Rankings

Most expensive places to live in the UK 2026

Q: What is the most expensive place to live in the UK?

Based on estimated single-person monthly costs, Kensington and Chelsea is the most expensive place to live in the UK at around £3,249/month. That covers rent, council tax, energy, water, groceries and transport.

Q: Why are some areas so much more expensive?

Rent is by far the biggest driver of the gap. Council tax matters at the margins, especially across English boroughs that vary by hundreds of pounds a year at Band D. Energy and water bills barely change between areas because national price caps and small regional variations keep the numbers close.

Q: Are expensive areas always the worst value?

Not always. Some expensive areas have higher salaries that offset the cost. For a salary-adjusted view, see our best value rankings, which sort by what share of the local salary essential housing costs eat.

Q: What costs are included in this ranking?

1-bed rent, Band D council tax with the single person discount, monthly energy and water bills, £220 groceries, and £80 transport (£160 in London boroughs). This is a single-person estimate; couples and families sharing a property have a different cost picture.

These are the most expensive places to live in the UK in 2026, ranked by the estimated monthly living cost for a single person. The basket covers rent (1-bed), council tax (Band D with the single occupant discount), energy and water bills, plus standard estimates for groceries and transport. The most expensive area is Kensington and Chelsea at around £3,249/month, compared to the UK average of £1,461/month across all 348 ranked areas.

Data last updated: 15 June 2026

Every area ranked by estimated single-person monthly cost, from highest to lowest. You can search for a specific area, filter by region, or click any column header to sort by council tax, rent, or earnings instead. Click any area name to see its full cost of living profile.

