Revealed: 15 most expensive UK cities to raise a family - is yours on the list?

 Mum holding her two children on her lap, looking at a tablet device together
Mum holding her two children on her lap, looking at a tablet device together

The 15 most expensive cities in which to raise a child have been named, with annual costs ranging from £44,692 up to a whopping £80,416.

Raising a family is an expensive endeavour, when you consider how much it costs to raise a child and rising average childcare costs. But it turns out that where you live can be a big influencing factor too.

The study from OutdoorToys looked at a range of costs, including the average costs of childcare, rent, utilities and broadband in different cities, in order to find out which locations were the most expensive to raise a family.

Most expensive UK cities to raise a family in

Unsurprisingly, the research found that London was the most expensive city to raise a family in, costing a sky-high £80,416 per year. This figure includes an average nursery place for two children costing just under £38,000 a year, average annual rent costing only slightly more at £38,650, as well as average annual utility bills of £3,661 per year.

Second place on the list went to Westminster, with annual costs of £59,757, more than £20,000 cheaper than in the City of London.

Cambridge ranked a very close third, with average annual nursery costs of around £8,000 more than rent.

Other cities that made the list of the top 15 most expensive cities to raise a family in, with annual costs between £58,390 and £44,692, include:

  • St Albans

  • Winchester

  • Oxford

  • Brighton & Hove

  • Southend-on-Sea

  • Bristol

  • York

  • Birmingham

  • Edinburgh

  • Manchester

  • Milton Keynes

  • Canterbury

Table showing the most expensive cities to raise a family in
Table showing the most expensive cities to raise a family in

Most expensive cities for childcare

  • London - £37,740

  • St Albans - £34,162

  • Cambridge - £32,430

  • Oxford - £30,300

  • Birmingham - £29,069

Most expensive cities for rent

  • London - £38,650

  • Westminster - £31,500

  • Winchester - £30,000

  • Oxford - £24,990

  • Brighton & Hove - £24,805

Most expensive cities for utility bills

  • London - £3,661

  • Canterbury - £3,461

  • Southend-on-Sea - £3,300

  • Milton Keynes - £2,824

  • Westminster - £2,778

Most affordable UK cities to raise a family in

The research also found the most affordable cities in which to raise a family, with annual costs ranging from £14,220 up to £36,969.

The top spot for most affordable city went to Derry in Northern Ireland, with average nursery costs of £4,554 per year, average rents of £7,626 per year, and average utility bills of £1,454 - less than half of the price families in London pay for their utilities.

Second place went to Wakefield, with average annual costs of £22,520, while in third place Doncaster it costs £27,518 per year to raise a family.

Other affordable cities that rounded out the list included:

  • Carlisle

  • Gloucester

  • Preston

  • Swansea

  • Stoke-on-Trent

  • Lancaster

  • Kingston upon Hull

  • Plymouth

  • Dundee

  • Leicester

  • Salford

  • Belfast

Table showing the most affordable cities to raise a family in
Table showing the most affordable cities to raise a family in

Cheapest cities for childcare

  • Derry - £4,554

  • Wakefield- £11,520

  • Preston - £12,000

  • Gloucester - £14,400

  • Swansea - £14,712

Cheapest cities for rent

  • Derry - £7,626

  • Doncaster - £7,901

  • Wakefield - £8,400

  • Kingston upon Hull - £8,715

  • Carlisle - £8,835

Cheapest cities for utility bills

  • Portsmouth - £1,424

  • Derry - £1,454

  • Belfast - £1,478

  • Carlisle - £1,560

  • Swansea - £1,593

If you've found that you live in one of the most expensive cities, then make sure you follow these family-friendly ways to save money, and think about how you can save money for your child's future.