Edinburgh workers spend a quarter of their salaries on rent

Nearly a quarter of the average income earned by residents in Scotland's capital is spent on rent, a new study has shown.
Rent levels in Edinburgh are among the highest in the UK. Picture: Callum BennettsRent levels in Edinburgh are among the highest in the UK. Picture: Callum Bennetts
Rent levels in Edinburgh are among the highest in the UK. Picture: Callum Bennetts

Edinburgh is among a group of UK cities identified as having high rent levels by analysts at jobs site CV-Library.

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The average monthly rent in the city is £463, which equates to 23 per cent of the typical salary.

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However, this is significantly lower than in London, where workers pay a “staggering” 37 per cent of their monthly salary on rent - more than three times as much as in other parts of the country.

The average monthly rent in London is now £836. This compares with Hull, where average rents are £227.68 - around 11.6 per cent of wages.

Other cities with high rents included Brighton at £623 a month (32 per cent) of average wages, Bristol (£458, almost 22 per cent) and Southampton (£418, around 21.8 per cent).

The highest monthly pay was said to be in Aberdeen, at £2,300, just more than London, while the lowest was in Exeter, at £1,855.

Lee Biggins, managing director of CV-Library, said: “Generation ‘rent’ is well and truly in full swing, and while some cities offer manageable living costs and generous pay packets, others could be pushing workers to breaking point.”

The study did not factor in additional costs on top of rent, such as council tax, electricity, water and gas bills, or other monthly outgoings including mobile phone and internet contracts, pension, transport and insurance.

People living in cities such as London, Brighton, Edinburgh and Bristol could be heading towards “debt levels” each month, said the report.