#	Area	Region	Monthly cost (single person)	Council tax Band D	Avg. rent (£/mo)	Avg. earnings (£/yr)
1	Kensington and Chelsea	London	£3,249/mo	£1,667	£3,599	£46,690
2	Westminster	London	£3,122/mo	£1,050	£3,122	£45,172
3	Islington	London	£2,797/mo	£2,108	£2,763	£47,411
4	Hackney	London	£2,656/mo	£2,060	£2,598	£40,237
5	Camden	London	£2,642/mo	£2,208	£2,654	£44,088
6	Tower Hamlets	London	£2,634/mo	£1,838	£2,396	£45,183
7	Hammersmith and Fulham	London	£2,592/mo	£1,520	£2,724	£42,811
8	Lambeth	London	£2,581/mo	£2,047	£2,525	£43,666
9	Wandsworth	London	£2,542/mo	£1,028	£2,593	£49,310
10	Southwark	London	£2,506/mo	£1,967	£2,388	£43,006
11	Richmond upon Thames	London	£2,436/mo	£2,486	£2,302	£46,594
12	Haringey	London	£2,348/mo	£2,314	£2,209	£37,563
13	Newham	London	£2,313/mo	£1,944	£1,912	£36,080
14	Ealing	London	£2,290/mo	£2,139	£2,051	£35,665
15	Merton	London	£2,278/mo	£2,147	£2,083	£43,507
16	Brent	London	£2,256/mo	£2,235	£1,969	£34,871
17	Hounslow	London	£2,256/mo	£2,186	£1,907	£35,301
18	Greenwich	London	£2,228/mo	£2,108	£1,944	£39,984
19	Barnet	London	£2,188/mo	£2,133	£1,928	£39,239
20	Lewisham	London	£2,155/mo	£2,237	£1,810	£39,505
21	Waltham Forest	London	£2,114/mo	£2,387	£1,753	£37,971
22	Harrow	London	£2,105/mo	£2,511	£1,754	£36,000
23	Kingston upon Thames	London	£2,103/mo	£2,609	£1,796	£41,833
24	Enfield	London	£2,092/mo	£2,268	£1,770	£34,962
25	Barking and Dagenham	London	£2,079/mo	£2,199	£1,687	£32,911
26	Redbridge	London	£2,078/mo	£2,295	£1,720	£37,190
27	Bromley	London	£2,007/mo	£2,140	£1,670	£43,981
28	Oxford	South East	£2,006/mo	£2,678	£1,952	£36,517
29	Croydon	London	£1,983/mo	£2,600	£1,560	£38,080
30	Sutton	London	£1,951/mo	£2,379	£1,545	£38,359
31	Bexley	London	£1,944/mo	£2,366	£1,531	£36,883
32	Havering	London	£1,942/mo	£2,425	£1,566	£40,726
33	Hillingdon	London	£1,936/mo	£2,045	£1,549	£36,429
34	Three Rivers	East of England	£1,908/mo	£2,422	£1,807	£39,615
35	Watford	East of England	£1,903/mo	£2,447	£1,813	£37,172
36	Bristol	South West	£1,902/mo	£2,714	£1,888	£34,051
37	St Albans	East of England	£1,902/mo	£2,419	£1,912	£45,543
38	Sevenoaks	South East	£1,901/mo	£2,522	£1,781	£34,969
39	Cambridge	East of England	£1,896/mo	£2,467	£1,795	£38,711
40	Elmbridge	South East	£1,880/mo	£2,558	£1,832	£42,607
41	Hertsmere	East of England	£1,873/mo	£2,406	£1,787	£36,159
42	Windsor and Maidenhead	South East	£1,870/mo	£1,953	£1,809	£37,653
43	Brighton and Hove	South East	£1,856/mo	£2,581	£1,826	£33,506
44	Bath and North East Somerset	South West	£1,853/mo	£2,383	£1,876	£32,481
45	Epping Forest	East of England	£1,853/mo	£2,277	£1,826	£38,171
46	Spelthorne	South East	£1,841/mo	£2,526	£1,633	£37,918
47	Epsom and Ewell	South East	£1,831/mo	£2,531	£1,682	£43,006
48	Guildford	South East	£1,815/mo	£2,547	£1,698	£39,985
49	Slough	South East	£1,791/mo	£2,414	£1,567	£35,521
50	Reigate and Banstead	South East	£1,790/mo	£2,567	£1,628	£40,014
51	Mole Valley	South East	£1,789/mo	£2,520	£1,545	£35,341
52	Woking	South East	£1,789/mo	£2,598	£1,615	£38,172
53	Tandridge	South East	£1,788/mo	£2,595	£1,596	£33,316
54	Reading	South East	£1,779/mo	£2,613	£1,579	£35,454
55	Broxbourne	East of England	£1,745/mo	£2,306	£1,649	£37,283
56	Bracknell Forest	South East	£1,734/mo	£2,265	£1,501	£36,067
57	Brentwood	East of England	£1,732/mo	£2,258	£1,605	£39,864
58	Dacorum	East of England	£1,731/mo	£2,409	£1,577	£36,473
59	Dartford	South East	£1,724/mo	£2,375	£1,556	£36,210
60	Runnymede	South East	£1,724/mo	£2,493	£1,567	£42,203
