Rankings

Most expensive places to live in the UK 2026

The most expensive place to live in the UK by council tax (Band D) is Dorset at £2,765/year - £1,737 more than the cheapest area, Wandsworth (£1,028/year).

Data last updated: 12 May 2026

#	Area	Region	Council tax Band D (£/yr)	Avg. rent (£/mo)	Avg. earnings (£/yr)
1	Dorset	South West	£2,765	£850	£31,444
2	Lewes	South East	£2,756	£1,100	£33,088
3	Nottingham	East Midlands	£2,755	£768	£26,512
4	Rutland	East Midlands	£2,738	£775	£39,559
5	Wealden	South East	£2,728	£1,150	£33,376
6	Gateshead	North East	£2,716	£595	£29,494
7	Bristol, City of	South West	£2,714	£1,300	£34,051
8	West Devon	South West	£2,705	£750	£26,556
9	Rother	South East	£2,701	£900	£30,790
10	Newark and Sherwood	East Midlands	£2,682	£650	£29,806
11	Oxford	South East	£2,678	£1,400	£36,517
12	Hastings	South East	£2,677	£775	£29,323
13	Liverpool	North West	£2,674	£675	£30,947
14	Mid Devon	South West	£2,656	£795	£31,908
15	Eastbourne	South East	£2,654	£925	£31,199
16	Bassetlaw	East Midlands	£2,645	£600	£28,314
17	Rushcliffe	East Midlands	£2,643	£825	£36,705
18	Teignbridge	South West	£2,643	£795	£28,911
19	North Devon	South West	£2,642	£695	£28,386
20	Pendle	North West	£2,640	£525	£26,742
21	Walsall	West Midlands	£2,627	£695	£29,112
22	Isle of Wight	South East	£2,626	£725	£26,740
23	County Durham	North East	£2,622	£498	£29,718
24	Stockport	North West	£2,619	£825	£33,565
25	Broxtowe	East Midlands	£2,618	£765	£30,966
26	South Hams	South West	£2,615	£850	£29,721
27	Reading	South East	£2,613	£1,150	£35,454
28	Gedling	East Midlands	£2,610	£725	£30,051
29	Ashfield	East Midlands	£2,609	£650	£27,797
30	Kingston upon Thames	London	£2,609	£1,500	£41,833
31	Waverley	South East	£2,605	£1,198	£42,326
32	Oldham	North West	£2,602	£700	£29,124
33	Rochdale	North West	£2,601	£650	£29,535
34	Torridge	South West	£2,601	£695	£28,752
35	Croydon	London	£2,600	£1,250	£38,080
36	Mansfield	East Midlands	£2,600	£650	£28,170
37	South Oxfordshire	South East	£2,598	£1,193	£43,026
38	Woking	South East	£2,598	£1,275	£38,172
39	Northumberland	North East	£2,597	£550	£30,456
40	East Devon	South West	£2,595	£800	£32,154
41	Tandridge	South East	£2,595	£1,275	£33,316
42	Salford	North West	£2,594	£890	£30,495
43	Merthyr Tydfil	Wales	£2,594	N/A	£31,504
44	Cornwall	South West	£2,591	£775	£28,210
45	Stockton-on-Tees	North East	£2,590	£575	£29,877
46	Surrey Heath	South East	£2,585	£1,200	£37,793
47	Cherwell	South East	£2,583	£1,145	£36,568
48	Sefton	North West	£2,583	£695	£29,335
49	Brighton and Hove	South East	£2,581	£1,300	£33,506
50	Vale of White Horse	South East	£2,577	£1,163	£38,859
51	Preston	North West	£2,576	£575	£30,038
52	Herefordshire, County of	West Midlands	£2,574	£678	£29,361
53	Wiltshire	South West	£2,572	£850	£31,873
54	Reigate and Banstead	South East	£2,567	£1,250	£40,014
55	West Oxfordshire	South East	£2,567	£1,125	£35,388
56	Somerset	South West	£2,561	N/A	£29,908
57	Hartlepool	North East	£2,560	£505	£28,830
