Finance Brokers at Anglo Scottish Reveal the Locations to Rival London For Employability and Quality of Life.
In 2025, Londoners’ average rent-to-income ratio was 48%, with the average tenant spending £15,684 on rent – 10% more than in 2024. With the average London house price sitting at £551k, 281k more than the average UK home, it’s not surprising that 57% of professionals are now looking for work outside of London.
Work-based opportunities outside the capital are plentiful. Sectors once considered synonymous with the city – finance, professional services, tech – are increasingly putting down roots in regional hubs, bringing competitive salaries and career progression with them. For professionals weighing up their options, there has never been a stronger case for looking beyond the M25.
That being said, choosing the right city to job hunt in isn’t easy, especially if you’ve never been.
To cut through the noise, researchers at asset finance lenders Anglo Scottish analysed 10 of the UK’s biggest cities across four key metrics: active job listings, median salaries, employment rates and monthly living costs, combining them into an overall score to reveal the definitive top 10 alternatives to London for job hunters who are tired of the London grind.
Key findings
- Manchester tops the rankings as the best alternative to London, with 6,002 active job listings and a median salary of £39,000 – all for £830 less per month in rent than the capital.
- London’s jobs market is still the largest by some distance, with 23,766 active listings – nearly four times more than Manchester.
- Edinburgh boasts the highest employment rate of any city in the study at 82.1%, edging out Newcastle (74.3%) and Cardiff (74.6%).
- Newcastle upon Tyne offers the cheapest average rent in the dataset at £767 per month – £1,486 less than London – while still maintaining a median salary of £35,000 at senior level.
- Technology dominates hiring in the UK’s top alternative city, Manchester.
The best alternatives to London
For professionals ready to work beyond the M25, Manchester (6.26), Newcastle (5.63) and Liverpool (5.27) have topped the table when it comes to London alternatives – coming closest to a score of 10 thanks to a combination of strong job markets, competitive salaries and living costs; with Manchester coming in as a clear Jack of all trades.
#1 Manchester
Taking a closer look at Manchester, with 6,002 active job listings and a median salary of £39,000, the city offers a genuinely compelling package for career-driven professionals. Rent also averages £1,423 per month, saving workers £830 every month compared to the capital. Technology was found to be the city’s dominant hiring sector, cementing Manchester’s reputation as the UK’s foremost alternative tech hub.
#2 Newcastle upon Tyne
At £767 per month, Newcastle offers the cheapest average rent of any city in the study – £1,486 less than London – while senior-level professionals can still expect a median salary of £35,000. Excellent living costs and respectable senior salaries, however, are caveated by only 1,581 active job listings and an employment rate of 74.3%. All-in-all, the city is an incredible alternative, but finding a job that pays above the average may be harder than some others on the list.
#3 Liverpool
Liverpool rounds out the top three with 2,247 active job listings and a median salary of £36,000 at senior level, with healthcare emerging as the city’s dominant hiring sector. Monthly rent averages £885 – a saving of £1,368 on London – making it one of the more affordable options in the dataset.
Edinburgh and Cardiff round out the top five, with Edinburgh recording the highest employment rate in the entire study at 82.1%, and Cardiff offering some of the most accessible rents outside of Newcastle at £826 per month.
| Location | Active jobs | Median Salary | Monthly Rent | Emp. Rate | Leisure Costs | Score (0-10) |
| Manchester | 6002 | £39,000.00 | £1,423.00 | 71.40% | 83.98 | 6.26 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 1581 | £35,000.00 | £767.00 | 74.30% | 82.98 | 5.63 |
| Liverpool | 2247 | £36,000.00 | £885.00 | 67.50% | 82 | 5.27 |
| Edinburgh | 960 | £38,000.00 | £1,021.00 | 82.10% | 91.48 | 5 |
| Cardiff | 1124 | £34,000.00 | £826.00 | 74.60% | 83 | 4.91 |
| Birmingham | 4861 | £37,000.00 | £1,423.00 | 65.90% | 82.98 | 4.58 |
| Southampton | 1930 | £37,000.00 | £1,423.00 | 75.90% | 84.2 | 4.49 |
| Nottingham | 2161 | £35,000.00 | £1,003.00 | 66.10% | 82 | 4.31 |
| Belfast | 493 | £34,000.00 | £875.00 | 70% | 82 | 4.18 |
| Glasgow | 1252 | £36,000.00 | £1,273.00 | 71.20% | 83 | 3.98 |
Carl Johnson, Sales Director at Anglo Scottish, had this to say about the findings: “What this data reflects is a shift that’s been building for some time. In financial services especially, the assumption that you need to be in London to build a serious career is being challenged every day – and we know that first-hand. We’re seeing genuine investment in regional cities, with businesses recognising that the talent, infrastructure and commercial opportunity outside the capital is stronger than it’s ever been. For professionals weighing up their options, the gap between London and the rest is narrowing fast — and depending on your personal circumstance, the numbers can already favour making the move.”