61	Wokingham	South East	£1,715/mo	£2,498	£1,479	£43,538
62	East Hertfordshire	East of England	£1,712/mo	£2,455	£1,504	£44,154
63	Crawley	South East	£1,705/mo	£2,418	£1,475	£34,225
64	Chelmsford	East of England	£1,699/mo	£2,300	£1,442	£35,791
65	Waverley	South East	£1,697/mo	£2,605	£1,431	£42,326
66	Surrey Heath	South East	£1,689/mo	£2,585	£1,493	£37,793
67	Buckinghamshire	South East	£1,684/mo	£2,527	£1,467	£35,937
68	Tunbridge Wells	South East	£1,684/mo	£2,446	£1,501	£35,319
69	South Oxfordshire	South East	£1,682/mo	£2,598	£1,377	£43,026
70	Welwyn Hatfield	East of England	£1,678/mo	£2,452	£1,468	£37,805
71	Tonbridge and Malling	South East	£1,668/mo	£2,472	£1,467	£35,106
72	Hart	South East	£1,664/mo	£2,400	£1,406	£39,341
73	South Cambridgeshire	East of England	£1,656/mo	£2,536	£1,399	£42,690
74	Stevenage	East of England	£1,655/mo	£2,392	£1,417	£35,747
75	Harlow	East of England	£1,654/mo	£2,299	£1,513	£30,654
76	Winchester	South East	£1,654/mo	£2,360	£1,498	£38,352
77	Horsham	South East	£1,652/mo	£2,441	£1,444	£36,448
78	North Hertfordshire	East of England	£1,652/mo	£2,449	£1,408	£42,703
79	Mid Sussex	South East	£1,649/mo	£2,474	£1,405	£37,705
80	South Gloucestershire	South West	£1,649/mo	£2,551	£1,445	£35,002
81	Adur	South East	£1,634/mo	£2,548	£1,379	£30,217
82	Vale of White Horse	South East	£1,630/mo	£2,577	£1,332	£38,859
83	Midlothian	Scotland	£1,626/mo	£1,816	£1,432	£31,856
84	Cherwell	South East	£1,621/mo	£2,583	£1,289	£36,568
85	Manchester	North West	£1,620/mo	£2,312	£1,347	£30,067
86	East Lothian	Scotland	£1,618/mo	£1,698	£1,432	£33,737
87	Edinburgh	Scotland	£1,614/mo	£1,626	£1,432	£37,380
88	Milton Keynes	South East	£1,611/mo	£2,372	£1,329	£36,061
89	Rushmoor	South East	£1,610/mo	£2,320	£1,369	£33,734
90	Basildon	East of England	£1,602/mo	£2,327	£1,396	£34,133
91	Chichester	South East	£1,588/mo	£2,470	£1,319	£28,585
92	West Oxfordshire	South East	£1,586/mo	£2,567	£1,270	£35,388
93	Lewes	South East	£1,584/mo	£2,756	£1,320	£33,088
94	Basingstoke and Deane	South East	£1,579/mo	£2,255	£1,324	£39,279
95	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	South West	£1,574/mo	£2,436	£1,397	£31,848
96	Exeter	South West	£1,571/mo	£2,495	£1,312	£29,531
97	Trafford	North West	£1,568/mo	£2,292	£1,358	£35,593
98	Wealden	South East	£1,562/mo	£2,728	£1,259	£33,376
99	Maidstone	South East	£1,561/mo	£2,503	£1,282	£34,151
100	Castle Point	East of England	£1,558/mo	£2,319	£1,231	£35,975
101	Thurrock	East of England	£1,551/mo	£2,255	£1,344	£36,407
102	Worthing	South East	£1,550/mo	£2,456	£1,310	£32,823
103	Gravesham	South East	£1,546/mo	£2,408	£1,319	£35,065
104	Luton	East of England	£1,546/mo	£2,440	£1,211	£28,741
105	Medway	South East	£1,545/mo	£2,329	£1,241	£33,857
106	West Berkshire	South East	£1,544/mo	£2,505	£1,273	£38,513
107	Uttlesford	East of England	£1,541/mo	£2,334	£1,285	£41,006
108	East Hampshire	South East	£1,537/mo	£2,344	£1,252	£39,682
109	Ashford	South East	£1,535/mo	£2,410	£1,239	£32,991
110	Salford	North West	£1,534/mo	£2,594	£1,161	£30,495
111	Portsmouth	South East	£1,533/mo	£2,292	£1,357	£30,962
112	Cotswold	South West	£1,532/mo	£2,392	£1,263	£32,927
113	Rochford	East of England	£1,521/mo	£2,363	£1,285	£38,107
114	Warwick	West Midlands	£1,521/mo	£2,462	£1,237	£39,797
115	Southampton	South East	£1,519/mo	£2,381	£1,246	£32,907
116	Cardiff	Wales	£1,509/mo	£2,013	£1,157	£32,756
117	Canterbury	South East	£1,508/mo	£2,419	£1,260	£30,188