58	Bolsover	East Midlands	£2,559	£564	£29,674
59	Elmbridge	South East	£2,558	£1,400	£42,607
60	Huntingdonshire	East	£2,556	£875	£33,375
61	Bury	North West	£2,555	£750	£31,687
62	South Gloucestershire	South West	£2,551	£1,150	£35,002
63	Burnley	North West	£2,549	£476	£29,680
64	Middlesbrough	North East	£2,549	£525	£30,253
65	Adur	South East	£2,548	£1,175	£30,217
66	Guildford	South East	£2,547	£1,317	£39,985
67	North Yorkshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	£2,544	N/A	£30,683
68	Redcar and Cleveland	North East	£2,544	£525	£28,630
69	Newcastle upon Tyne	North East	£2,542	£795	£30,144
70	Neath Port Talbot	Wales	£2,541	N/A	£30,709
71	Folkestone and Hythe	South East	£2,539	£775	£33,355
72	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	£2,539	£675	£31,308
73	Fenland	East	£2,538	£738	£30,125
74	South Cambridgeshire	East	£2,536	£1,195	£42,690
75	North Warwickshire	West Midlands	£2,532	£750	£35,067
76	Epsom and Ewell	South East	£2,531	£1,395	£43,006
77	Blaenau Gwent	Wales	£2,531	N/A	£30,734
78	Leicester	East Midlands	£2,529	£728	£27,858
79	Shropshire	West Midlands	£2,528	£695	£29,603
80	Buckinghamshire	South East	£2,527	£1,175	£35,937
81	Spelthorne	South East	£2,526	£1,275	£37,918
82	Sevenoaks	South East	£2,522	£1,395	£34,969
83	Mole Valley	South East	£2,520	£1,200	£35,341
84	Rossendale	North West	£2,520	£625	£30,487
85	Cheshire West and Chester	North West	£2,517	£775	£32,391
86	Coventry	West Midlands	£2,517	£800	£33,063
87	Central Bedfordshire	East	£2,516	£945	£36,622
88	Blackpool	North West	£2,513	£560	£27,979
89	Wyre Forest	West Midlands	£2,512	£655	£29,408
90	Cumberland	North West	£2,511	N/A	£33,840
91	Harrow	London	£2,511	£1,500	£36,000
92	Sheffield	Yorkshire And The Humber	£2,510	£700	£31,816
93	Westmorland and Furness	North West	£2,508	N/A	£33,988
94	West Berkshire	South East	£2,505	£1,024	£38,513
95	Lancaster	North West	£2,503	£625	£29,651
96	Maidstone	South East	£2,503	£950	£34,151
97	Norwich	East	£2,503	£825	£30,421
98	Nuneaton and Bedworth	West Midlands	£2,502	£675	£32,402
99	Wirral	North West	£2,501	£650	£32,959
100	Wokingham	South East	£2,498	£1,260	£43,538
101	Exeter	South West	£2,495	£900	£29,531
102	Darlington	North East	£2,494	£505	£30,100
103	Runnymede	South East	£2,493	£1,295	£42,203
104	North Somerset	South West	£2,491	£900	£32,996
105	Stroud	South West	£2,491	£825	£33,495
106	Thanet	South East	£2,491	£800	£28,323
107	Blaby	East Midlands	£2,490	£850	£31,950
108	Knowsley	North West	£2,488	£700	£32,542
109	Arun	South East	£2,487	£1,045	£29,809
110	West Northamptonshire	East Midlands	£2,487	N/A	£33,059
111	Richmond upon Thames	London	£2,486	£1,664	£46,594
112	East Cambridgeshire	East	£2,485	£875	£34,311
113	Fylde	North West	£2,484	£650	£36,020
114	North East Lincolnshire	Yorkshire And The Humber	£2,484	£525	£28,898
115	Stratford-on-Avon	West Midlands	£2,484	£893	£34,847
116	Rugby	West Midlands	£2,483	£775	£41,814
117	South Norfolk	East	£2,483	£850	£32,934
