.7%	£1,149	£34,847
187	Breckland East of England	46.9%	£928	£28,930
188	Swale South East	46.9%	£1,114	£33,647
189	West Northamptonshire East Midlands	46.9%	£1,084	£33,059
190	Swindon South West	47.0%	£1,096	£33,135
191	Rochford East of England	47.1%	£1,300	£38,107
192	Walsall West Midlands	47.1%	£924	£29,112
193	East Hertfordshire East of England	47.2%	£1,533	£44,154
194	Sefton North West	47.2%	£938	£29,335
195	Waverley South East	47.5%	£1,459	£42,326
196	Oldham North West	47.7%	£942	£29,124
197	Central Bedfordshire East of England	47.8%	£1,250	£36,622
198	Gosport South East	47.8%	£1,169	£34,256
199	Solihull West Midlands	47.8%	£1,279	£36,672
200	Stockport North West	47.8%	£1,119	£33,565
201	West Berkshire South East	48.2%	£1,338	£38,513
202	Peterborough East of England	48.4%	£1,012	£29,828
203	Vale of White Horse South East	48.4%	£1,352	£38,859
204	West Devon South West	48.4%	£846	£26,556
205	Castle Point East of England	48.5%	£1,262	£35,975
206	Test Valley South East	48.5%	£1,235	£35,314
207	Cheltenham South West	48.6%	£1,261	£36,014
208	Braintree East of England	48.7%	£1,213	£34,546
209	Redditch West Midlands	48.7%	£976	£29,113
210	Wiltshire South West	48.8%	£1,082	£31,873
211	Tewkesbury South West	48.9%	£1,093	£31,603
212	Malvern Hills West Midlands	49.0%	£946	£28,167
213	Teignbridge South West	49.0%	£961	£28,911
214	Dorset South West	49.1%	£1,056	£31,444
215	Eastleigh South East	49.1%	£1,214	£34,474
216	Maldon East of England	49.1%	£1,139	£32,599
217	Hart South East	49.2%	£1,414	£39,341
218	Somerset South West	49.3%	£1,016	£29,908
219	Cardiff Wales	49.3%	£1,177	£32,756
220	Sandwell West Midlands	49.5%	£953	£27,652
221	West Suffolk East of England	49.5%	£1,183	£33,437
222	South Hams South West	49.7%	£1,012	£29,721
223	Edinburgh Scotland	49.8%	£1,415	£37,380
224	Cherwell South East	49.9%	£1,304	£36,568
225	Folkestone and Hythe South East	50.0%	£1,178	£33,355
226	Plymouth South West	50.0%	£1,004	£28,992
227	Hastings South East	50.3%	£1,007	£29,323
228	Medway South East	50.5%	£1,232	£33,857
229	Tendring East of England	50.5%	£1,053	£29,545
230	Leeds Yorkshire and The Humber	50.6%	£1,145	£31,679
231	York Yorkshire and The Humber	50.6%	£1,199	£32,961
232	Bromley London	50.8%	£1,684	£43,981
233	Runnymede South East	51.0%	£1,586	£42,203
234	Milton Keynes South East	51.3%	£1,344	£36,061
235	Birmingham West Midlands	51.5%	£1,099	£30,180
236	North Somerset South West	51.5%	£1,209	£32,996
237	West Oxfordshire South East	51.5%	£1,305	£35,388
238	Cornwall South West	51.7%	£1,000	£28,210
239	Gloucester South West	51.7%	£1,116	£30,455
240	Thurrock East of England	51.7%	£1,380	£36,407
241	Mid Sussex South East	51.8%	£1,423	£37,705
242	Oadby and Wigston East Midlands	51.8%	£1,024	£28,368
243	Havering London	52.1%	£1,565	£40,726
244	Havant South East	52.3%	£1,151	£30,819
245	Isle of Wight South East	52.5%	£951	£26,740
246	Gravesham South East	52.6%	£1,336	£35,065
247	Trafford North West	52.6%	£1,369	£35,593
248	Glasgow Scotland	52.6%	£1,266	£32,121
249	Ashford South East	52.7%	£1,248	£32,991
250	Colchester East of England	52.7%	£1,197	£31,589
251	Cotswold South West	52.9%	£1,252	£32,927
252	Maidstone South East	52.9%	£1,297	£34,151
253	Epsom and Ewell South East	53.0%	£1,690	£43,006
254	Leicester East Midlands	53.1%	£1,023	£27,858
255	Southampton South East	53.1%	£1,257	£32,907
256	Norwich East of England	53.3%	£1,142	£30,421
257	Winchester South East	53.3%	£1,508	£38,352
258	Southend-on-Sea East of England	53.4%	£1,306	£33,594
259	Eastbourne South East	53.5%	£1,169	£31,199
260	Wealden South East	53.5%	£1,262	£33,376
261	Rother South East	54.2%	£1,165	£30,790
262	Brentwood East of England	54.4%	£1,620	£39,864
263	Salford North West	54.5%	£1,170	£30,495
264	Welwyn Hatfield East of England	54.5%	£1,512	£37,805
265	Surrey Heath South East	54.6%	£1,503	£37,793
266	Chelmsford East of England	54.7%	£1,439	£35,791
267	Bracknell Forest South East	54.9%	£1,462	£36,067
268	Sutton London	54.9%	£1,556	£38,359
269	Worthing South East	54.9%	£1,297	£32,823
270	Stevenage East of England	55.0%	£1,440	£35,747
271	Horsham South East	55.2%	£1,474	£36,448
272	New Forest South East	55.3%	£1,244	£31,344
273	East Lothian Scotland	55.4%	£1,415	£33,737
274	Reigate and Banstead South East	55.6%	£1,640	£40,014
275	Rushmoor South East	56.1%	£1,385	£33,734
276	St Albans East of England	56.2%	£1,931	£45,543
277	Thanet South East	56.2%	£1,118	£28,323
278	Buckinghamshire South East	56.3%	£1,475	£35,937
279	Nottingham East Midlands	56.3%	£1,014	£26,512
280	Bexley London	56.4%	£1,537	£36,883
281	Croydon London	56.7%	£1,582	£38,080
282	Lewes South East	56.7%	£1,333	£33,088
283	Newcastle upon Tyne North East	56.8%	£1,215	£30,144