118	Central Bedfordshire	East of England	£1,507/mo	£2,516	£1,238	£36,622
119	New Forest	South East	£1,505/mo	£2,420	£1,234	£31,344
120	Test Valley	South East	£1,505/mo	£2,306	£1,203	£35,314
121	Cheltenham	South West	£1,504/mo	£2,370	£1,233	£36,014
122	Eastleigh	South East	£1,498/mo	£2,342	£1,205	£34,474
123	Braintree	East of England	£1,497/mo	£2,280	£1,227	£34,546
124	Southend-on-Sea	East of England	£1,495/mo	£2,265	£1,278	£33,594
125	Arun	South East	£1,491/mo	£2,487	£1,217	£29,809
126	Fareham	South East	£1,491/mo	£2,271	£1,206	£38,851
127	York	Yorkshire and The Humber	£1,490/mo	£2,287	£1,173	£32,961
128	Eastbourne	South East	£1,476/mo	£2,654	£1,160	£31,199
129	Havant	South East	£1,476/mo	£2,320	£1,127	£30,819
130	North Somerset	South West	£1,471/mo	£2,491	£1,194	£32,996
131	Colchester	East of England	£1,470/mo	£2,283	£1,216	£31,589
132	Rother	South East	£1,468/mo	£2,701	£1,162	£30,790
133	Solihull	West Midlands	£1,467/mo	£2,197	£1,258	£36,672
134	Swindon	South West	£1,466/mo	£2,438	£1,082	£33,135
135	Birmingham	West Midlands	£1,456/mo	£2,363	£1,086	£30,180
136	Newcastle upon Tyne	North East	£1,454/mo	£2,542	£1,206	£30,144
137	Gosport	South East	£1,453/mo	£2,344	£1,150	£34,256
138	West Suffolk	East of England	£1,453/mo	£2,351	£1,176	£33,437
139	Maldon	East of England	£1,445/mo	£2,328	£1,151	£32,599
140	Stockport	North West	£1,445/mo	£2,619	£1,091	£33,565
141	Bedford	East of England	£1,442/mo	£2,472	£1,163	£35,987
142	Stratford-on-Avon	West Midlands	£1,436/mo	£2,484	£1,120	£34,847
143	Norwich	East of England	£1,430/mo	£2,503	£1,146	£30,421
144	Folkestone and Hythe	South East	£1,429/mo	£2,539	£1,132	£33,355
145	Glasgow	Scotland	£1,425/mo	£1,706	£1,276	£32,121
146	Swale	South East	£1,419/mo	£2,406	£1,104	£33,647
147	Thanet	South East	£1,417/mo	£2,491	£1,107	£28,323
148	Coventry	West Midlands	£1,404/mo	£2,517	£1,021	£33,063
149	Leeds	Yorkshire and The Humber	£1,404/mo	£2,284	£1,130	£31,679
150	Stroud	South West	£1,401/mo	£2,491	£1,036	£33,495
151	Wiltshire	South West	£1,397/mo	£2,572	£1,056	£31,873
152	Dorset	South West	£1,396/mo	£2,765	£1,037	£31,444
153	South Hams	South West	£1,393/mo	£2,615	£996	£29,721
154	Nottingham	East Midlands	£1,391/mo	£2,755	£1,008	£26,512
155	Huntingdonshire	East of England	£1,390/mo	£2,556	£1,045	£33,375
156	Tendring	East of England	£1,390/mo	£2,270	£1,048	£29,545
157	Gloucester	South West	£1,385/mo	£2,356	£1,099	£30,455
158	Ipswich	East of England	£1,384/mo	£2,468	£985	£30,928
159	West Northamptonshire	East Midlands	£1,384/mo	£2,487	£1,070	£33,059
160	Rugby	West Midlands	£1,382/mo	£2,483	£1,028	£41,814
161	Lichfield	West Midlands	£1,367/mo	£2,352	£1,091	£33,763
162	Oadby and Wigston	East Midlands	£1,367/mo	£2,407	£1,020	£28,368
163	Monmouthshire	Wales	£1,366/mo	£2,416	£987	£35,020
164	Rushcliffe	East Midlands	£1,365/mo	£2,643	£1,031	£36,705
165	East Cambridgeshire	East of England	£1,364/mo	£2,485	£1,016	£34,311
166	Leicester	East Midlands	£1,363/mo	£2,529	£1,026	£27,858
167	Hastings	South East	£1,361/mo	£2,677	£1,008	£29,323
168	Babergh	East of England	£1,359/mo	£2,342	£969	£30,118
169	Cornwall	South West	£1,358/mo	£2,591	£1,004	£28,210
170	North Warwickshire	West Midlands	£1,358/mo	£2,532	£972	£35,067
171	Vale of Glamorgan	Wales	£1,357/mo	£2,232	£982	£31,410
172	Plymouth	South West	£1,350/mo	£2,442	£985	£28,992
173	Bromsgrove	West Midlands	£1,348/mo	£2,479	£977	£36,409
174	Cheshire West and Chester	North West	£1,347/mo	£2,517	£959	£32,391
175	East Devon	South West	£1,341/mo	£2,595	£953	£32,154