118	Bromsgrove	West Midlands	£2,479	£795	£36,409
119	Bridgend	Wales	£2,478	N/A	£31,475
120	Mid Sussex	South East	£2,474	£1,200	£37,705
121	Conwy	Wales	£2,473	N/A	£28,113
122	Bedford	East	£2,472	£850	£35,987
123	Tonbridge and Malling	South East	£2,472	£1,200	£35,106
124	Chichester	South East	£2,470	£1,100	£28,585
125	Torbay	South West	£2,470	£678	£28,963
126	Gwynedd	Wales	£2,469	N/A	£25,179
127	Ipswich	East	£2,468	£772	£30,928
128	Cambridge	East	£2,467	£1,300	£38,711
129	North East Derbyshire	East Midlands	£2,467	£675	£30,931
130	East Riding of Yorkshire	Yorkshire And The Humber	£2,466	£595	£31,881
131	Hyndburn	North West	£2,466	£500	£29,647
132	Redditch	West Midlands	£2,463	£750	£29,113
133	Dover	South East	£2,462	£775	£33,704
134	North Tyneside	North East	£2,462	£600	£31,106
135	Warwick	West Midlands	£2,462	£945	£39,797
136	Wyre	North West	£2,461	£625	£29,814
137	North Norfolk	East	£2,460	£730	£28,421
138	West Lancashire	North West	£2,456	£607	£31,884
139	Worthing	South East	£2,456	£990	£32,823
140	Blackburn with Darwen	North West	£2,455	£550	£27,502
141	Cheshire East	North West	£2,455	£795	£33,221
142	East Hertfordshire	East	£2,455	£1,190	£44,154
143	Welwyn Hatfield	East	£2,452	£1,150	£37,805
144	Malvern Hills	West Midlands	£2,451	£778	£28,167
145	North Hertfordshire	East	£2,449	£1,025	£42,703
146	Warrington	North West	£2,448	£695	£34,144
147	Tameside	North West	£2,447	£695	£29,877
148	Watford	East	£2,447	£1,275	£37,172
149	Tunbridge Wells	South East	£2,446	£1,100	£35,319
150	Derbyshire Dales	East Midlands	£2,445	£700	£33,700
151	Breckland	East	£2,444	£775	£28,930
152	Forest of Dean	South West	£2,443	£695	£36,589
153	South Ribble	North West	£2,443	£650	£32,740
154	Plymouth	South West	£2,442	£695	£28,992
155	Horsham	South East	£2,441	£1,175	£36,448
156	Kirklees	Yorkshire And The Humber	£2,441	£625	£30,238
157	Luton	East	£2,440	£850	£28,741
158	Broadland	East	£2,438	£800	£30,920
159	Swindon	South West	£2,438	£825	£33,135
160	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	South West	£2,436	£968	£31,848
161	South Tyneside	North East	£2,434	£550	£28,784
162	Chorley	North West	£2,430	£650	£33,337
163	King’s Lynn and West Norfolk	East	£2,430	£750	£30,581
164	Melton	East Midlands	£2,430	£625	£26,633
165	Havering	London	£2,425	£1,300	£40,726
166	North Northamptonshire	East Midlands	£2,424	N/A	£32,882
167	Three Rivers	East	£2,422	£1,395	£39,615
168	Calderdale	Yorkshire And The Humber	£2,420	£590	£31,708
169	New Forest	South East	£2,420	£995	£31,344
170	Canterbury	South East	£2,419	£950	£30,188
171	St Albans	East	£2,419	£1,384	£45,543
172	Ceredigion	Wales	£2,419	N/A	£29,326
173	Crawley	South East	£2,418	£1,150	£34,225
174	North West Leicestershire	East Midlands	£2,418	£750	£32,252
175	Monmouthshire	Wales	£2,416	N/A	£35,020
176	Great Yarmouth	East	£2,414	£650	£28,808
177	Slough	South East	£2,414	£1,150	£35,521
178	Ashford	South East	£2,410	£950	£32,991
179	Dacorum	East	£2,409	£1,150	£36,473
