London vs Nottingham
Nottingham wins on purchasing power. Nottingham software engineers have £53/month more disposable income after rent than their London counterparts.
After paying rent, a software engineer in Nottingham retains £53/month more than in London — that's £636/year extra in purchasing power.
London vs Nottingham: what the £53/month gap means for a software engineer
On paper, London software engineer roles pay £25,000/year more than Nottingham. But take-home after tax and National Insurance tells a different story — London workers keep £4,360/month versus £3,113/month in Nottingham.
The bigger picture is after rent. Average London rent runs £2,150/month versus £850/month in Nottingham. Once housing costs are factored in, Nottingham workers have £2,263/month disposable income versus £2,210/month in London — that is £636/year in real spending power.
Nottingham's rent-to-income ratio of 27% compares favourably to London's 49%.
Cost-of-living equivalence
Based on a cost-of-living index of 100 for London and 63 for Nottingham, a salary of £72,000 in London delivers equivalent purchasing power to £45,350 in Nottingham.
Income retention after all essentials
% of net monthly pay remaining after rent, transport, council tax and groceries
Everyday costs
Estimated typical prices · scaled from Numbeo 2025
Financial tools
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