176	Harborough	East Midlands	£1,340/mo	£2,390	£960	£34,321
177	Blaby	East Midlands	£1,339/mo	£2,490	£977	£31,950
178	Rutland	East Midlands	£1,338/mo	£2,738	£968	£39,559
179	Dover	South East	£1,337/mo	£2,462	£962	£33,704
180	Mid Suffolk	East of England	£1,336/mo	£2,317	£973	£31,507
181	South Norfolk	East of England	£1,336/mo	£2,483	£969	£32,934
182	Tamworth	West Midlands	£1,336/mo	£2,301	£966	£33,167
183	Broadland	East of England	£1,334/mo	£2,438	£934	£30,920
184	Worcester	West Midlands	£1,333/mo	£2,406	£955	£32,997
185	Bury	North West	£1,332/mo	£2,555	£965	£31,687
186	Somerset	South West	£1,332/mo	£2,561	£980	£29,908
187	Malvern Hills	West Midlands	£1,331/mo	£2,451	£938	£28,167
188	Oldham	North West	£1,331/mo	£2,602	£910	£29,124
189	Cheshire East	North West	£1,329/mo	£2,455	£972	£33,221
190	Sheffield	Yorkshire and The Humber	£1,329/mo	£2,510	£920	£31,816
191	Liverpool	North West	£1,328/mo	£2,674	£893	£30,947
192	Peterborough	East of England	£1,321/mo	£2,293	£976	£29,828
193	Tewkesbury	South West	£1,321/mo	£2,341	£983	£31,603
194	Broxtowe	East Midlands	£1,317/mo	£2,618	£963	£30,966
195	Isle of Wight	South East	£1,316/mo	£2,626	£940	£26,740
196	Tameside	North West	£1,316/mo	£2,447	£917	£29,877
197	Newport	Wales	£1,315/mo	£2,088	£953	£31,495
198	East Dunbartonshire	Scotland	£1,314/mo	£1,752	£1,159	£38,000
199	Teignbridge	South West	£1,313/mo	£2,643	£944	£28,911
200	North Northamptonshire	East Midlands	£1,312/mo	£2,424	£978	£32,882
201	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	£1,308/mo	£2,539	£928	£31,308
202	Charnwood	East Midlands	£1,307/mo	£2,406	£949	£33,550
203	Mid Devon	South West	£1,305/mo	£2,656	£869	£31,908
204	Swansea	Wales	£1,303/mo	£2,238	£833	£32,091
205	Warrington	North West	£1,301/mo	£2,448	£880	£34,144
206	Breckland	East of England	£1,298/mo	£2,444	£909	£28,930
207	Sandwell	West Midlands	£1,298/mo	£2,244	£938	£27,652
208	Lincoln	East Midlands	£1,294/mo	£2,323	£946	£29,824
209	Nuneaton and Bedworth	West Midlands	£1,290/mo	£2,502	£914	£32,402
210	Walsall	West Midlands	£1,290/mo	£2,627	£904	£29,112
211	King's Lynn and West Norfolk	East of England	£1,288/mo	£2,430	£930	£30,581
212	South Staffordshire	West Midlands	£1,287/mo	£2,314	£942	£31,766
213	Wychavon	West Midlands	£1,284/mo	£2,373	£925	£29,661
214	Bolton	North West	£1,281/mo	£2,400	£878	£29,409
215	Fenland	East of England	£1,271/mo	£2,538	£830	£30,125
216	West Devon	South West	£1,270/mo	£2,705	£837	£26,556
217	Gedling	East Midlands	£1,269/mo	£2,610	£891	£30,051
218	North Devon	South West	£1,268/mo	£2,642	£859	£28,386
219	Redditch	West Midlands	£1,268/mo	£2,463	£898	£29,113
220	Hinckley and Bosworth	East Midlands	£1,266/mo	£2,383	£920	£31,591
221	North Norfolk	East of England	£1,265/mo	£2,460	£856	£28,421
222	Torbay	South West	£1,264/mo	£2,470	£899	£28,963
223	North West Leicestershire	East Midlands	£1,261/mo	£2,418	£899	£32,252
224	Sefton	North West	£1,260/mo	£2,583	£919	£29,335
225	Rochdale	North West	£1,251/mo	£2,601	£824	£29,535
226	Stafford	West Midlands	£1,249/mo	£2,303	£882	£33,872
227	Forest of Dean	South West	£1,246/mo	£2,443	£820	£36,589
228	Wyre Forest	West Midlands	£1,245/mo	£2,512	£849	£29,408
229	Herefordshire	West Midlands	£1,240/mo	£2,574	£815	£29,361
230	Fylde	North West	£1,239/mo	£2,484	£848	£36,020
231	Shropshire	West Midlands	£1,238/mo	£2,528	£803	£29,603
232	High Peak	East Midlands	£1,237/mo	£2,385	£900	£32,258
233	North Kesteven	East Midlands	£1,236/mo	£2,338	£857	£30,585
