Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Farnborough and Manchester

For one person, living is cheaper in Farnborough: $2,337 a month against $2,544 in Manchester, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Farnborough
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Farnborough Living Index
123

Cost of Living Index in Manchester
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Manchester Living Index

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Farnborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,337

/mo nomad

Manchester

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,544

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Farnborough and in Manchester

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,337 in Farnborough versus $2,544 in Manchester.

Farnborough $2,337
Manchester $2,544

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,581 in Farnborough versus $3,691 in Manchester.

Farnborough $3,581
Manchester $3,691

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,826 in Farnborough versus $4,839 in Manchester.

Farnborough $4,826
Manchester $4,839

Living in Farnborough costs roughly 8% less than in Manchester, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Farnborough 73% above, Manchester 88% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.86 £14.90

$19.64 £14.74

1.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.1 £64.6

$87.7 £65.8

-1.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.21 £6.91

$10.47 £7.85

-12.03%

Cappuccino

$4.58 £3.44

$4.85 £3.64

-5.57%

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

$2.63 £1.98

$2.49 £1.87

5.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 £1.52

$1.68 £1.26

20.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.15 £5.36

$7.75 £5.81

-7.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.48 £4.86

$6.72 £5.04

-3.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 £1.07

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.18

$1.94 £1.45

-18.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.71 £2.78

$1.87 £1.40

98.40%

Eggs

$3.32 £2.49

$3.97 £2.98

-16.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.65 £6.49

$9.40 £7.05

-7.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.21 £6.16

$9.02 £6.77

-8.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.43 £10.07

$15.39 £11.55

-12.74%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 £1.27

$3.09 £2.32

-45.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 £1.37

$1.58 £1.19

15.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 £2.22

$3.03 £2.28

-2.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.93 £2.20

$3.37 £2.52

-13.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.59 £1.20

$1.56 £1.17

1.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.36 £1.02

16.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.01 £0.76

$1.20 £0.90

-15.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 £0.44

$1.27 £0.95

-53.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.40 £16.81

$23.80 £17.85

-5.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.11 £8.33

$11.11 £8.34

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.63 £1.97

$2.50 £1.88

5.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 £1.60

$3.12 £2.34

-31.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.57 £1.92

$2.67 £2.00

-3.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$104 £77.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.06 £2.29

$4.51 £3.39

-32.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 £1.15

$2.18 £1.64

-29.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.87 £8.90

$29.56 £22.18

-59.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 £1.40

$2.11 £1.58

-11.37%

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

$36.9K £27.7K

$37.5K £28.1K

-1.47%

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

$40.6K £30.4K

$40.3K £30.2K

0.70%

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

$163 £122

$250 £188

-35.03%

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

$15.11 £11.34

$16.38 £12.29

-7.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.99 £31.50

$40.35 £30.27

4.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.7 £42.55

$55.5 £41.65

2.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.20 £18.15

$18.33 £13.75

32.02%

Cinema Ticket

$9.31 £6.98

$13.11 £9.84

-28.99%

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

$1,250 £938

$1,240 £930

0.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.7K £14.8K

$19.5K £14.6K

1.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 £67.9

$84.5 £63.4

7.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.41 £30.31

$41.39 £31.05

-2.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 £75.6

$91.6 £68.7

9.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 £90.9

$103 £77.6

17.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,623 £1,218

$1,827 £1,371

-11.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,283 £963

$1,267 £950

1.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,483 £1,863

$3,044 £2,284

-18.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,343 £1,758

$1,983 £1,488

18.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,537 £3,403

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,324 £3,244

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,033 £3,026

$3,329 £2,498

21.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.16

4.82

7.05%

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

Last update for Farnborough: October 10, 2026

Last update for Manchester: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Farnborough

$1.3K 54.9%

Manchester

$1.3K 49.8% 1.3% $17

Eating Out

Farnborough

$309 13.2%

Manchester

$316 12.4% 2.2% $6.8

Groceries & Markets

Farnborough

$270 11.6%

Manchester

$299 11.8% 10.7% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Farnborough

$220 9.4%

Manchester

$307 12.1% 39.7% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Farnborough

$159 6.8%

Manchester

$144 5.7% 9% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Farnborough

$75 3.2%

Manchester

$82 3.2% 8.5% $6.4

Getting Around

Farnborough

$21 * 0.9%

Manchester

$130 5.1% 519% $109

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,623 in Farnborough and $1,827 in Manchester. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Farnborough pays 21% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $86.0 in Farnborough vs $88.0 in Manchester for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $270 vs $299 per month, with Farnborough cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Farnborough

🇬🇧 Manchester

🕒 Local time

00:46 12:46 AM

Same time as Farnborough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

60,652

503,100

💱 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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Highest

Between locations

Farnborough Manchester 260 km

From you

Farnborough
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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

Farnborough vs Manchester: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Farnborough and Manchester differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($2,337 vs $2,544 including rent). Farnborough is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 21% higher in Farnborough, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,623 in Farnborough versus $1,827 in Manchester. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,250 in Farnborough versus $1,240 in Manchester. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Farnborough – a meal for two runs $86.0 versus $88.0 in Manchester. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Farnborough is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

Expats usually find Farnborough gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Manchester. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.