Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Edinburgh vs Cardiff in 2026: cost index 105 vs 92, rent £1,100 vs £850, income £35,000 vs £31,000, QoL 67 vs 63.
Edinburgh vs Cardiff in 2026: cost index 105 vs 92, rent £1,100 vs £850, income £35,000 vs £31,000, QoL 67 vs 63.
Edinburgh ranks #1 with a cost index of 105 and rent of £1,100/month.
Average cost index across these cities: 99 (0 vs national average of 99).
Average quality of life: 65/100. Top: Edinburgh at 67/100.
Safest city: Edinburgh (72/100 safety score).
Here's what the headline numbers don't tell you: Edinburgh stands out as the top-ranked city in this analysis. With a cost index of 105 and median income of £35,000, it offers competitive value despite costs slightly above the national median. Financially, that's significant.
On quality of life, Edinburgh leads with a composite score of 67/100 — reflecting its safety (72), healthcare (80), and walkability (84) metrics. Pair that with the housing data, and the pattern sharpens. 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. Edinburgh leads with 67/100, 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.
Edinburgh (ranked #1) has a cost index of 105 and rent of £1,100/mo. Cardiff (#2) has index 92 and rent £850/mo — a 13-point gap.