234	Rossendale	North West	£1,236/mo	£2,520	£810	£30,487
235	South Derbyshire	East Midlands	£1,236/mo	£2,340	£871	£35,452
236	Torfaen	Wales	£1,236/mo	£2,156	£853	£33,201
237	Westmorland and Furness	North West	£1,236/mo	£2,508	£797	£33,988
238	East Suffolk	East of England	£1,235/mo	£2,335	£831	£30,261
239	Gateshead	North East	£1,235/mo	£2,716	£785	£29,494
240	Ribble Valley	North West	£1,234/mo	£2,386	£803	£34,077
241	Erewash	East Midlands	£1,233/mo	£2,361	£831	£31,673
242	Torridge	South West	£1,232/mo	£2,601	£788	£28,752
243	Lancaster	North West	£1,231/mo	£2,503	£802	£29,651
244	East Staffordshire	West Midlands	£1,230/mo	£2,351	£833	£31,517
245	Derby	East Midlands	£1,229/mo	£2,306	£847	£30,467
246	North Yorkshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	£1,229/mo	£2,544	£831	£30,683
247	Boston	East Midlands	£1,226/mo	£2,309	£793	£27,729
248	Dudley	West Midlands	£1,224/mo	£2,145	£846	£30,822
249	West Lancashire	North West	£1,224/mo	£2,456	£794	£31,884
250	Wrexham	Wales	£1,224/mo	£2,309	£759	£29,752
251	Chorley	North West	£1,220/mo	£2,430	£773	£33,337
252	Preston	North West	£1,220/mo	£2,576	£778	£30,038
253	Telford and Wrekin	West Midlands	£1,220/mo	£2,256	£850	£31,459
254	Conwy	Wales	£1,218/mo	£2,473	£776	£28,113
255	Great Yarmouth	East of England	£1,218/mo	£2,414	£816	£28,808
256	Derbyshire Dales	East Midlands	£1,217/mo	£2,445	£797	£33,700
257	North Tyneside	North East	£1,212/mo	£2,462	£830	£31,106
258	Amber Valley	East Midlands	£1,210/mo	£2,408	£784	£30,823
259	Flintshire	Wales	£1,210/mo	£2,376	£778	£32,675
260	Knowsley	North West	£1,210/mo	£2,488	£805	£32,542
261	South Holland	East Midlands	£1,210/mo	£2,278	£759	£30,196
262	Kirklees	Yorkshire and The Humber	£1,209/mo	£2,441	£759	£30,238
263	St. Helens	North West	£1,208/mo	£2,403	£774	£31,443
264	Cannock Chase	West Midlands	£1,207/mo	£2,376	£841	£30,178
265	Newcastle-under-Lyme	West Midlands	£1,206/mo	£2,334	£824	£31,205
266	South Kesteven	East Midlands	£1,206/mo	£2,260	£835	£29,071
267	Merthyr Tydfil	Wales	£1,203/mo	£2,594	£753	£31,504
268	North East Derbyshire	East Midlands	£1,198/mo	£2,467	£775	£30,931
269	Wirral	North West	£1,198/mo	£2,501	£830	£32,959
270	Wakefield	Yorkshire and The Humber	£1,197/mo	£2,297	£787	£29,954
271	Ashfield	East Midlands	£1,196/mo	£2,609	£777	£27,797
272	Newark and Sherwood	East Midlands	£1,196/mo	£2,682	£787	£29,806
273	West Lothian	Scotland	£1,194/mo	£1,628	£911	£33,302
274	Ceredigion	Wales	£1,193/mo	£2,419	£710	£29,326
275	Stirling	Scotland	£1,193/mo	£1,753	£900	£33,832
276	South Ribble	North West	£1,191/mo	£2,443	£787	£32,740
277	Falkirk	Scotland	£1,190/mo	£1,715	£900	£32,330
278	Aberdeen	Scotland	£1,189/mo	£1,748	£860	£32,399
279	Clackmannanshire	Scotland	£1,188/mo	£1,684	£900	£31,992
280	Moray	Scotland	£1,188/mo	£1,731	£860	£26,943
281	Bridgend	Wales	£1,187/mo	£2,478	£736	£31,475
282	Mansfield	East Midlands	£1,186/mo	£2,600	£770	£28,170
283	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	£1,185/mo	£1,686	£860	£33,799
284	Melton	East Midlands	£1,185/mo	£2,430	£790	£26,633
285	Stockton-on-Tees	North East	£1,183/mo	£2,590	£732	£29,877
286	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	£1,182/mo	£2,361	£737	£28,424
287	Isle of Anglesey	Wales	£1,179/mo	£2,261	£710	£29,944
288	Calderdale	Yorkshire and The Humber	£1,178/mo	£2,420	£741	£31,708
289	Denbighshire	Wales	£1,173/mo	£2,339	£701	£26,812
290	Gwynedd	Wales	£1,173/mo	£2,469	£685	£25,179
291	Blackburn with Darwen	North West	£1,171/mo	£2,455	£707	£27,502
