London vs Edinburgh — Cost of Living
Rent, overall costs and the equivalent salary you'd need to keep your lifestyle.
| London | Edinburgh | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall cost index | 85 | 68 |
| Rent index | 88 | 62 |
| 1-bed city-centre rent | £2,200 | £1,300 |
A £35,000/year lifestyle in London needs about
£28,000 / year
in Edinburgh (cost-of-living parity, before tax)
London
Set against Edinburgh, London carries an overall index of 85 and a rent index of 88: by far the UK's most expensive city; rent dominates the gap to the rest of the country.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh scores 68 overall and 62 on rent against London’s 88: scotland's capital; remember Scottish income tax bands differ from the rest of the UK.
Cost of living is only half of what decides a move between London and Edinburgh; tax is the other half, and because both cities sit in United Kingdom the tax treatment is identical here — the United Kingdom calculator applies to both, so the whole difference is housing and local prices.
What the gap actually costs
London is the more expensive of the two, about 20% ahead of Edinburgh on the combined index (85 against 68), while the gap on rent alone is 30%. Housing does almost all the work between London and Edinburgh: groceries and transport move by tens of percent between cities, rents by multiples.
A one-bedroom city-centre flat runs about £2,200 in London against £1,300 in Edinburgh — £900 a month between them, or £10,800 a year that never reaches your savings.
What is left after rent in London and Edinburgh
On the £35,000 national median behind London, in this comparison with Edinburgh, take-home is about £2,393 a month and a one-bedroom city-centre flat averages £2,200, leaving £193 for everything else. At 92% that is above what budgeting guidance calls sustainable, so on this London side of the comparison with Edinburgh a flatshare or a longer commute is a requirement at the median rather than a preference. On rent index that is the heavier of the two here: Edinburgh sits at 62 against 88 for London.
The pressure is not evenly spread across London, and that is what a headline index against Edinburgh hides: at £26,250 the same £2,200 rent takes 118% of take-home and leaves -£332, while at £70,000 it takes 52% and leaves £2,063.
On the £35,000 national median behind Edinburgh, in this comparison with London, take-home is about £2,393 a month and a one-bedroom city-centre flat averages £1,300, leaving £1,093 for everything else. At 54% that is above what budgeting guidance calls sustainable, so on this Edinburgh side of the comparison with London a flatshare or a longer commute is a requirement at the median rather than a preference. On rent index that is the lighter of the two here: London sits at 88 against 62 for Edinburgh.
The pressure is not evenly spread across Edinburgh, and that is what a headline index against London hides: at £26,250 the same £1,300 rent takes 70% of take-home and leaves £568, while at £70,000 it takes 30% and leaves £2,963.
| Salary level | London after rent | Edinburgh after rent | Rent share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below median | -£332 | £568 | 118% / 70% |
| National median | £193 | £1,093 | 92% / 54% |
| Well paid | £1,217 | £2,117 | 64% / 38% |
| Senior / specialist | £2,063 | £2,963 | 52% / 30% |
What common roles pay, and what survives the rent
National medians for five widely-held roles, taxed locally and set against the £2,200 rent in London and £1,300 in Edinburgh. Pay in London and Edinburgh differs from the national figure — capital and financial-centre salaries run above it — so read these as a baseline to adjust from.
| Role | Median gross | Take-home / month | After London rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | £55,000 | £3,538 | £1,338 |
| Accountant | £38,000 | £2,573 | £373 |
| Registered Nurse | £35,000 | £2,393 | £193 |
| Teacher | £38,000 | £2,573 | £373 |
| Marketing Manager | £47,000 | £3,113 | £913 |
| Role | Median gross | Take-home / month | After Edinburgh rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | £55,000 | £3,538 | £2,238 |
| Accountant | £38,000 | £2,573 | £1,273 |
| Registered Nurse | £35,000 | £2,393 | £1,093 |
| Teacher | £38,000 | £2,573 | £1,273 |
| Marketing Manager | £47,000 | £3,113 | £1,813 |
Frequently Asked Questions
+Is Edinburgh cheaper than London?
Edinburgh has an overall cost-of-living index of 68 versus London's 85, so it is cheaper by roughly 20%, driven largely by rent.
+What salary do I need in Edinburgh to match London?
To maintain a £35,000 lifestyle from London, you'd need roughly £28,000 in Edinburgh, based on cost-of-living parity (before tax differences).
+How much rent should I expect in London?
A one-bedroom city-centre flat in London averages about £2,200 a month. On the national median salary that is 92% of take-home, leaving roughly £193 a month for everything else.
+How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Edinburgh compared with London?
On Edinburgh's national median of £35,000, take-home is about £2,393 a month and rent takes 54% of it, against 92% in London. Comfort usually starts where rent drops below a third of take-home, which in Edinburgh needs about £62,500 gross against the £35,000 median behind London. Tax status and personal circumstances shift the figure either way.
+Would a higher Edinburgh salary cancel out its costs versus London?
Not reliably. Rent is a fixed monthly cost while tax is progressive, so moving from London to Edinburgh on a proportionally higher salary can still leave you with less: on each city's national median the after-rent figures are £193 and £1,093. Compare those columns rather than the gross salaries.
Estimate only — not tax advice. Figures are estimates based on publicly available tax rules and may not reflect your full circumstances. See our methodology & sources (last reviewed June 2026). Always confirm with an official tax authority or a licensed adviser before making decisions.