£505,154
Cheapest place to retire: Inverclyde
Scotland, house price £112,529
£1,729,405
Most expensive place to retire: Kensington and Chelsea
London, house price £1,256,680
London
Most expensive region on average
Avg total net worth required: £1,047,048 across 33 locations
“Total net worth required” means the retirement pot the 25× rule says you need (after the State Pension), plus the average house price of the area, assuming you want to own your home outright.It is the fullest single number for “what does retiring here actually cost.”
Ranked by total net worth required: the retirement pot needed to fund local living costs on top of the State Pension, plus the average price of a home in the area. The cheapest ten are split across Scotland (6) and North East (4).
| # | Location | Region | Avg house price | Retirement pot needed | Total net worth required |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inverclyde(town) | Scotland | £112,529 | £392,625 | £505,154 |
| 2 | County Durham(county) | North East | £135,767 | £373,825 | £509,592 |
| 3 | Hartlepool(town) | North East | £136,532 | £373,825 | £510,357 |
| 4 | Middlesbrough(town) | North East | £138,207 | £373,825 | £512,032 |
| 5 | Sunderland(town) | North East | £145,546 | £373,825 | £519,371 |
| 6 | West Dunbartonshire(town) | Scotland | £127,161 | £392,625 | £519,786 |
| 7 | East Ayrshire(town) | Scotland | £128,845 | £392,625 | £521,470 |
| 8 | North Ayrshire(town) | Scotland | £130,233 | £392,625 | £522,858 |
| 9 | Aberdeen(city) | Scotland | £133,906 | £392,625 | £526,531 |
| 10 | Dundee(city) | Scotland | £134,392 | £392,625 | £527,017 |
The ten most expensive places to retire are split across London (5), South East (3) and East of England (2), driven almost entirely by house prices rather than day-to-day living costs.
| # | Location | Region | Avg house price | Retirement pot needed | Total net worth required |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kensington and Chelsea(city) | London | £1,256,680 | £472,725 | £1,729,405 |
| 2 | Elmbridge(town) | South East | £759,229 | £641,150 | £1,400,379 |
| 3 | Westminster(city) | London | £844,095 | £472,725 | £1,316,820 |
| 4 | St Albans(city) | East of England | £633,319 | £626,425 | £1,259,744 |
| 5 | Richmond upon Thames(city) | London | £785,897 | £472,725 | £1,258,622 |
| 6 | Camden(city) | London | £772,336 | £472,725 | £1,245,061 |
| 7 | Three Rivers(town) | East of England | £594,115 | £626,425 | £1,220,540 |
| 8 | Windsor and Maidenhead(city) | South East | £572,790 | £641,150 | £1,213,940 |
| 9 | Mole Valley(town) | South East | £562,284 | £641,150 | £1,203,434 |
| 10 | Hammersmith and Fulham(city) | London | £730,674 | £472,725 | £1,203,399 |
Zooming out from individual places to all 12 UK regions in our cost-of-living data, retiring in London requires £510,732 more on average than retiring in North East, 2.0× the total net worth required.
| # | Region | Locations | Avg annual living costs | Avg total net worth required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North East | 12 | £27,501 | £536,316 |
| 2 | Scotland | 32 | £28,253 | £578,657 |
| 3 | North West | 35 | £29,953 | £648,164 |
| 4 | Yorkshire and the Humber | 15 | £31,457 | £675,935 |
| 5 | Wales | 22 | £31,359 | £683,287 |
| 6 | East Midlands | 35 | £30,444 | £692,917 |
| 7 | West Midlands | 30 | £31,065 | £724,105 |
| 8 | Northern Ireland | 11 | £33,943 | £734,349 |
| 9 | South West | 26 | £36,461 | £904,202 |
| 10 | East of England | 45 | £37,605 | £988,018 |
| 11 | South East | 64 | £38,194 | £1,033,604 |
| 12 | London | 33 | £31,457 | £1,047,048 |
These figures assume you want to own your home outright in retirement. Strip out the average house price and just compare living costs between North East and London: the gap drops from 2.0× to 1.3×, since it is then driven only by day-to-day living costs, not property.
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Where Can I Retire? Cheapest and Most Expensive UK Places 2026. Delphina. www.delphina.money/stats/where-can-i-retire. Compiled by Syd Lawrence, founder of Delphina.
House prices and living costs are only two inputs. Your actual pensions, savings and spending are what decide whether you can afford to retire where you want to. See where you stand with your real figures.
Where Can I Retire? Cheapest and Most Expensive UK Places 2026. Delphina. www.delphina.money/stats/where-can-i-retire
Sources: ONS UK House Price Index, May 2026; ONS Family Spending, expenditure by region (FYE 2025); Pensions UK Retirement Living Standards, 2026; DWP, new State Pension rates, 2026/27; Delphina locations dataset (360 UK places).
Compiled by Syd Lawrence, founder of Delphina. Last updated 4 August 2026.