About LiveWhere

How we calculate the cost of living across the UK

What is LiveWhere?

LiveWhere is a free tool that helps people understand and compare the real cost of living across UK towns and cities. It pulls together rent, earnings, house prices and council tax for every local authority - and presents them side by side, so you can see how one place stacks up against another.

Everything on this site comes from official government data. We don't rely on user submissions, crowdsourced estimates, or guesswork. If a number appears on LiveWhere, it traces back to a named publication from the Office for National Statistics, HM Land Registry, MHCLG, the Scottish Government or the Welsh Government.

The site covers 370+ local authority areas across England, Scotland and Wales, and answers two questions: "What does it cost to live in X?" and "How does X compare to Y?"

Our data sources

Every figure on LiveWhere traces back to one of the six official sources below. Each is published under the Open Government Licence.

All data is reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Methodology

Cheapest and Most Expensive rankings

  • Areas are ranked by council tax Band D - the standard benchmark used across the UK for comparing council tax levels.
  • Band D is the most universally available data point, covering England, Scotland and Wales. Other bands are also published on each area profile.
  • The figure shown is the total annual bill a Band D household would pay, inclusive of major precepts (county, police, fire and combined-authority charges where applicable).
  • Council tax is only one component of living costs - rent, energy and other bills also vary significantly by area.

Best Value ranking

  • Calculated as median annual earnings ÷ annual council tax (Band D).
  • A higher ratio means earnings go further relative to local council tax costs.
  • Only includes areas where both earnings and council tax data are available.
  • This is a simplified measure. A fuller affordability calculation would include rent, energy and other costs - these will be added as data coverage expands.

Rent-to-earnings ratio

  • On comparison pages this is calculated as (median monthly rent × 12) ÷ median annual earnings × 100.
  • Shows the share of gross earnings spent on rent at the median.
  • Only shown where both rent and earnings data exist for the area.

Energy estimates

  • The headline figure is the Ofgem price cap for a typical dual-fuel household paying by Direct Debit (2,700 kWh electricity + 11,500 kWh gas per year).
  • Ofgem sets a single national cap, so we show the same headline figure for every area. The electricity region is surfaced on each profile for transparency; regional variation in distribution costs is typically within 5%.
  • Actual bills depend on usage, tariff, and whether the household is on a fixed deal or the cap-tracking standard variable tariff.

Water estimates

  • Average annual bill per water and sewerage company, sourced from Water UK / Discover Water (England + Wales) and Scottish Water.
  • Each area is mapped to the predominant water and sewerage company for its region. Water company boundaries don't follow local authority boundaries, so this is an approximation.
  • The figure represents an unmetered customer; metered bills depend on actual usage.

Data coverage and limitations

We try to be transparent about what's in the data and what isn't.

  • Rent currently covers England only (ONS PRMS). Scottish and Welsh rent figures will be added.
  • Some recently reorganised local authorities - including Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness, North Yorkshire and Somerset - may show incomplete data while government datasets catch up with the new boundaries.
  • House prices cover England and Wales. Scottish house price data is published separately by Registers of Scotland and will be added.
  • Council tax covers all three nations, but uses different banding systems - A-H in England and Scotland, A-I in Wales.
  • Energy estimates are based on the Ofgem national price cap. We don't yet model the small (~5%) regional variation in distribution costs - the same headline figure appears for every area.
  • Water companies don't align neatly with local authority boundaries; each area is mapped to the predominant water + sewerage company for its region. Areas that sit on a boundary may receive service from a different company.
  • Grocery and transport costs will be added in a future update.
  • All figures are the most recently published at time of update. The "Data last updated" line on each area page shows when the data was last refreshed.

Important information

  • LiveWhere presents publicly available government data. It does not provide financial advice.
  • The information on this site should not be used as the sole basis for financial decisions - including where to live, whether to buy or rent, or how to budget.
  • Cost of living varies based on individual circumstances including household size, lifestyle and personal spending.
  • For financial advice, consult a qualified financial advisor.

When is the data updated?

  • Rent: updated quarterly when ONS publishes new figures.
  • Earnings: updated annually each autumn.
  • House prices: updated quarterly.
  • Council tax: updated annually each spring.
  • Energy: updated quarterly when Ofgem announces the next price cap.
  • Water: updated annually each April when new bills take effect.

We aim to refresh all data within two weeks of new figures being published.

Contact

Have a question, spotted an error in the data, or want to get in touch? Email us at hello@livewhere.co.uk.