284	Basildon East of England	56.9%	£1,424	£34,133
285	Hillingdon London	57.3%	£1,570	£36,429
286	South Gloucestershire South West	57.5%	£1,464	£35,002
287	Woking South East	57.7%	£1,620	£38,172
288	Arun South East	57.9%	£1,231	£29,809
289	Tonbridge and Malling South East	57.9%	£1,489	£35,106
290	Kingston upon Thames London	58.2%	£1,811	£41,833
291	Guildford South East	58.5%	£1,736	£39,985
292	Dartford South East	58.8%	£1,575	£36,210
293	Canterbury South East	58.9%	£1,280	£30,188
294	Dacorum East of England	59.0%	£1,594	£36,473
295	Tunbridge Wells South East	59.0%	£1,533	£35,319
296	Midlothian Scotland	59.0%	£1,415	£31,856
297	Crawley South East	59.2%	£1,488	£34,225
298	Elmbridge South East	59.3%	£1,891	£42,607
299	Luton East of England	59.5%	£1,222	£28,741
300	Slough South East	59.7%	£1,565	£35,521
301	Mole Valley South East	59.8%	£1,551	£35,341
302	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole South West	60.3%	£1,398	£31,848
303	Spelthorne South East	60.3%	£1,696	£37,918
304	Broxbourne East of England	60.4%	£1,685	£37,283
305	Portsmouth South East	60.4%	£1,368	£30,962
306	Reading South East	60.6%	£1,574	£35,454
307	Lewisham London	61.2%	£1,829	£39,505
308	Three Rivers East of England	61.4%	£1,826	£39,615
309	Redbridge London	61.9%	£1,726	£37,190
310	Exeter South West	62.0%	£1,318	£29,531
311	Waltham Forest London	62.0%	£1,763	£37,971
312	Cambridge East of England	62.3%	£1,805	£38,711
313	Manchester North West	62.5%	£1,373	£30,067
314	Windsor and Maidenhead South East	62.6%	£1,800	£37,653
315	Epping Forest East of England	63.9%	£1,844	£38,171
316	Adur South East	64.4%	£1,410	£30,217
317	Chichester South East	64.6%	£1,333	£28,585
318	Merton London	64.8%	£2,172	£43,507
319	Barnet London	65.0%	£1,949	£39,239
320	Greenwich London	65.1%	£1,995	£39,984
321	Richmond upon Thames London	65.4%	£2,333	£46,594
322	Watford East of England	65.6%	£1,829	£37,172
323	Wandsworth London	66.1%	£2,632	£49,310
324	Harrow London	66.2%	£1,778	£36,000
325	Tandridge South East	66.8%	£1,637	£33,316
326	Harlow East of England	67.0%	£1,521	£30,654
327	Hertsmere East of England	67.4%	£1,829	£36,159
328	Barking and Dagenham London	68.6%	£1,698	£32,911
329	Enfield London	69.2%	£1,827	£34,962
330	Tower Hamlets London	69.2%	£2,453	£45,183
331	Sevenoaks South East	69.3%	£1,809	£34,969
332	Newham London	69.5%	£1,928	£36,080
333	Oxford South East	71.8%	£1,963	£36,517
334	Brighton and Hove South East	72.5%	£1,808	£33,506
335	Hounslow London	72.5%	£1,952	£35,301
336	Southwark London	73.6%	£2,474	£43,006
337	Lambeth London	74.1%	£2,525	£43,666
338	Bristol South West	74.3%	£1,883	£34,051
339	Brent London	75.7%	£2,014	£34,871
340	Bath and North East Somerset South West	77.0%	£1,885	£32,481
341	Ealing London	77.0%	£2,109	£35,665
342	Haringey London	77.0%	£2,219	£37,563
343	Islington London	77.0%	£2,868	£47,411
344	Camden London	81.7%	£2,819	£44,088
345	Hammersmith and Fulham London	82.7%	£2,825	£42,811
346	Hackney London	84.4%	£2,658	£40,237
347	Westminster London	87.2%	£3,196	£45,172
348	Kensington and Chelsea London	98.4%	£3,690	£46,690

Scottish rents are published for 18 rental market areas, not for each council, so neighbouring councils can share a rent figure.

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: North Ayrshire (27.1%), South Ayrshire (27.7%), Dumfries and Galloway (27.9%), East Ayrshire (28.5%), the Shetland Islands (29.0%), North Lanarkshire (32.7%) and Perth and Kinross (33.1%). The pattern is the same each time: average one-bedroom rent between £401 and £537 a month paired with average earnings of £29,000 to £36,000.

That combination is what the affordability score is designed to spot. High earnings alone do not qualify, and low rent alone does not either. North Ayrshire leads the table because its £643 average rent is low for Scotland, while the £34,689 average salary is high enough that the combined bill only eats around 27% of gross pay.

The three non-Scottish entries in the top 10 are Cumberland in the North West (31.6%), Hartlepool in the North East (32.1%) and Powys in Wales (32.4%). 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

North Ayrshire is the most affordable area: rent and council tax take just 27.1% 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, 98.4% 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 average 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 average 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?

Related rankings

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.

Ready to look at one home?

Enter a postcode for a free preview: last sale price, EPC rating, flood risk and crime nearby.