Living in the south costs £3,000 more than the north

 

Alex Johnson
Wednesday 11 June 2014 12:44 BST
Comments
Eight bedroom property for sale in Aston Park House, Aston By Budworth, Northwich, Cheshire CW9. This Grade II listed house dates back to the 18th century and requires renovation. On with Auction House at a guide price of £225,000.
Eight bedroom property for sale in Aston Park House, Aston By Budworth, Northwich, Cheshire CW9. This Grade II listed house dates back to the 18th century and requires renovation. On with Auction House at a guide price of £225,000.

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

People living in the north of England pay £3,000 less per year on their household bills compared to those living in the south, according to a report by MoneySuperMarket.com.

The survey analysed the average cost of running a home, including mortgage and rent payments, water and energy bills, home insurance, broadband and council tax rates.

Unsurprisingly, London tops the list of most expensive places to live in the UK with average bills of £11,536 per year,followed by the South East (£11,317). The North of England and South Wales are the cheapest places with household running costs of £8,521 and £8,540 per year on average respectively.

Mortgage and rent payments are the biggest expenditure - the report says that for Londoners this is typically around £7,164 every year compared to South Wales (£4,908 ) and the north (£4,452).

The South East (£2,492), Yorkshire (£2,548) and Cheshire (£2,516) areas pay the most in council tax per year with North Scotland the cheapest area with average annual bills of £1,421.

Home insurance costs an average of £186 a year, though this figure is higher in London (£280) and Cheshire (£245). People in the South East pay the least, with annual premiums of £120 on average.

"Even though it comes as no surprise that London is the most expensive area in the UK to live, what is perhaps surprising is the marked differences in the bills you pay depending on whereabouts in the country you live," said Clare Francis, editor-in-chief at MoneySuperMarket.com. "With the exception of Cheshire, anyone living or looking to move anywhere south of the Midlands will find they are being hit hardest when it comes to essential bills."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in