Birmingham vs London - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Birmingham	London
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2204	$3662
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5203	$8238
🏠 One person rent	$1254	$2434
🏘️ Family rent	$1947	$4002
🍽️ Food expenses	$557	$632
🚐 Transport expenses	$225	$409
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3956	$4720
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	13 km
🎓 Higher education	96	100
😀 Quality of life	95	97
🏙️ Population	1.14M	8.8M

The cost of living in Birmingham is 40% less expensive than in London. Cities ranked 1471st and 28th ($2204 vs $3662) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 57th and 1st in the United Kingdom.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Birmingham compared to 1.3 months in London. Ranked 2nd vs 1st best cities to live in the United Kingdom, and 25th vs 4th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/birmingham/london.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Birmingham vs London infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/birmingham/london" target="_blank">Birmingham vs London - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Birmingham vs London

Prices for goods and services in Birmingham and London are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Birmingham	London
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$18.5	$22.6
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$74.4	$98.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$9.68	$11.9
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$7.08	$9.64
☕ Cappuccino	$5	$5.66
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.57	$2.99
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1251	$2743
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$940	$2091
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2007	$4437
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1484	$3517
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$207	$171
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$314	$260
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$45	$40.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	5.11%	4.79%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5467	$20829
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4236	$9663
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$4	$4.01
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$94.8	$106
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$24.4	$31.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.99	$1.98
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.81	$1.85
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.69	$2.1
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.14	$2.23
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.59	$5.47
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11.9	$14
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.16	$10.9
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.9	$17.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.58	$2.99
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.81	$1.49
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.47	$2.76
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.39	$3.82
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.53	$1.39
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.76	$1.66
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.05	$1.25
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.23	$3.6
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$12.5	$13.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.43	$3.18
🚬 Cigarette pack	$21	$23.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$10.5	$4.71
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.83	$5.95
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$4.81	$3.12
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.96	$3.33
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$34.9	$79.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$14.9	$18.9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$110	$91.4
💇 Haircut, simple	$15.1	$17.4
👖 Brand Jeans	$98.2	$114
👟 Brand Sneakers	$107	$125
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1631	$2713
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$24178	$25686

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Birmingham

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.7 km or 2.9 mi	Smethwick	$1959
6.8 km or 4.2 mi	West Bromwich	$1914
11 km or 6.6 mi	Halesowen	$1894
12 km or 7.2 mi	Solihull	$2080
12 km or 7.6 mi	Walsall	$1798
14 km or 8.7 mi	Dudley	$1788
14 km or 8.7 mi	Aldridge	$1875
15 km or 9.6 mi	Willenhall	$1862
17 km or 10 mi	Stourbridge	$1825
19 km or 12 mi	Wolverhampton	$1838
19 km or 12 mi	Bromsgrove	$1891
20 km or 12 mi	Redditch	$1745
22 km or 14 mi	Tamworth	$1910
25 km or 15 mi	Cannock	$1885
26 km or 16 mi	Kidderminster	$1888
27 km or 17 mi	Coventry	$1971
30 km or 19 mi	Nuneaton	$1756
31 km or 19 mi	Warwick	$2015
32 km or 20 mi	Leamington Spa	$2158
35 km or 22 mi	Stratford-upon-Avon	$1894
37 km or 23 mi	Hinckley	$1876
39 km or 24 mi	Worcester	$1729
39 km or 24 mi	Stafford	$1870
40 km or 25 mi	Burton upon Trent	$1763
43 km or 27 mi	Telford	$1627
45 km or 28 mi	Rugby	$1833
55 km or 34 mi	Leicester	$1777
57 km or 35 mi	Derby	$1748
57 km or 35 mi	Loughborough	$1887
60 km or 37 mi	Banbury	$1820
61 km or 38 mi	Stoke-on-Trent	$1710
63 km or 39 mi	Shrewsbury	$1763
63 km or 39 mi	Newcastle-under-Lyme	$1535
66 km or 41 mi	Cheltenham	$1928
66 km or 41 mi	Market Harborough	$1917
70 km or 44 mi	Leek	$1827
72 km or 45 mi	Gloucester	$1889
73 km or 45 mi	Hereford	$1897
73 km or 46 mi	Nottingham	$1990
73 km or 46 mi	Northampton	$1886

Cities near London

Distance	City	Cost of living
1.3 km or 0.8 mi	Westminster	$3042
11 km or 7 mi	Wimbledon	$2520
13 km or 8.3 mi	Richmond	$2447
15 km or 9.3 mi	Croydon	$2563
16 km or 10 mi	Greenford	$2399
19 km or 12 mi	Ewell	$2382
21 km or 13 mi	Coulsdon	$2396
23 km or 14 mi	Esher	$2349
24 km or 15 mi	Walton-on-Thames	$2326
25 km or 15 mi	Watford	$2630
27 km or 17 mi	Upminster	$2308
28 km or 17 mi	Rickmansworth	$2384
31 km or 19 mi	St Albans	$2451
32 km or 20 mi	Grays	$2205
32 km or 20 mi	Hertford	$2214
32 km or 20 mi	Slough	$2290
32 km or 20 mi	Brentwood	$2627
35 km or 22 mi	Harlow	$2117
35 km or 22 mi	Gravesend	$2253
35 km or 22 mi	Hemel Hempstead	$2294
37 km or 23 mi	Woking	$2545
38 km or 24 mi	Harpenden	$2244
40 km or 25 mi	Billericay	$2234
41 km or 25 mi	Maidenhead	$2820
43 km or 27 mi	East Grinstead	$2234
43 km or 27 mi	Basildon	$2159
43 km or 27 mi	Guildford	$2634
44 km or 27 mi	Crawley	$2289
44 km or 27 mi	Stevenage	$2235
44 km or 27 mi	Bracknell	$2309
44 km or 28 mi	Rochester	$1842
44 km or 28 mi	Tonbridge	$2188
45 km or 28 mi	High Wycombe	$2200
46 km or 28 mi	Bishop's Stortford	$2164
46 km or 28 mi	Luton	$2196
47 km or 29 mi	Chatham	$2559
49 km or 30 mi	Chelmsford	$2109
49 km or 30 mi	Gillingham	$2363
49 km or 30 mi	Godalming	$2476
49 km or 31 mi	Farnborough	$2178