Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Edinburgh and Buckingham

For one person, living is cheaper in Buckingham: $2,219 a month against $2,617 in Edinburgh, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

127

Cost of Living Index in Edinburgh
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Edinburgh Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Buckingham
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Buckingham Living Index

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Edinburgh

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,617

/mo nomad

Buckingham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,219

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Edinburgh and in Buckingham

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Edinburgh and in Buckingham actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,617 in Edinburgh versus $2,219 in Buckingham.

Edinburgh $2,617
Buckingham $2,219

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,956 in Edinburgh versus $3,265 in Buckingham.

Edinburgh $3,956
Buckingham $3,265

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,295 in Edinburgh versus $4,311 in Buckingham.

Edinburgh $5,295
Buckingham $4,311

Living in Edinburgh is roughly 18% more expensive than in Buckingham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Edinburgh 94% above, Buckingham 64% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.64 £17.73

$20.03 £15.03

18.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$104 £78.2

$78.9 £59.2

32.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.48 £7.86

$10.44 £7.83

0.38%

Cappuccino

$5.08 £3.81

$4.60 £3.45

10.43%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 £1.87

$2.05 £1.54

21.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.61

$1.50 £1.12

43.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.06 £6.04

$5.45 £4.09

47.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.13 £6.10

$4.52 £3.39

79.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.51 £1.13

11.26%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 £1.71

$1.77 £1.33

29.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 £1.69

$2.82 £2.11

-20.21%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.79

$4.04 £3.03

25.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.05 £6.79

$9.09 £6.82

-0.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.49 £7.12

$7.72 £5.79

22.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.12 £12.10

$16.42 £12.32

-1.83%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 £2.29

$3.29 £2.47

-7.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.54 £1.16

25.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.36 £2.52

$2.80 £2.10

20.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.68 £2.76

$3.20 £2.40

15.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.16 £0.87

78.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$1.73 £1.30

-10.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 £0.94

$1.29 £0.97

-3.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 £1.45

$1.35 £1.01

43.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.67 £17.76

$23.66 £17.75

0.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 £8.35

$10.10 £7.57

10.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.22 £2.42

$3.14 £2.36

2.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 £2.40

$2.28 £1.71

39.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.20 £2.40

$3.38 £2.53

-5.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.7 £72.6

$94.7 £71.1

2.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.18 £3.89

$4.18 £3.14

23.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.86 £1.40

$2.69 £2.02

-30.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.69 £21.52

$32.36 £24.28

-11.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 £1.60

$2.04 £1.53

4.90%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$38.6K £29.0K

$38.4K £28.8K

0.69%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$41.2K £30.9K

$41.3K £31.0K

-0.30%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$330 £248

$200 £150

65.05%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$16.39 £12.30

$17.46 £13.10

-6.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.15 £31.63

$43.68 £32.77

-3.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.13 £33.11

$45.77 £34.34

-3.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.04 £17.28

Cinema Ticket

$14.30 £10.73

$13.38 £10.04

6.88%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,759 £1,319

$1,464 £1,099

20.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.4K £19.0K

$22.0K £16.5K

15.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.6 £60.4

$84.3 £63.2

-4.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.45 £37.10

$31.33 £23.50

57.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.2

$73.7 £55.3

43.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 £86.0

$97.2 £72.9

17.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,611 £1,209

$1,462 £1,097

10.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 £889

$1,036 £777

14.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,738 £2,054

$2,105 £1,579

30.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,106 £1,580

$1,659 £1,244

26.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,632 £4,976

$5,081 £3,812

30.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,609 £3,458

$3,819 £2,865

20.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,522 £2,642

$4,447 £3,336

-20.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.77

5.06

-5.73%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Edinburgh: October 11, 2026

Last update for Buckingham: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Edinburgh

$1.2K 45.3%

Buckingham

$1K 46.7% 12.6% $149

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Edinburgh

$389 14.9%

Buckingham

$261 11.8% 32.8% $127

Eating Out

Edinburgh

$357 13.6%

Buckingham

$297 13.4% 16.6% $59

Groceries & Markets

Edinburgh

$333 12.7%

Buckingham

$297 13.4% 10.7% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Edinburgh

$158 6%

Buckingham

$129 5.8% 18.2% $29

Getting Around

Edinburgh

$124 4.7%

Buckingham

$126 5.7% 1.5% $1.9

Sport & Entertainment

Edinburgh

$73 2.8%

Buckingham

$73 3.3% 0.2% $0.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,611 in Edinburgh and $1,462 in Buckingham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buckingham pays 26% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $104 in Edinburgh vs $79.0 in Buckingham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $333 vs $297 per month, with Buckingham cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Edinburgh

🇬🇧 Buckingham

🕒 Local time

06:29 6:29 AM

Same time as Edinburgh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

488,050

12,890

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Edinburgh Buckingham 460 km

From you

Edinburgh
Buckingham

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Edinburgh vs Buckingham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Edinburgh and Buckingham differ by about 18% in total monthly costs ($2,617 vs $2,219 including rent). Buckingham is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 26% lower in Buckingham. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,611 in Edinburgh versus $1,462 in Buckingham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,617 per month in Edinburgh versus $2,219 in Buckingham – a 18% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Buckingham runs roughly 2% less than in Edinburgh. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $2,219 in Buckingham versus $2,617 in Edinburgh, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buckingham but tight or insufficient in Edinburgh. The gap between the two cities makes Buckingham the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Edinburgh and Buckingham are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Buckingham gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Edinburgh. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.