180	Amber Valley	East Midlands	£2,408	£675	£30,823
181	Gravesham	South East	£2,408	£1,000	£35,065
182	Oadby and Wigston	East Midlands	£2,407	£868	£28,368
183	Charnwood	East Midlands	£2,406	£725	£33,550
184	Hertsmere	East	£2,406	£1,350	£36,159
185	Swale	South East	£2,406	£900	£33,647
186	Worcester	West Midlands	£2,406	£725	£32,997
187	St. Helens	North West	£2,403	£595	£31,443
188	Bolton	North West	£2,400	£650	£29,409
189	Hart	South East	£2,400	£1,103	£39,341
190	Cotswold	South West	£2,392	£1,000	£32,927
191	Stevenage	East	£2,392	£1,025	£35,747
192	Harborough	East Midlands	£2,390	£825	£34,321
193	Waltham Forest	London	£2,387	£1,450	£37,971
194	Ribble Valley	North West	£2,386	£695	£34,077
195	High Peak	East Midlands	£2,385	£650	£32,258
196	Bath and North East Somerset	South West	£2,383	£1,100	£32,481
197	Hinckley and Bosworth	East Midlands	£2,383	£730	£31,591
198	Rotherham	Yorkshire And The Humber	£2,382	£555	£29,664
199	Southampton	South East	£2,381	£900	£32,907
200	Sutton	London	£2,379	£1,200	£38,359
201	Cannock Chase	West Midlands	£2,376	£695	£30,178
202	Flintshire	Wales	£2,376	N/A	£32,675
203	Dartford	South East	£2,375	£1,200	£36,210
204	Wychavon	West Midlands	£2,373	£795	£29,661
205	Milton Keynes	South East	£2,372	£1,100	£36,061
206	Cheltenham	South West	£2,370	£900	£36,014
207	Halton	North West	£2,367	£620	£29,819
208	Bexley	London	£2,366	£1,350	£36,883
209	Birmingham	West Midlands	£2,363	£850	£30,180
210	Rochford	East	£2,363	£1,050	£38,107
211	Bradford	Yorkshire And The Humber	£2,361	£595	£28,424
212	Erewash	East Midlands	£2,361	£700	£31,673
213	Winchester	South East	£2,360	£1,200	£38,352
214	Gloucester	South West	£2,356	£795	£30,455
215	West Lindsey	East Midlands	£2,354	£650	£30,741
216	Lichfield	West Midlands	£2,352	£850	£33,763
217	Powys	Wales	£2,352	N/A	£30,275
218	East Staffordshire	West Midlands	£2,351	£669	£31,517
219	West Suffolk	East	£2,351	£1,050	£33,437
220	Carmarthenshire	Wales	£2,351	N/A	£30,774
221	North Lincolnshire	Yorkshire And The Humber	£2,348	£560	£30,012
222	East Hampshire	South East	£2,344	£1,100	£39,682
223	Gosport	South East	£2,344	£850	£34,256
224	Babergh	East	£2,342	£825	£30,118
225	Eastleigh	South East	£2,342	£950	£34,474
226	Tewkesbury	South West	£2,341	£850	£31,603
227	South Derbyshire	East Midlands	£2,340	£725	£35,452
228	Chesterfield	East Midlands	£2,339	£600	£30,621
229	Denbighshire	Wales	£2,339	N/A	£26,812
230	North Kesteven	East Midlands	£2,338	£725	£30,585
231	Staffordshire Moorlands	West Midlands	£2,338	£575	£31,065
232	East Suffolk	East	£2,335	£680	£30,261
233	Newcastle-under-Lyme	West Midlands	£2,334	£600	£31,205
234	Uttlesford	East	£2,334	£1,100	£41,006
235	Medway	South East	£2,329	£900	£33,857
236	Maldon	East	£2,328	£950	£32,599
237	Basildon	East	£2,327	£1,095	£34,133
238	Barnsley	Yorkshire And The Humber	£2,326	£525	£31,359
239	Lincoln	East Midlands	£2,323	£695	£29,824
240	Havant	South East	£2,320	£975	£30,819