292	Halton	North West	£1,171/mo	£2,367	£732	£29,819
293	Argyll and Bute	Scotland	£1,168/mo	£1,783	£851	£30,436
294	Caerphilly	Wales	£1,163/mo	£2,083	£736	£30,854
295	Dundee	Scotland	£1,160/mo	£1,730	£834	£30,523
296	Chesterfield	East Midlands	£1,158/mo	£2,339	£735	£30,621
297	Wigan	North West	£1,155/mo	£2,153	£732	£31,615
298	Rhondda Cynon Taf	Wales	£1,154/mo	£2,289	£744	£29,802
299	Middlesbrough	North East	£1,153/mo	£2,549	£709	£30,253
300	Staffordshire Moorlands	West Midlands	£1,153/mo	£2,338	£718	£31,065
301	Angus	Scotland	£1,152/mo	£1,599	£834	£30,681
302	West Lindsey	East Midlands	£1,152/mo	£2,354	£711	£30,741
303	Wyre	North West	£1,152/mo	£2,461	£717	£29,814
304	Bassetlaw	East Midlands	£1,148/mo	£2,645	£716	£28,314
305	West Dunbartonshire	Scotland	£1,147/mo	£1,682	£934	£31,962
306	South Tyneside	North East	£1,144/mo	£2,434	£720	£28,784
307	Blaenau Gwent	Wales	£1,141/mo	£2,531	£668	£30,734
308	Sunderland	North East	£1,139/mo	£2,197	£695	£27,989
309	Cumberland	North West	£1,137/mo	£2,511	£659	£33,840
310	East Riding of Yorkshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	£1,136/mo	£2,466	£709	£31,881
311	Stoke-on-Trent	West Midlands	£1,136/mo	£2,183	£708	£29,041
312	Bolsover	East Midlands	£1,134/mo	£2,559	£692	£29,674
313	Pembrokeshire	Wales	£1,134/mo	£2,166	£687	£27,243
314	Neath Port Talbot	Wales	£1,133/mo	£2,541	£668	£30,709
315	East Lindsey	East Midlands	£1,132/mo	£2,276	£678	£26,705
316	Pendle	North West	£1,132/mo	£2,640	£645	£26,742
317	Blackpool	North West	£1,131/mo	£2,513	£696	£27,979
318	Hull	Yorkshire and The Humber	£1,126/mo	£2,295	£684	£27,309
319	Barnsley	Yorkshire and The Humber	£1,123/mo	£2,326	£670	£31,359
320	Carmarthenshire	Wales	£1,123/mo	£2,351	£668	£30,774
321	Darlington	North East	£1,123/mo	£2,494	£666	£30,100
322	Hyndburn	North West	£1,121/mo	£2,466	£638	£29,647
323	Northumberland	North East	£1,121/mo	£2,597	£664	£30,456
324	Rotherham	Yorkshire and The Humber	£1,121/mo	£2,382	£678	£29,664
325	Fife	Scotland	£1,120/mo	£1,574	£812	£32,445
326	South Lanarkshire	Scotland	£1,118/mo	£1,468	£884	£34,293
327	Doncaster	Yorkshire and The Humber	£1,112/mo	£2,168	£684	£31,119
328	Renfrewshire	Scotland	£1,110/mo	£1,691	£826	£32,832
329	Inverclyde	Scotland	£1,109/mo	£1,674	£826	£29,020
330	Burnley	North West	£1,108/mo	£2,549	£624	£29,680
331	East Renfrewshire	Scotland	£1,105/mo	£1,620	£826	£39,965
332	Orkney Islands	Scotland	£1,105/mo	£1,669	£723	£31,737
333	Highland	Scotland	£1,103/mo	£1,634	£723	£31,416
334	Perth and Kinross	Scotland	£1,101/mo	£1,674	£753	£31,851
335	Redcar and Cleveland	North East	£1,100/mo	£2,544	£640	£28,630
336	Powys	Wales	£1,099/mo	£2,352	£621	£30,275
337	County Durham	North East	£1,095/mo	£2,622	£632	£29,718
338	Na h-Eileanan Siar	Scotland	£1,095/mo	£1,506	£723	£28,746
339	Shetland Islands	Scotland	£1,094/mo	£1,488	£723	£35,716
340	North Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	£1,092/mo	£2,348	£631	£30,012
341	North Lanarkshire	Scotland	£1,085/mo	£1,555	£812	£34,105
342	North East Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	£1,078/mo	£2,484	£614	£28,898
343	East Ayrshire	Scotland	£1,058/mo	£1,717	£663	£33,117
344	South Ayrshire	Scotland	£1,057/mo	£1,695	£663	£33,986
345	Hartlepool	North East	£1,056/mo	£2,560	£570	£28,830
346	North Ayrshire	Scotland	£1,056/mo	£1,686	£663	£34,689
347	Scottish Borders	Scotland	£1,051/mo	£1,619	£707	£28,796
348	Dumfries and Galloway	Scotland	£1,001/mo	£1,579	£554	£29,649

