The Winter Singles Tax: The Hidden Costs of Being Single in the UK

The Winter Singles Tax: The Hidden Costs of Being Single in the UK
Are you a singleton wistfully waiting for payday? Feel like you’re struggling to make it to the end of the month with cash in the bank? The Winter Singles Tax could be to blame. As temperatures drop and the heating clicks on, being single during the winter months often comes with an unexpected price tag. It can seem like the extra costs that single people face are never ending - from paying all rent and utilities alone to stocking up on everything that makes a house a home. To uncover the true impact, we’ve looked into the data and uncovered the most expensive cities to be single in the winter in the UK.
The Most Expensive Cities to Be Single in the Winter
Let’s face it, being single is expensive no matter where you live. But where in the UK is it the priciest? We found the top three most expensive cities for singles overall, based on combined costs across rent, utilities, food, and more.
No surprises here: London takes the top spot, with a jaw-dropping total monthly cost of £3,611.60. Hot on its heels are Cambridge (£3,409.52) and Oxford (£3,272.27). These cities show just how costly living solo can be in high-demand cities.
City | Average cost of rent | Average cost of gas & electricity | Average cost of streaming services | Average cost of monthly food shop | Average cost of home furnishings | Council Tax | Total Cost |
London | £2,250.00 | £107.00 | £47.94 | £238.00 | £810.00 | £158.66 | £3,452.94 |
Cambridge | £2,118.00 | £107.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £769.00 | £151.58 | £3,257.94 |
Oxford | £1,967.00 | £107.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £769.00 | £165.33 | £3,106.94 |
Edinburgh | £1,575.00 | £108.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £686.00 | £119.63 | £2,632.94 |
Brighton & Hove | £1,456.00 | £108.00 | £47.94 | £238.00 | £769.00 | £146.08 | £2,618.94 |
Reading | £1,365.00 | £108.00 | £47.94 | £238.00 | £769.00 | £157.66 | £2,527.94 |
Bristol | £1,277.00 | £108.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £820.00 | £137.33 | £2,468.94 |
Glasgow | £1,143.00 | £108.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £686.00 | £111.03 | £2,200.94 |
Manchester | £1,246.00 | £106.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £573.00 | £99.33 | £2,188.94 |
Cardiff | £1,304.00 | £107.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £495.00 | £164.43 | £2,169.94 |
Bournemouth | £959.00 | £107.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £820.00 | £143.91 | £2,149.94 |
Southampton | £983.00 | £107.00 | £47.94 | £238.00 | £769.00 | £116.00 | £2,144.94 |
Liverpool | £1,158.00 | £106.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £573.00 | £104.00 | £2,100.94 |
Portsmouth | £902.00 | £107.00 | £47.94 | £238.00 | £769.00 | £113.25 | £2,063.94 |
Birmingham | £1,087.00 | £108.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £599.00 | £106.25 | £2,057.94 |
Newcastle | £916.00 | £106.00 | £47.94 | £188.00 | £789.00 | £104.33 | £2,046.94 |
Leeds | £891.00 | £105.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £717.00 | £99.00 | £1,976.94 |
Sheffield | £821.00 | £105.00 | £47.94 | £194.00 | £717.00 | £115.40 | £1,884.94 |
Hull | £637.00 | £106.00 | £47.94 | £194.00 | £789.00 | £94.58 | £1,773.94 |
Nottingham | £832.00 | £105.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £526.00 | £115.33 | £1,726.94 |
Coventry | £753.00 | £108.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £599.00 | £118.58 | £1,723.94 |
Leicester | £823.00 | £105.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £526.00 | £115.50 | £1,717.94 |
Dundee | £601.00 | £108.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £686.00 | £123.87 | £1,658.94 |
Aberdeen | £576.00 | £108.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £686.00 | £124.13 | £1,633.94 |
Middlesbrough | £528.00 | £108.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £717.00 | £113.08 | £1,616.94 |
Stoke-On-Trent | £597.00 | £107.00 | £47.94 | £216.00 | £599.00 | £97.08 | £1,566.94 |
Breaking Down the Costs: Rent, Gas, and Electricity
When it comes to specific categories, rent and utilities take the biggest chunk of expenses. Spiralling rent prices make finding a place tough when you’re alone, and the newly-hiked energy price cap means utility bills are hitting new highs. It can be hard to justify putting the heating on in the whole house when there’s just one tenant.
Looking at the breakdown, London leads as the most expensive city to pay rent and utilities in, with a combined cost of £2,357.00, followed by Cambridge (£2,225.00) and Oxford (£2,074.00).
Following closely behind are Edinburgh, Brighton & Hove and Reading. Few surprises there, as Edinburgh is not only Scotland’s capital city, but its most expensive, and both Brighton & Hove and Reading are highly popular and easily commutable to London.
Streaming Services, Food Shops, and Home Furnishings
But what about those home comforts? Everyone knows that to get through the long, dark, cold winter months, you need to stock up on things that make a house a home. Whether you’re lining up a Sunday boxset binge, cooking your favourite solo meal in your air fryer or having a cosy duvet day, the things that make the season bearable can quietly eat away at your budget, no matter which city you live in.
That said, London tops the charts for combined costs of streaming services, food shopping, and home furnishings, with a total of £1,095.94. Next are Bristol and Bournemouth, both totalling £1,083.94.
And if you don’t want to stay in and hibernate? Research has found that the average UK singleton spends £60 on just one date, and £1652 over the course of a year.
Got a dog? Add on another £918 for food, insurance and vet bills (£679 if you’re a cat owner). If you’re a driver, adding a partner to your insurance plan could decrease the premium by an average of £402 per year. Don’t even get us started on how much you’d need to pay to escape to the winter sun compared to couples!

