Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Leicester vs Southampton in 2026: cost index 89 vs 110, rent £780 vs £1,050, income £28,500 vs £33,500, QoL 58 vs 57.
Leicester vs Southampton in 2026: cost index 89 vs 110, rent £780 vs £1,050, income £28,500 vs £33,500, QoL 58 vs 57.
Leicester ranks #1 with a cost index of 89 and rent of £780/month.
Average cost index across these cities: 100 (+1 vs national average of 99).
Average quality of life: 58/100. Top: Leicester at 58/100.
Safest city: Southampton (60/100 safety score).
Here's the finding that keeps coming up in different analyses: Leicester stands out as the top-ranked city in this analysis. With a cost index of 89 and median income of £28,500, it offers below-average costs relative to the rest of United Kingdom. That's not a marginal difference — it reshapes your monthly budget.
On quality of life, Leicester leads with a composite score of 58/100 — reflecting its safety (55), healthcare (68), and walkability (65) 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. Leicester leads with 58/100, 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.
Leicester (ranked #1) has a cost index of 89 and rent of £780/mo. Southampton (#2) has index 110 and rent £1,050/mo — a 21-point gap.