241	Rushmoor	South East	£2,320	£1,000	£33,734
242	Castle Point	East	£2,319	£1,050	£35,975
243	Mid Suffolk	East	£2,317	£875	£31,507
244	Haringey	London	£2,314	£1,600	£37,563
245	South Staffordshire	West Midlands	£2,314	£750	£31,766
246	Manchester	North West	£2,312	£975	£30,067
247	Boston	East Midlands	£2,309	£700	£27,729
248	Wrexham	Wales	£2,309	N/A	£29,752
249	Broxbourne	East	£2,306	£1,150	£37,283
250	Derby	East Midlands	£2,306	£675	£30,467
251	Test Valley	South East	£2,306	£1,050	£35,314
252	Stafford	West Midlands	£2,303	£675	£33,872
253	Tamworth	West Midlands	£2,301	£750	£33,167
254	Chelmsford	East	£2,300	£1,100	£35,791
255	Harlow	East	£2,299	£1,050	£30,654
256	Wakefield	Yorkshire And The Humber	£2,297	£650	£29,954
257	Kingston upon Hull, City of	Yorkshire And The Humber	£2,295	£483	£27,309
258	Redbridge	London	£2,295	£1,400	£37,190
259	Peterborough	East	£2,293	£775	£29,828
260	Portsmouth	South East	£2,292	£950	£30,962
261	Trafford	North West	£2,292	£1,000	£35,593
262	Rhondda Cynon Taf	Wales	£2,289	N/A	£29,802
263	York	Yorkshire And The Humber	£2,287	£875	£32,961
264	Leeds	Yorkshire And The Humber	£2,284	£850	£31,679
265	Colchester	East	£2,283	£900	£31,589
266	Braintree	East	£2,280	£975	£34,546
267	South Holland	East Midlands	£2,278	£695	£30,196
268	Epping Forest	East	£2,277	£1,325	£38,171
269	East Lindsey	East Midlands	£2,276	£575	£26,705
270	Fareham	South East	£2,271	£975	£38,851
271	Tendring	East	£2,270	£850	£29,545
272	Enfield	London	£2,268	£1,450	£34,962
273	Bracknell Forest	South East	£2,265	£1,100	£36,067
274	Southend-on-Sea	East	£2,265	£875	£33,594
275	Isle of Anglesey	Wales	£2,261	N/A	£29,944
276	South Kesteven	East Midlands	£2,260	£725	£29,071
277	Brentwood	East	£2,258	£1,250	£39,864
278	Telford and Wrekin	West Midlands	£2,256	£650	£31,459
279	Basingstoke and Deane	South East	£2,255	£998	£39,279
280	Thurrock	East	£2,255	£995	£36,407
281	Sandwell	West Midlands	£2,244	£750	£27,652
282	Swansea	Wales	£2,238	N/A	£32,091
283	Lewisham	London	£2,237	£1,425	£39,505
284	Brent	London	£2,235	£1,600	£34,871
285	Vale of Glamorgan	Wales	£2,232	N/A	£31,410
286	Camden	London	£2,208	£2,102	£44,088
287	Barking and Dagenham	London	£2,199	£1,350	£32,911
288	Solihull	West Midlands	£2,197	£950	£36,672
289	Sunderland	North East	£2,197	£550	£27,989
290	Hounslow	London	£2,186	£1,500	£35,301
291	Stoke-on-Trent	West Midlands	£2,183	£525	£29,041
292	Doncaster	Yorkshire And The Humber	£2,168	£540	£31,119
293	Pembrokeshire	Wales	£2,166	N/A	£27,243
294	Torfaen	Wales	£2,156	N/A	£33,201
295	Wigan	North West	£2,153	£595	£31,615
296	Merton	London	£2,147	£1,600	£43,507
297	Dudley	West Midlands	£2,145	£700	£30,822
298	Bromley	London	£2,140	£1,400	£43,981
299	Ealing	London	£2,139	£1,569	£35,665
300	Barnet	London	£2,133	£1,550	£39,239
301	Greenwich	London	£2,108	£1,600	£39,984
302	Islington	London	£2,108	£2,025	£47,411
303	London	London	£2,090	£1,663	£40,350
304	Newport	Wales	£2,088	N/A	£31,495
305	Caerphilly	Wales	£2,083	N/A	£30,854
