Money Wellness
An illustration of a woman looking in her empty purse, wondering how she's going to pay for transport, groceries or her home because of the cost-of-living crisis.
category iconcost of living
category icondebts
calendar icon23 Aug 2024

The 20 towns and cities the cost-of-living crisis has hit hardest

Despite inflation dropping to near-normal levels, that doesn’t mean prices are falling. Food, energy and housing are still much more expensive than they were pre-pandemic.

No wonder we’re still feeling squeezed by the cost-of-living crisis!

It’s why more than half (55%) of us spent more money in May this year (compared to April), and 14% of us are using more credit than usual.

And some towns are feeling the pinch more than others. Sambla – who compare loan offers – looked at the unemployment rate, gross mean salary and cost of living across the UK.

They then measured the number of internet searches for debt advice against the population to create a ranked index out of 10 to see where money worries are affecting people the most.

Who’s feeling the strain?

Location

Population

Avg. monthly search for debt advice

Unemployment rate

Avg. annual gross mean salary

Cost of living

Index total

Rochdale

97,550

419

9,080

£29,300

£1,275

8.7

Bolton

141,331

678

11,040

£30,235

£1,358

8.5

Oldham

104,782

293

10,790

£29,587

£1,311

8.1

Croydon

173,314

601

15,210

£41,535

£2,014

7.7

Manchester

395,515

1,523

25,315

£31,052

£1,585

7.6

Birmingham

984,333

2,998

68,295

£30,999

£1,590

7.3

Bradford

299,310

513

26,215

£31,926

£1,241

6.6

Newcastle upon Tyne

192,382

659

8,880

£32,332

£1,516

6.5

Leeds

455,123

1,400

24,690

£32,817

£1,486

6.5

Peterborough

163,379

494

8,010

£31,533

£1,249

6.2

Wolverhampton

252,791

535

12,145

£29,905

£1,338

5.8

Bedford

106,940

275

4,835

£34,199

£1,438

5.7

Lincoln

114,879

355

2,785

£29,677

£1,325

5.6

London

7,556,900

17,325

317,435

£47,301

£2,635

5.5

Doncaster

158,141

317

8,685

£31,870

£1,074

5.5

Milton Keynes

299,941

580

7,670

£38,029

£1,778

5.3

Rotherham

117,618

122

7,160

£30,545

£1,166

5.3

Portsmouth

194,150

351

6,650

£31,272

£1,538

5.2

Glasgow

591,620

969

21,835

£32,223

£1,495

5.1

Dudley

199,059

211

9,005

£29,957

£1,376

5.0

Sambla says people in Greater Manchester are more likely to be searching for debt advice than anywhere else, with three towns in the region topping the table.

Almost 250,000 people live in the red here – around one in 10 struggle to buy food and pay their bills.

Why we're feeling the pinch

High cost of living

Everything costs more down south and that’s also true for living costs – especially in London, Croydon, Oxford, Woking and Cambridge.

High unemployment rates

More people are out of work now than they have been for over two years – 4.4% of the population were out of work in April, latest figures show.

You’re more likely to be between jobs in the north of England. This may go some way to explaining why eight of the worst affected areas were up north.

Oldham (10.3%), Rochdale (9.3%), and Bradford (8.8% – joint with one of the only southern entries, Croydon) had the highest unemployment rates.

Not enough disposable income

With everything costing more – and our wages barely moving – a lot of us don’t have much disposable income.

Nottingham residents are the worst off, having just £548 in disposable income each month.

We’re here for you

If you feel like your finances are getting on top of you, it might be time to ask for help.

We can help you set a budget by looking at your income and living expenses and seeing where you can cut back. If you need support making sure you’re claiming all the benefits you’re entitled to, or you want to find out about debt solutions (some are free and there’s a fee for others), we’ve got that covered too.

All of our advice is free and impartial and can be accessed 24/7 online or over the phone during our office hours.

Avatar of Michelle Kight

Michelle Kight

Michelle is a qualified journalist who spent over seven years writing for her local online newspaper. Having grown up in some of the North West’s most deprived areas, she has a first-hand and empathetic understanding of what it means to face serious money worries. With a strong interest in mental health issues, she is a keen advocate of boosting the accessibility of financial wellness services.

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