Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Cost of living in Belfast, United Kingdom (2026): cost index 89 (-14 vs national avg), rent £780/mo, median income £30,500/yr. Rent takes 31% of gross income. Full breakdown vs Northern Ireland peers below.
Cost of living in Belfast, United Kingdom (2026): cost index 89 (-14 vs national avg), rent £780/mo, median income £30,500/yr. Rent takes 31% of gross income. Full breakdown vs Northern Ireland peers below.
Belfast: cost index 89 (-14 vs national avg 103), rent £780/month.
Northern Ireland region average cost index: 103. Belfast is -14 vs region peers.
Quality of life: 62/100 — safety 60, healthcare 68, walkability 72.
Safety score: 60/100 (crime rate 75.8/1k). National average: 61/100.
Strip away assumptions, and something unexpected emerges. Belfast has a cost index of 89 — 14 points below the United Kingdom national average of 103. Median income is £30,500 with rent at £780/month, putting the rent-to-income ratio at 31%. Financially, that's significant.
But here's the flip side: looking at Northern Ireland as a whole, the spread across all 27 cities is 53 points on the cost index. London sits at the other end with index 142 and rent of £2,000/mo. That's a difference you notice every single month.
On quality of life, Belfast scores a composite score of 62/100 — reflecting its safety (60), healthcare (68), and walkability (72) 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.
| # | City | Cost Index | Rent/mo | Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belfast | 89 | £780 | £30,500 |
| 2 | Sunderland | 83 | £660 | £28,400 |
| 3 | Swansea | 87 | £720 | £29,500 |
| 4 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 89 | £800 | £30,500 |
| 5 | Sheffield | 91 | £830 | £30,000 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 92 | £830 | £30,500 |
| 7 | Leicester | 93 | £860 | £30,000 |
| 8 | Coventry | 94 | £880 | £30,500 |
| 9 | Nottingham | 94 | £880 | £31,000 |
| 10 | Glasgow | 95 | £960 | £32,600 |
| 11 | Leeds | 96 | £950 | £31,600 |
| 12 | Cardiff | 96 | £940 | £32,600 |
| 13 | Plymouth | 97 | £870 | £31,000 |
| 14 | Birmingham | 97 | £950 | £32,200 |
| 15 | Aberdeen | 98 | £810 | £35,800 |
| 16 | Norwich | 99 | £920 | £32,000 |
| 17 | Manchester | 103 | £1,080 | £33,800 |
| 18 | Exeter | 106 | £1,020 | £32,600 |
| 19 | York | 107 | £1,080 | £34,700 |
| 20 | Edinburgh | 110 | £1,220 | £37,000 |
Belfast — cost index 89, rent £780/mo, income £30,500, QoL 62/100.
Sunderland — cost index 83, rent £660/mo, income £28,400, QoL 59/100.
Swansea — cost index 87, rent £720/mo, income £29,500, QoL 66/100.
Newcastle upon Tyne — cost index 89, rent £800/mo, income £30,500, QoL 63/100.
Sheffield — cost index 91, rent £830/mo, income £30,000, QoL 65/100.
Belfast has a cost index of 89 (national avg: 103). Median rent is £780/month, median income £30,500/year, giving a rent-to-income ratio of 31%.
The Northern Ireland region of average QoL score is 60/100. Belfast leads with 62/100, reflecting 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: cost index 89, rent £780/mo, income £30,500/yr, QoL 62/100. Sunderland: cost index 83, rent £660/mo, income £28,400/yr, QoL 59/100.
This analysis uses data from ONS, Land Registry, HMRC to rank cities in United Kingdom. The cost of living index is benchmarked to 100 (national median). Quality of life scores combine safety, healthcare, walkability, air quality, green space, and transit metrics. Salary ranges use national occupation data adjusted for local cost differences. Data is updated regularly to reflect current market conditions.