Residents in Brighton have the highest amount of disposable income of people in any city in Britain, exclusive data seen by This is Money reveals.
Brighton dwellers have, on average, disposable cash totalling £1,315 a month – this is nearly 30 per cent more than those who live in London, who typically have £1,013 in spare cash.
The data points to a more nuanced picture of the North-South divide when it comes to value for money and levels of disposable income.
For example, Nottingham is third in the list with disposable income of £1,055, pipping those in the capital, likely because of far higher rental costs in London.
MoneySuperMarket’s Household Money Index – a comprehensive study that factors in 31 different type of bill and outgoings – showed Britons typically have £836 in disposable income each month, but this varies significantly depending on location.
Residents in Southampton and Cardiff typically have £914.38 and £893.07 in disposable each month respectively, the research added.
At the other end of the scale, people living in Bristol, where property prices are often high, have just £430.73 worth of disposable cash by the end of the month, the lowest of any city analysed.
In Liverpool and Leeds, disposable income levels stood at £541.82 and £543.82 respectively.
Meanwhile, in Birmingham people typically have £871.02 in disposable income after bills and outgoings, against £869.93 in Manchester.
Belfast is second in the list, and Glasgow fifth – the latter perhaps being a surprise versus Edinburgh which is 15th.
On average, across Britain people typically have has £836 in disposable income each month, representing an increase of £195 year-on-year and just over £150 on the quarter, representing a jump of 22 per cent since September.
Proportion of income being spent on bills
In September 2023, MoneySuperMarket found people across Britain were typically spending 70 per cent of their monthly income on bills and outgoings.
By September 2024, this figure had fallen to 69 per cent and today’s data suggests this has dropped further to 62 per cent.
Across Britain, adults typically now spend £46.40 every day on bills and services, compared to £51.13 in September.
Monthly, households now spend around £1,392 on bills and outgoings, which is £142 less than in September.
Outgoings can include anything from a mortgage and rent to council tax, energy bills, broadband packages, insurance policies and car fuel.
With higher wages and lower outgoings, people living in Brighton usually spend around 45 per cent of their monthly income on bills and outgoings.
Data: Best and worst disposable income levels by city, according to MoneySupermarket data
At the other end of the spectrum, Edinburgh residents typically shell out 78 per cent of their monthly income on bills and outgoings, the highest proportion out of all the cities assessed.
With so much cash going on bills and outgoings, residents in Edinburgh are typically left with just £518 of disposable cash a month, MoneySuperMarket’s Household Money Index, said.
A number of cities in the south of England, like Brighton, London and Southampton, have all fallen below the average proportion of income spent on bills and outgoings.
People living in London, according to the data, spend 60 per cent of their income on bills and outgoings each month, which is just below the national average and five percentage points less than in Manchester.
In Southampton, residents typically spend around 55 per cent of their income on outgoings and bills every month, again below the national average.
Conversely, northern cities like Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield have all risen above average when it comes to the proportion of monthly income being spent on bills and outgoings. Many cities in northern England have seen property prices rise sharply in recent years.
In Liverpool and Leeds, residents generally spend 72 and 71 per cent of their income on monthly bills and outgoings, meaning disposable income levels are much lower than in cities like Brighton, Belfast and Nottingham.
Nottingham was found to be the cheapest place to live in terms of daily outgoings, with residents spending just £32.70 a day on bills and outgoings.
Kara Gammell, oft MoneySupermarket, said: ‘While our index shows spending on bills and expenses has dropped by nearly 10 per cent since September, it also highlights a widening gap in disposable income across the UK.
‘In some areas, people have three times more disposable income than in others.’
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