Single Birmingham residents are paying hundreds more each month
Single living in Birmingham costs £3,446 more than five years ago(Image: PA)
With nearly one in three UK households now consisting of a single person, millions are bearing the full cost of living alone without someone to split essential costs with, such as rent, bills, or food shops.
New data from credit card experts Zable, analysing one-bedroom rental prices, council tax rates and household spend per person, has revealed where the cost of living is hitting single people the hardest based on costs in proportion to wages.
The data also uncovers the cities where the cost to live solo has increased the most in the past five years, highlighting where the “singles tax” is rising the fastest.
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In Birmingham, the total annual spend difference from 2020 to 2025 equates to £3,446, or £287 monthly – a 20.06% difference.
In Brighton, rent prices for a one-bedroom property are the fourth-highest outside of London (£1,191 per month on average).
On top of this, council tax costs £1,330 across band A and B properties on average (after applying the 25% single-occupancy discount), the fifth-highest in the analysis.
Situated in the South East, Brighton and Hove is also in the region that has the highest average household spend per person at £996 per month, or £11,949 annually.
n Southend-on-Sea, the average rent for a one-bedroom property is around £828 per month, making it one of the more affordable cities in the top 10.
However, relatively high consumer spending, combined with a lower take-home salary than other cities in the ranking, means it lands in second place.
Oxford comes third as a result of high rental costs (£1,280 per month) and elevated everyday spending.
Meanwhile, Derby ranks as the most affordable for single people, with the total cost of living consuming 53.2% of a single person’s post-tax income, followed by Aberdeen (53.4%) and Stoke-on-Trent (58.7%).
Across all cities analysed, the data found that living alone in the UK costs 38% more per person on average than sharing equally with a partner or housemate.
This comparison takes into account one-bedroom rent, full council tax (without the single-person discount), and overall household spending per person.
London comes in as the seventh least affordable city, where living expenses take up 78% of one person’s salary, despite being the most expensive city overall to live in.