Affordability · Edinburgh · 2026

Can I afford Edinburgh
on £100,000?

Q: What salary do I need to comfortably afford Edinburgh?

To achieve a 33% rent-to-income ratio on a 1-bed flat in Edinburgh (£1,100/month), you need approximately £53,500 gross annual salary. For a shared room (£700/month), the threshold drops to £30,500.

Q: What is the rent-to-income ratio on £100,000 in Edinburgh?

On £100,000 in Edinburgh, the rent-to-income ratio for a 1-bed flat is 20%. The guideline for comfortable solo living is under 33%.

Comfortably affordable. Rent takes up just 20% of your take-home pay, leaving plenty of room for savings. Net take-home £5,433/month. Average 1-bed rent £1,100/month — a 20% rent-to-income ratio.

Net monthly

£5,433

after tax & NI

Rent (1-bed)

£1,100

per month

After rent

£4,333

per month

Comfortable — you can afford this city solo · 20% rent-to-income on £100,000

Three ways to live in Edinburgh

Solo · 1-bed city centre

£1,100/mo

median 1-bed rent

RTI 20% — Comfortable

Disposable after rent £4,333/mo

Shared house · room

£700/mo

median room rent

RTI 13% — Comfortable

Disposable after rent £4,733/mo

Solo · outer Edinburgh

£850/mo

outer area 1-bed rent

RTI 16% — Comfortable

Disposable after rent £4,583/mo

What salary do you need?

Gross salary required for 33% rent-to-income in Edinburgh

Scenario	Monthly rent	Salary for 33% RTI
Shared room	£700	£30,500
1-bed city centre current	£1,100	£53,500
1-bed outer Edinburgh	£850	£38,000
2-bed flat split 50/50	£550	£23,000

33% RTI is the widely accepted threshold for comfortable solo living · HMRC 2025/26 · Rightmove Q4 2025

Coming soon: benchmark your salary anonymously

See how your salary compares to others in Edinburgh. No name, no employer — just your role, city and salary.

Financial tools

Try other salaries in Edinburgh

£20,000 £25,000 £30,000 £35,000 £40,000 £45,000 £50,000 £55,000 £60,000 £65,000 £70,000 £75,000 £80,000 £90,000

Can you afford £100,000 elsewhere?

London Manchester Birmingham Glasgow Bristol Leeds Sheffield Newcastle Nottingham Cardiff Aberdeen Liverpool Leicester Oxford Cambridge Reading Brighton York Exeter

Compare salaries in Edinburgh

Software Engineer: Edinburgh vs London NHS Band 5 in Edinburgh Software Engineer salary in Edinburgh

Frequently asked questions

Can I afford to live in Edinburgh on £100,000? +

Comfortably affordable. Rent takes up just 20% of your take-home pay, leaving plenty of room for savings. Your net take-home on £100,000 is £5,433/month. With median 1-bed rent of £1,100/month, you'd have £4,333/month left after rent — a 20% rent-to-income ratio. A shared room at £700/month would reduce that ratio to 13%, leaving £4,733/month disposable.

What salary do I need to comfortably afford Edinburgh? +

To keep rent below 33% of take-home pay on a 1-bed flat in Edinburgh (average £1,100/month), you need approximately £53,500 gross annual salary. For a shared room (£700/month), the threshold drops to £30,500. For an outer-area 1-bed (£850/month), you need around £38,000.

Is Edinburgh expensive to live in? +

Edinburgh has a cost-of-living index of 72 (London = 100) and an average 1-bed rent of £1,100/month. Moderately priced for a major UK city. Council tax averages £155/month and transport £62/month.

What is the rent-to-income ratio on £100,000 in Edinburgh? +

On £100,000 in Edinburgh, net take-home is £5,433/month. With median 1-bed rent of £1,100/month, the rent-to-income ratio is 20%. The widely accepted guideline for comfortable solo living is under 33%. For a shared room the ratio falls to 13%; for an outer-area 1-bed to 16%.

Can I afford Edinburghon £100,000?