Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Leicester vs Swansea in 2026: cost index 89 vs 84, rent £780 vs £650, income £28,500 vs £28,000, QoL 58 vs 66.
Leicester vs Swansea in 2026: cost index 89 vs 84, rent £780 vs £650, income £28,500 vs £28,000, QoL 58 vs 66.
Leicester ranks #1 with a cost index of 89 and rent of £780/month.
Average cost index across these cities: 87 (-12 vs national average of 99).
Average quality of life: 62/100. Top: Leicester at 58/100.
Safest city: Swansea (62/100 safety score).
This is the kind of finding that changes plans. 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. Financially, that's significant.
On quality of life, Swansea leads with a composite score of 66/100 — reflecting its safety (62), healthcare (65), and walkability (62) 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. 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. Swansea (#2) has index 84 and rent £650/mo — a 5-point gap.