UK rent affordability index 2026

Name: UK average rent by city, 2026/27 (indicative)
Creator: RentAndValue.co.uk

109 UK cities and towns ranked by average rent, with the take-home pay you need to afford a 1-bed in each.

The typical 1-bed rent across the places we track is £810 a month. It ranges from £540 in Hartlepool to £2,880 in Chelsea.

Download the data (CSV)

Median 1-bed rent: £810
UK average 1-bed rent: £1,115
Take-home needed at the median (30%): £2,700

Rent by region

Median 1-bed rent by UK region
Region	Median 1-bed	Cheapest	Most expensive
London	£2,700	London	Chelsea
South East	£1,080	Portsmouth	Oxford
South West	£968	Torquay	Bath
East of England	£833	King's Lynn	Cambridge
Scotland	£810	Dundee	Edinburgh
North West	£743	Burnley	Manchester
West Midlands	£720	Walsall	Solihull
East Midlands	£698	Loughborough	West Bridgford
Wales	£698	Llanelli	Cardiff
Yorkshire & Humber	£675	Hull	Harrogate
Northern Ireland	£675	Newry	Belfast
North East	£653	Hartlepool	Jesmond

All 109 places ranked

UK cities ranked by average 1-bed rent
#	Place	Region	1-bed	2-bed	Take-home needed (30%)
1	Chelsea	London	£2,880	£3,825	£9,600
2	Kensington	London	£2,700	£3,570	£9,000
3	London	London	£1,890	£2,425	£6,300
4	Oxford	South East	£1,440	£1,785	£4,800
5	Cambridge	East of England	£1,395	£1,745	£4,650
6	Bath	South West	£1,350	£1,700	£4,500
7	Brighton	South East	£1,305	£1,660	£4,350
8	Edinburgh	Scotland	£1,305	£1,700	£4,350
9	Guildford	South East	£1,305	£1,660	£4,350
10	St Albans	South East	£1,260	£1,615	£4,200
11	Bristol	South West	£1,215	£1,490	£4,050
12	Clifton	South West	£1,170	£1,530	£3,900
13	Winchester	South East	£1,170	£1,490	£3,900
14	Reading	South East	£1,125	£1,405	£3,750
15	Watford	South East	£1,125	£1,405	£3,750
16	Hemel Hempstead	South East	£1,080	£1,360	£3,600
17	High Wycombe	South East	£1,080	£1,360	£3,600
18	Slough	South East	£1,080	£1,360	£3,600
19	Bournemouth	South West	£1,035	£1,275	£3,450
20	Manchester	North West	£1,035	£1,320	£3,450
21	Canterbury	South East	£990	£1,235	£3,300
22	Chelmsford	East of England	£990	£1,235	£3,300
23	Cheltenham	South West	£990	£1,235	£3,300
24	Crawley	South East	£990	£1,235	£3,300
25	Milton Keynes	South East	£990	£1,235	£3,300
26	Salisbury	South West	£990	£1,235	£3,300
27	Basingstoke	South East	£945	£1,190	£3,150
28	Didsbury	North West	£945	£1,190	£3,150
29	Exeter	South West	£945	£1,190	£3,150
30	Harrogate	Yorkshire & Humber	£945	£1,190	£3,150
31	Luton	South East	£945	£1,190	£3,150
32	Salford	North West	£945	£1,190	£3,150
33	Southampton	South East	£945	£1,190	£3,150
34	York	Yorkshire & Humber	£945	£1,190	£3,150
35	Cardiff	Wales	£900	£1,150	£3,000
36	Chester	North West	£900	£1,150	£3,000
37	Maidstone	South East	£900	£1,150	£3,000
38	Portsmouth	South East	£900	£1,105	£3,000
39	Solihull	West Midlands	£900	£1,150	£3,000
40	Southend-on-Sea	East of England	£900	£1,150	£3,000
41	Swindon	South West	£900	£1,150	£3,000
42	Birmingham	West Midlands	£855	£1,105	£2,850
43	Colchester	East of England	£855	£1,065	£2,850
44	Glasgow	Scotland	£855	£1,065	£2,850
45	Leeds	Yorkshire & Humber	£855	£1,065	£2,850
46	Stirling	Scotland	£855	£1,065	£2,850
47	Stockport	North West	£855	£1,065	£2,850
48	West Bridgford	East Midlands	£855	£1,105	£2,850
49	Aberdeen	Scotland	£810	£980	£2,700
50	Coventry	West Midlands	£810	£1,020	£2,700
51	Gloucester	South West	£810	£1,020	£2,700
52	Jesmond	North East	£810	£1,060	£2,700
53	Livingston	Scotland	£810	£1,020	£2,700
54	Norwich	East of England	£810	£1,020	£2,700
55	Peterborough	East of England	£810	£1,020	£2,700
56	Taunton	South West	£810	£1,020	£2,700
57	Warrington	North West	£810	£1,020	£2,700
58	Belfast	Northern Ireland	£765	£935	£2,550
