UK Cities Where Being Single Is a Financial Nightmare in 2026

Single renters in the UK are bearing the brunt of soaring rent costs with no one to split the bill. With over 8 million people living alone in the UK and rents continuing to rise faster than wages, choosing where to live as a single person can be the difference between financial comfort and constant money stress.

OddsMonkey’s comprehensive analysis of 62 UK cities reveals a dramatic gap in housing affordability for singles, with renters in the most expensive cities spending more than double the proportion of their income on rent compared to the most affordable cities. Using official data from the Office for National Statistics, OddsMonkey created a definitive ranking of which single Brits face the biggest and smallest financial burdens from renting a one-bedroom house.

Being single is a financial nightmare in 2026: Interactive Map

The map above shows the stark differences in affordability across the UK, with the gap between North and South clearly visible. Southern coastal cities and historic university towns dominate the most unaffordable rankings, with Brighton and Hove topping the list, where singles face a heavy financial burden as more than half of their income is spent on rent alone. Oxford, Bath and St Albans follow close behind, alongside other sought-after southern locations such as Bristol, Cambridge and Exeter.

In contrast, the ten most affordable cities paint a very different picture: northern cities such as Durham, Kingston upon Hull and Doncaster, Scottish cities including Perth, Inverness and Aberdeen, and locations in the Midlands such as Stoke-on-Trent and Derby offer much better value for single renters. This geographical breakdown highlights how regional wage disparities and housing market pressures combine to create very different financial realities for single people in the UK, depending on where they choose to live.

Cities Where Singles Spend the Highest Income on Housing

Brighton and Hove ranks as the most expensive city for single renters, with residents spending 36.8% of their monthly income on housing, based on an average one-bedroom rent of £1,203 and a median income of £3,269.

Oxford follows in second place, with an average one-bedroom rent of £1,316 accounting for 36.75% of the median monthly income (£3,581).

In third place, Bath saw single renters spend 35.32% of their income on housing, with an average monthly rent of £1,144 and a median income of £3,239.

St Albans is ranked fourth, where a one-bedroom house costs an average of £1,244 per month, equivalent to 35.01% of the median monthly income (£3,533).

Rounding out the top five is Bristol, with an average monthly rent of £1,208 accounting for 33.29% of median income (£3,629).

Top 20 Cities Where Singles Spend the Highest Income on Housing

Cities Where Singles Spend the Lowest Income on Housing

Durham emerged as the most affordable city for single renters, with the average monthly cost for a one-bedroom house being £434. With an average monthly income of £2,794, this means just 15.53% of income is spent on rent, the lowest proportion in the study.

Perth came in second, with single residents spending 15.79% of their monthly income on housing, based on an average one-bedroom rent of £513 and a median income of £3,248.

Kingston upon Hull follows close behind, with an average monthly rent of £475 which is 15.83% of the median income (£3,001).

Inverness took fourth place, with single renters spending 15.96% of their income on housing. The average rent for a one-bedroom stands at £521, compared to an average monthly income of £3,265.

Rounding out the top five is Doncaster, where a one-bedroom house costs an average of £477 per month, equivalent to 16.41% of the median monthly income (£2,906).

Top 20 Cities Where Singles Spend the Lowest Income on Housing

Complete Ratings

Methodology

The study analyzed 62 cities across the UK to identify those where single people face the greatest financial burden from renting a home. Locations in London were not included in this study.

We collected data from two official sources from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Rental prices are from the ONS Private Rent and House Prices bulletin (December 2025), which gives average monthly rents for one-bedroom properties as of November 2025. Income data is from the ONS Annual Hours and Earnings Survey (2025), which shows median gross weekly earnings for permanent employees in April 2025.

To compare rental costs to income, we first convert weekly income to a monthly figure by multiplying it by 4.33 (the average number of weeks in a month). We then calculated what percentage of monthly income goes toward renting one-bedroom properties in each city.

Cities are ranked based on the percentage of rent to income, with higher percentages indicating greater financial stress on single renters.