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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Belfast vs Brighton in 2026: cost index 85 vs 118, rent £700 vs £1,250, income £29,000 vs £35,000, QoL 63 vs 58.
Belfast vs Brighton in 2026: cost index 85 vs 118, rent £700 vs £1,250, income £29,000 vs £35,000, QoL 63 vs 58.
Belfast ranks #1 with a cost index of 85 and rent of £700/month.
Average cost index across these cities: 102 (+3 vs national average of 99).
Average quality of life: 61/100. Top: Belfast at 63/100.
Safest city: Brighton (62/100 safety score).
Strip away assumptions, and something unexpected emerges. Belfast stands out as the top-ranked city in this analysis. With a cost index of 85 and median income of £29,000, it offers below-average costs relative to the rest of United Kingdom. That's a strong position by any measure.
On quality of life, Belfast leads with a composite score of 63/100 — reflecting its safety (60), healthcare (68), and walkability (72) metrics. And here's the trade-off: affordability and QoL don't always move in the same direction, and United Kingdom is a good example of that tension.
The country average QoL score is 61/100. Belfast leads with 63/100, reflecting its safety, healthcare access, walkability, and green space.
Our index is benchmarked to 100 (national median). Sub-categories cover housing, food, transport, utilities, and healthcare. Data sources include ONS, Land Registry, HMRC.
Belfast (ranked #1) has a cost index of 85 and rent of £700/mo. Brighton (#2) has index 118 and rent £1,250/mo — a 33-point gap.