59	Durham	North East	£765	£935	£2,550
60	Headingley	Yorkshire & Humber	£765	£980	£2,550
61	Inverness	Scotland	£765	£935	£2,550
62	Ipswich	East of England	£765	£935	£2,550
63	Liverpool	North West	£765	£935	£2,550
64	Newport	Wales	£765	£935	£2,550
65	Northampton	East Midlands	£765	£935	£2,550
66	Perth	Scotland	£765	£935	£2,550
67	Plymouth	South West	£765	£935	£2,550
68	Worcester	West Midlands	£765	£935	£2,550
69	Lancaster	North West	£720	£895	£2,400
70	Leicester	East Midlands	£720	£895	£2,400
71	Lisburn	Northern Ireland	£720	£895	£2,400
72	Newcastle	North East	£720	£895	£2,400
73	Nottingham	East Midlands	£720	£895	£2,400
74	Sheffield	Yorkshire & Humber	£720	£895	£2,400
75	Shrewsbury	West Midlands	£720	£895	£2,400
76	Swansea	Wales	£720	£895	£2,400
77	Torquay	South West	£720	£895	£2,400
78	Beeston	East Midlands	£675	£850	£2,250
79	Bridgend	Wales	£675	£850	£2,250
80	Derby	East Midlands	£675	£850	£2,250
81	Gateshead	North East	£675	£850	£2,250
82	Huddersfield	Yorkshire & Humber	£675	£850	£2,250
83	King's Lynn	East of England	£675	£850	£2,250
84	Lincoln	East Midlands	£675	£850	£2,250
85	Loughborough	East Midlands	£675	£850	£2,250
86	Preston	North West	£675	£850	£2,250
87	Telford	West Midlands	£675	£850	£2,250
88	Wakefield	Yorkshire & Humber	£675	£850	£2,250
89	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	£675	£850	£2,250
90	Wrexham	Wales	£675	£850	£2,250
91	Bolton	North West	£630	£810	£2,100
92	Bradford	Yorkshire & Humber	£630	£810	£2,100
93	Carlisle	North West	£630	£810	£2,100
94	Darlington	North East	£630	£810	£2,100
95	Derry	Northern Ireland	£630	£810	£2,100
96	Doncaster	Yorkshire & Humber	£630	£810	£2,100
97	Dudley	West Midlands	£630	£810	£2,100
98	Dundee	Scotland	£630	£810	£2,100
99	Newry	Northern Ireland	£630	£810	£2,100
100	Scarborough	Yorkshire & Humber	£630	£810	£2,100
101	Walsall	West Midlands	£630	£810	£2,100
102	Blackburn	North West	£585	£725	£1,950
103	Blackpool	North West	£585	£725	£1,950
104	Hull	Yorkshire & Humber	£585	£725	£1,950
105	Llanelli	Wales	£585	£750	£1,950
106	Middlesbrough	North East	£585	£725	£1,950
107	Sunderland	North East	£585	£725	£1,950
108	Burnley	North West	£540	£680	£1,800
109	Hartlepool	North East	£540	£680	£1,800

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Using this data

You are welcome to quote these figures in articles and reports. Please link to this page and describe them as indicative 2026/27 averages. The full table is available as a CSV file.

Suggested citation: RentAndValue.co.uk (2026), UK Rent Affordability Index 2026, rentandvalue.co.uk/uk-rent-affordability-index-2026.

Frequently asked questions

Which UK city has the most expensive rent in 2026?

Chelsea is the most expensive place we track, with an average 1-bed rent of £2,880 a month.

Which UK city has the cheapest rent?

Hartlepool is the cheapest place we track, at £540 a month for a 1-bed.

How is the index calculated?

We rank places by their indicative average 1-bed rent for 2026/27 and calculate the monthly take-home pay needed to keep that rent at 28%, 30% and 40% of income. See the methodology page for the data sources and limits.

Can I use this data in an article or report?

Yes. Please quote the figures with a link to this page and say they are indicative averages. You can download the full table as a CSV file.

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Figures are indicative averages for 2026/27, rounded for planning, and are for information only. They are not financial, legal or housing advice. See our methodology for how the figures are produced. Last reviewed October 2026.

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