Brighton is worst UK city for single parents with these other Sussex towns ranking in top ten most expensive, new study reveals

The study, carried out by personal insolvency provider Creditfix, found that working single parents in Brighton are likely to be in a deficit of £963 after childcare and mortgage costs.

They analysed four key data points across the 100 most populated towns and cities in the UK to find the places where parents are left with the most and least disposable income. They looked at average monthly salary, cost of child care, average house price and average rent.

The full research and a ‘cost of being a parent’ calculator is at www.creditfix.co.uk/blog/priced-out-parents-how-the-cost-of-having-kids-differs-across-uk-cities.

A Creditfix spokesperson said: “The ‘Cost of Being a Parent’ calculator uses data from the study for parents to estimate how much disposable income they’re likely to have left, depending on their income and expenses.

“Single parents with a mortgage in Brighton came first for being one of the most expensive cities with parents forced to spend £963 before bills, food, clothing and socialising. Using ONS estimated mortgage figures for a terraced property in each city, Creditfix revealed that single parents would be in a deficit each month if forced to pay for full-time childcare for children under the age of three.

“For single parents with a mortgage, living in Brighton would leave them with the lowest disposable income each month at a deficit of over £900. This is based on the average monthly mortgage repayments for a terrace property in the city, on a five-year fixed mortgage with 10 per cent deposit.”

The research comes as the Bank of England base rate rose to 5.25 per cent on August 3.

The study said the third most expensive place in the UK was Worthing with -£529 disposable left after mortgage payments and childcare. Hastings came in fifth with -£400 and Eastbourne came in sixth with -£395.

The study found that Aberdeen was the cheapest city for single parents with a mortgage, as they were left with £1,090 disposable.

Layla Johnson, Creditfix regional manager, said: “It’s astonishing to see the financial turmoil that single parents could face living in Brighton with a mortgage; it seems as though some may be better off renting to aid short term disposable income and reduce piling debt.”