Exact salary you need to earn in each major UK city for peak happiness

| Assistant Lifestyle Editor Published October 1, 2026 10:54am Updated October 1, 2026 10:54am You’ll need a lot more than that to buy happiness (Picture: Getty Images) Whoever said money doesn’t buy happiness probably had a lot of it. Even if you have a roof over your head and food in your belly, having to go without any extras and worrying about every penny is obviously not good for your emotional wellbeing. The truth is, we all need at least enough cash to ensure our basic needsare met, with life satisfaction levels continuing to increase when we can afford to improve our standard of living. However, according to research from Purdue University, at some point this reaches a peak — and beyond a certain ‘income satiation’ threshold, a person’s happiness levels actually start to decline. The exact number at which this happens varies from region to region, but using Purdue’s global average and adjusting for local purchasing power and inflation, Remitly has worked out the figure for each of the UK’s major cities. In a surprise to no one, London is the most expensive place to live if you want to be truly content, with an income satiation rate of £116,097. Unsurprisingly, you need a much higher income in London to get by (Picture: Getty Images) Next up was Oxford and Guildford, where residents need to earn upwards of £100,000, with Brighton and Cambridge (both over £98,000) coming in at fourth and fifth. The ‘cheapest’ city of the 23 analysed was Sheffield, but even then, maximum happiness requires an income of £83,723. If these kind of numbers seem completely out of reach for you, you’re not alone. Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. For the country as a whole, the annual wage required to hit income satiation is £89,959, meaning the current average of £39,312 covers just 43.7% of the nation’s price of happiness. The price of happiness in major UK cities London: £116,097 Oxford: £101,104 Guildford: £100,043 Brighton: £98,849 Cambridge: £98,052 Edinburgh: £96,858 Reading: £94,603 Bristol: £94,337 Southampton: £93,409 Manchester: £92,878 Birmingham: £91,020 Leeds: £90,755 Glasgow: £89,959 Newcastle: £89,826 Milton Keynes: £89,295 York: £89,163 Bournemouth and Cardiff: £88,897 Liverpool: £87,703 Belfast: £87,438 Nottingham: £86,774 Coventry: £85,978 Sheffield: £83,723 Latest London news A report from global think tank the Institute for Quality of Life recently ranked London as the 48th happiest city in the world — just below Edinburgh, the city with the highest price of happiness outside of the south (sixth in the UK) at £96,858. That’s certainly not the case for everyone, though. The Trust for London found that a single adult now needs a minimum income of £54,400 for a ‘decent standard of living’ in London, 80% higher than the £30,500 amount required for the rest of urban Britain. Do you think money is the key to happiness? Yes, it provides the means for a happier life.Check No, happiness comes from other sources.Check A balance is necessary, money alone isn't enough.Check Sign up to Metro's The Slice newsletter for your guide to what's on in London, with trusted reviews, offers and giveaways. Almost half of Londoners don’t earn enough to meet this threshold, a figure which increases to 86.5% for single parents and 81% for social renters. Meanwhile, the ONS reports 4.9% of the UK population feels low satisfaction with their lives, 8.1% rate their happiness the previous day as low, and 18.2% feel very or somewhat unfairly treated by society. On the issue of how money correlates to happiness, Harvard Business School professor, Jon Jachimowicz, says: ‘It’s not that rich people don’t have problems, but having money allows you to fix problems and resolve them more quickly. ‘The question is, when problems come your way, to what extent do you feel like you can deal with them, that you can walk through life and know everything is going to be okay.’ Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk Deals of the Day I’ve found the Hoover gadget that could make cleaning your floors so much easier I tried L'Oréal Paris's new PDRN serum and my skin looked glossier after one use This new Cricut gadget turns your favourite photos into stickers in minutes From kitchen hatches to burgundy walls – the biggest home trends for 2027 Oodie’s cosy blanket sale has arrived just in time for Christmas shopping Arrow MORE: Mums with depression more likely to have children with ADHD and autism Arrow MORE: Rogue landlord pair fined after 21 people crammed into house overrun by cockroaches Arrow MORE: ‘I make art on wads of old chewing gum – it’s taken me all over the world’ The Slice Your free newsletter guide to the best London has on offer, from drinks deals to restaurant reviews.