306	Hackney	London	£2,060	£1,850	£40,237
307	Isles of Scilly	South West	£2,048	£730	N/A
308	Lambeth	London	£2,047	£1,800	£43,666
309	Hillingdon	London	£2,045	£1,350	£36,429
310	Cardiff	Wales	£2,013	N/A	£32,756
311	Southwark	London	£1,967	£1,820	£43,006
312	Windsor and Maidenhead	South East	£1,953	£1,400	£37,653
313	Newham	London	£1,944	£1,600	£36,080
314	Tower Hamlets	London	£1,838	£1,900	£45,183
315	Midlothian	Scotland	£1,816	N/A	£31,856
316	Argyll and Bute	Scotland	£1,783	N/A	£30,436
317	Stirling	Scotland	£1,753	N/A	£33,832
318	East Dunbartonshire	Scotland	£1,752	N/A	£38,000
319	Aberdeen City	Scotland	£1,748	N/A	£32,399
320	Moray	Scotland	£1,731	N/A	£26,943
321	Dundee City	Scotland	£1,730	N/A	£30,523
322	East Ayrshire	Scotland	£1,717	N/A	£33,117
323	Falkirk	Scotland	£1,715	N/A	£32,330
324	Glasgow City	Scotland	£1,706	N/A	£32,121
325	East Lothian	Scotland	£1,698	N/A	£33,737
326	South Ayrshire	Scotland	£1,695	N/A	£33,986
327	Renfrewshire	Scotland	£1,691	N/A	£32,832
328	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	£1,686	N/A	£33,799
329	North Ayrshire	Scotland	£1,686	N/A	£34,689
330	Clackmannanshire	Scotland	£1,684	N/A	£31,992
331	West Dunbartonshire	Scotland	£1,682	N/A	£31,962
332	Inverclyde	Scotland	£1,674	N/A	£29,020
333	Perth and Kinross	Scotland	£1,674	N/A	£31,851
334	Orkney Islands	Scotland	£1,669	N/A	£31,737
335	Kensington and Chelsea	London	£1,667	£2,557	£46,690
336	Highland	Scotland	£1,634	N/A	£31,416
337	West Lothian	Scotland	£1,628	N/A	£33,302
338	City of Edinburgh	Scotland	£1,626	N/A	£37,380
339	East Renfrewshire	Scotland	£1,620	N/A	£39,965
340	Scottish Borders	Scotland	£1,619	N/A	£28,796
341	Angus	Scotland	£1,599	N/A	£30,681
342	Dumfries and Galloway	Scotland	£1,579	N/A	£29,649
343	Fife	Scotland	£1,574	N/A	£32,445
344	North Lanarkshire	Scotland	£1,555	N/A	£34,105
345	Hammersmith and Fulham	London	£1,520	£1,950	£42,811
346	Na h-Eileanan Siar	Scotland	£1,506	N/A	£28,746
347	Shetland Islands	Scotland	£1,488	N/A	£35,716
348	South Lanarkshire	Scotland	£1,468	N/A	£34,293
349	City of London	London	£1,330	£2,159	N/A
350	Westminster	London	£1,050	£2,622	£45,172
351	Wandsworth	London	£1,028	£1,900	£49,310

Key findings

The most expensive area is Dorset at £2,765/year (Band D).
3 of the top 10 most expensive areas are in South West.
The average council tax Band D across all 351 ranked areas is £2,336/year.
Living in the most expensive area costs £429/year more than the national average.

Methodology

Areas are ranked by Band D council tax for the 2026-27 financial year, inclusive of all major precepts (county, police, fire, combined authority where applicable). Where an area lacks Band D data, it has been excluded from the table. The figure shown is the total annual bill a Band D household would pay.

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

Data on this page is sourced from: ONS Private Rental Market 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.