A closer look at the top 10

Every single area in the top 10 is a London borough. Kensington and Chelsea leads at around £3,249 a month for a single person, followed by Westminster (£3,122), Islington (£2,797), Hackney (£2,656) and Camden (£2,642). The gap between the top of the table and the UK average of £1,461 is roughly £1,788 a month, or over £21,456 a year.

Rent does almost all of the work in pushing these figures up. The typical one-bedroom rent in Kensington and Chelsea is around £2,572 a month; in most of the country it sits well under £1,000. Energy and water bills barely change between areas because national price caps flatten the differences, and the shared £220 groceries and £160 London transport allowance in the basket are constant across every London row.

Council tax is the surprise on this list. Wandsworth appears at #9 in the most expensive rankings despite having the single lowest Band D bill in the whole UK at £1,028 a year. Westminster is #2 for monthly cost with the second-lowest council tax in the country. High rent completely swamps whatever those authorities have chosen to charge, which is a useful reminder that "most expensive to live in" and "highest council tax" are two very different rankings.

Outside London, higher-earning South East authorities like Elmbridge, Guildford and St Albans sit further down the list rather than in the top 10, because their rent premiums are smaller than inner-London's. And several inner-London boroughs pair their high costs with average earnings of £42,000 to £49,000, which softens the gap somewhat when you look at the earnings-adjusted rankings.

Key findings

The most expensive area is Kensington and Chelsea at around £3,249/month for a single person.
10 of the top 10 most expensive areas are in London.
The average monthly living cost across all 348 ranked areas is £1,461/month.
Living in the most expensive area costs around £2,248/month more than the cheapest area in our data, Dumfries and Galloway (£1,001/month).

Methodology

Areas are ranked by an estimated single-person monthly cost made up of: 1-bed median rent from the ONS Price Index of Private Rents, Band D council tax for 2026-27 with the 25% single occupant discount applied, the Ofgem energy price cap monthly estimate, the average monthly water bill from the local water company, plus £220 groceries and a transport estimate (£160 for London boroughs, £80 elsewhere). The ranking covers 348 local authorities where every input is available. Where data is missing for any input, the area is excluded.

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

Frequently asked questions about the most expensive places to live

What is the most expensive place to live in the UK?

Why are some areas so much more expensive?

Are expensive areas always the worst value?

What costs are included in this ranking?

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.