Chichester families have lowest disposable income in UK, study finds

People living in Chichester have the least amount of disposable income in the whole UK, a new study has found.
Chichester is often named the least affordable place to live outside of LondonChichester is often named the least affordable place to live outside of London
Chichester is often named the least affordable place to live outside of London

The cost of living in Chichester compared to other cities means families end each year on average with a deficit of £1,676 after essential outgoings.

Chichester has been named at the very bottom, with Canterbury (-£1,340) and Wells (-£653) next, research by ABC Finance Ltd calculates.

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Gary Hemming, commercial lending director, said: “ABC Finance Ltd calculated disposable income across the UK and uncovered a postcode lottery for UK workers.

“By comparing annual salaries and annual household spend across the UK we’ve revealed that Chichester is one of the bottom five cities in the UK with -£1,676 left each year on average after essential outgoings.”

Chichester is consistently named one of the least affordable places in the country to live in.

Only in February, Lloyds Bank put the city in the bottom 20, with average house prices soaring from £261,000 in 2012 to just under £376,000 in 2017, up 44 per cent.

It found house prices were 8.7 times the average earnings

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A huge number of people who work in Chichester live outside of the city because of high house and rental prices.

Mr Hemming added: “Our research shows that where you choose to live can have a huge impact on your disposable income.

“Effectively, someone with the same job as you, but in another location could be better off because the cost of living is much lower for them.

“Sadly if you’re be earning less than your region’s average cost of living, you’ll always have to either scrimp and save or accept some level of debt.”

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ABC Finance’s research placed Birmingham just ahead of Coventry at the top of its list, with people having on average £11,881 and £11,473 in disposable cash a year.

Do you live or work in Chichester and find it difficult to make ends meet? We want to hear your experience. Email [email protected]