The 20 towns and cities the cost-of-living crisis has hit hardest

Despite inflation dropping to near-normal levels, that doesn’t mean prices are falling. Food, energy and housing are still much more expensive than they were pre-pandemic.

No wonder we’re still feeling squeezed by the cost-of-living crisis!

It’s why more than half (55%) of us spent more money in May this year (compared to April), and 14% of us are using more credit than usual.

And some towns are feeling the pinch more than others. Sambla – who compare loan offers – looked at the unemployment rate, gross mean salary and cost of living across the UK.

They then measured the number of internet searches for debt advice against the population to create a ranked index out of 10 to see where money worries are affecting people the most.

Who’s feeling the strain?

Location	Population	Avg. monthly search for debt advice	Unemployment rate	Avg. annual gross mean salary	Cost of living	Index total
Rochdale	97,550	419	9,080	£29,300	£1,275	8.7
Bolton	141,331	678	11,040	£30,235	£1,358	8.5
Oldham	104,782	293	10,790	£29,587	£1,311	8.1
Croydon	173,314	601	15,210	£41,535	£2,014	7.7
Manchester	395,515	1,523	25,315	£31,052	£1,585	7.6
Birmingham	984,333	2,998	68,295	£30,999	£1,590	7.3
Bradford	299,310	513	26,215	£31,926	£1,241	6.6
Newcastle upon Tyne	192,382	659	8,880	£32,332	£1,516	6.5
Leeds	455,123	1,400	24,690	£32,817	£1,486	6.5
Peterborough	163,379	494	8,010	£31,533	£1,249	6.2
Wolverhampton	252,791	535	12,145	£29,905	£1,338	5.8
Bedford	106,940	275	4,835	£34,199	£1,438	5.7
Lincoln	114,879	355	2,785	£29,677	£1,325	5.6
London	7,556,900	17,325	317,435	£47,301	£2,635	5.5
Doncaster	158,141	317	8,685	£31,870	£1,074	5.5
Milton Keynes	299,941	580	7,670	£38,029	£1,778	5.3
Rotherham	117,618	122	7,160	£30,545	£1,166	5.3
Portsmouth	194,150	351	6,650	£31,272	£1,538	5.2
Glasgow	591,620	969	21,835	£32,223	£1,495	5.1
Dudley	199,059	211	9,005	£29,957	£1,376	5.0

Sambla says people in Greater Manchester are more likely to be searching for debt advice than anywhere else, with three towns in the region topping the table.

Almost 250,000 people live in the red here – around one in 10 struggle to buy food and pay their bills.

Why we're feeling the pinch

High cost of living

Everything costs more down south and that’s also true for living costs – especially in London, Croydon, Oxford, Woking and Cambridge.

High unemployment rates

More people are out of work now than they have been for over two years – 4.4% of the population were out of work in April, latest figures show.

You’re more likely to be between jobs in the north of England. This may go some way to explaining why eight of the worst affected areas were up north.

Oldham (10.3%), Rochdale (9.3%), and Bradford (8.8% – joint with one of the only southern entries, Croydon) had the highest unemployment rates.

Not enough disposable income

With everything costing more – and our wages barely moving – a lot of us don’t have much disposable income.

Nottingham residents are the worst off, having just £548 in disposable income each month.

We’re here for you

If you feel like your finances are getting on top of you, it might be time to ask for help.

We can help you set a budget by looking at your income and living expenses and seeing where you can cut back. If you need support making sure you’re claiming all the benefits you’re entitled to, or you want to find out about debt solutions (some are free and there’s a fee for others), we’ve got that covered too.

All of our advice is free and impartial and can be accessed 24/7 online or over the phone during our office hours.