Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Nottingham vs Aberdeen in 2026: cost index 90 vs 95, rent £800 vs £750, income £29,500 vs £34,000, QoL 60 vs 66.
Nottingham vs Aberdeen in 2026: cost index 90 vs 95, rent £800 vs £750, income £29,500 vs £34,000, QoL 60 vs 66.
Nottingham ranks #1 with a cost index of 90 and rent of £800/month.
Average cost index across these cities: 93 (-6 vs national average of 99).
Average quality of life: 63/100. Top: Nottingham at 60/100.
Safest city: Aberdeen (70/100 safety score).
Here's the finding that keeps coming up in different analyses: Nottingham stands out as the top-ranked city in this analysis. With a cost index of 90 and median income of £29,500, it offers below-average costs relative to the rest of United Kingdom. This is where the math gets real for actual people.
On quality of life, Aberdeen leads with a composite score of 66/100 — reflecting its safety (70), healthcare (76), and walkability (68) metrics. But here's the flip side: 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. Nottingham leads with 60/100, 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.
Nottingham (ranked #1) has a cost index of 90 and rent of £800/mo. Aberdeen (#2) has index 95 and rent £750/mo — a 5-point gap.