How to Save Money as a Single Person This Winter
The good news is there are plenty of ways to tackle the Winter Singles Tax and stretch your budget further:
1 - House shares
Living alone is great, but if you’re really struggling, buddying up with a housemate can make all the difference financially. Think about renting a room in a shared house to cut down on rent and utility costs, or see if a friend or family member would move in with you.
2 - Energy efficiency
Draft-proof your home and use energy-efficient appliances to keep bills lower. Ask your energy companies for a smart meter, which will make your utilities easier to track, and stock up on extra socks, throws and blankets for those chilly nights.
3 - Bundle subscriptions
When your ex finally kicks you off their Netflix account, look into sharing streaming accounts with friends or family to split the cost.
4 - Meal planning
Meal prep can be boring, but it’s a great way to keep costs down, and cooking is a wonderfully mindful activity to include in your solo evenings. Try to plan meals in advance and buy groceries in bulk to save money.
5 - Second-hand furnishings
Married friends moving house? Ask them if they’re thinking of getting rid of any furniture! Online marketplaces are great for affordable home décor, too.
Being single during the winter doesn’t have to drain you dry. With a bit of planning and creativity, it’s possible to save money and make it to spring with pennies left over.

Methodology:
Rent: Using data from home.co.uk and Rightmove, we found the average cost of renting a one bedroom flat in each city on the list.
Utilities: Using data from Uswutch, British Gas and gov.uk, we calculated the average monthly energy usage and cost for single occupancy homes.
Food: Using data from ONS, we found the average monthly food shop for one-person households by region and then allocated a cost to each city.
Streaming services: We added together the basic monthly subscription cost for the UK’s top streaming services (Netflix, Now, Disney +, Apple TV)
Home furnishings: Using data from NimbleFins, we found the average annual spend per household on furniture and furnishings for each UK region. We then allocated these figures to each city and divided the total by 12 to find an average monthly spend.
Council tax: Using data from gov.uk, we found average annual council tax costs for each UK city. We then deducted 25% to account for the single person’s discount, and divided the total by 9, as council tax is calculated across 9 months of the year.
Sources:
https://www.home.co.uk/for_rent/search/
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/articles/costoflivinginsights/food/
https://www.oceanfinance.co.uk/blog/cost-of-being-single/
https://www.nimblefins.co.uk/who-spends-most-making-house-home#nogo
https://www.zoopla.co.uk/discover/buying/what-bills-will-i-have-when-i-own-a-house/
https://www.uswitch.com/gas-electricity/guides/regional-energy-prices/
https://ukdebtexpert.co.uk/blog/single-and-paying-for-it-the-cost-of-living-alone-in-the-uk-in-2024/