London, Manchester or Edinburgh?
Tower Bridge at dawn, January. Photograph: Colin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
London has by far the most Skilled Worker licences and the highest pay, at the highest rent. Edinburgh pays more than Manchester; Manchester costs least of the three.
London, Manchester and Edinburgh are three very different places to start a career: a world city, a northern regional capital and a Scottish capital, each winning on a different measure.
This comparison sits in Places, beside the wider look at seven UK cities. Every figure carries its source and date.
London has most of the licences by far
On the Home Office register of 5 October 2026, London holds more than ten times as many Skilled Worker licences as Manchester or Edinburgh.
| City | Skilled Worker licences, 5 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| London | 35,584 |
| Manchester | 2,785 |
| Edinburgh | 1,117 |
Each count measures employers set up to sponsor, not vacancies. Manchester holds more than twice Edinburgh’s count, which matters if your sector is spread across many smaller employers.
More on how the counts are madeLess on how the counts are made
Each count is the number of Skilled Worker entries on the register whose town is that city, and an organisation registered in two towns is counted in each.
For a graduate who will need sponsorship, the gap with London is the strongest argument for the capital. More licensed employers means more places where the visa question has an existing answer, in every sector.
But a count is not a job. If your sector’s employers are in Manchester or Edinburgh too, the smaller count may hold everything you need.
More on what a licence tells youLess on what a licence tells you
A Skilled Worker visa needs a job offer from an employer with an A-rated sponsor licence. A licence on the register shows that an employer has been through the Home Office’s process; it does not show that the employer will sponsor a particular role. Ask about the role you want, not the licence.
Edinburgh out-earns Manchester; London out-earns both
The ONS median for full-time employees, by where they work, puts London first, Edinburgh second and Manchester third, all above the UK’s £39,039.
| Area | Median full-time pay, all employees, 2025 (provisional) |
|---|---|
| London | £49,692 |
| City of Edinburgh | £43,715 |
| Manchester | £40,479 |
These are not graduate salaries: they show the level of a city’s pay, not a starting offer. The gap between London and the other two is wider than the gap between them.
More on how the ONS measures pay by cityLess on how the ONS measures pay by city
London’s median sits about a quarter above the UK figure, Edinburgh’s about a tenth above and Manchester’s a little above. The figures describe everyone in full-time work who has been in the same job for more than a year.
They come from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, by place of work, so they count where people work, not where they live.
The 2025 figures are provisional, and the 2026 edition is due in late October 2026. When you hold offers in two cities, compare them after tax and rent, not on the headline.
For starting salaries by sector, the graduate pay table is the better guide.
Manchester's average rent is the lowest of three
The ONS average private rent in August 2026 runs the other way: London highest by a long way, then Lothian, then Manchester, just below the UK average of £1,400.
| Area | Average monthly private rent, August 2026 |
|---|---|
| London | £2,332 |
| Lothian, which includes Edinburgh | £1,415 |
| Manchester | £1,373 |
Edinburgh’s figure is Lothian’s, which also covers the towns around the city, so read it as the area’s level, not a city-centre price.
More on what the rent averages coverLess on what the rent averages cover
Scotland’s rents are published by rental market area, not by council, which is why Edinburgh appears as Lothian.
These are averages for a whole home, across new and existing tenancies. A graduate sharing a flat pays a fraction of them; a graduate renting alone in a central district may pay more.
£1,013 a month, the Scottish average, well below Lothian’s
A graduate weighing Edinburgh against Glasgow will find that difference in the seven-city story.
Set rent against pay and the gap narrows
Put the two together and London’s lead shrinks: its average rent takes more than half of the median full-time monthly pay, Lothian’s and Manchester’s about two-fifths.
£2,332 average monthly rent in London, August 2026
More on how the shares were worked outLess on how the shares were worked out
Each share divides the area’s average monthly rent by one twelfth of its median full-time pay. It compares two averages for different people, so it describes each city’s level, not any one graduate’s budget.
On these averages, a first job outside London leaves more of each month’s pay after rent. It is not a rule: a London salary in a sector that pays well can outrun the rent, and a shared flat changes the sums.
Edinburgh adds one more difference: Scotland sets its own Income Tax bands, which gov.uk explains on its Scottish Income Tax page (opens gov.uk).
For London worked through at three salaries, after tax, rent and travel, read London on a graduate salary.
Getting around costs most in London
London’s fares are the easiest to state: Transport for London publishes them in one table, capping pay as you go by the day and the week.
| Zones 1 to 2, 2026 adult fares | Price |
|---|---|
| Daily cap, pay as you go | £8.90 |
| Weekly cap, Monday to Sunday | £44.70 |
| Monthly Travelcard | £171.70 |
More on how the caps workLess on how the caps work
The caps do the work for you. Travel five days a week and the daily caps add up to about the weekly cap; travel at weekends too and the weekly cap stops the total rising. A monthly Travelcard suits a fixed commute.
In Manchester, Transport for Greater Manchester publishes its own tickets and passes (opens tfgm.com) for buses and trams; in Edinburgh, Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams publish theirs.
More on travel and where you liveLess on travel and where you live
In any of the three, where you live sets what you spend on travel. In London especially, the commute is part of the budget from the first week: price the journey from a flat before you sign the lease, not after.
A flat near a station on a direct line can be worth more than a cheaper one two changes away. Each change adds minutes to every working day, and in Manchester and Edinburgh a direct tram or bus route does the same job.
Choose the sector first and the city second
The figures settle less than they seem. If your employers recruit graduates only in London, the city is chosen for you, and the question is how to live there.
More on employers that recruit outside LondonLess on employers that recruit outside London
If they recruit elsewhere too, you have more room. KPMG holds final-stage days in Leeds as well as London, and Deloitte assesses graduates at the office linked to their application.
Graduate roles are advertised for a named office, so the location is on the employer’s own page. Spend an hour with five employers’ pages and you will know which of these cities is really on your list, and which is only on the map.
So start with the employers, not the skyline: list where they recruit graduates, then choose between the cities left.
| City | Choose it if |
|---|---|
| London | Your sector concentrates there, or you want the widest choice of licensed employers |
| Manchester | Your employers recruit there and you want the lowest rent of the three |
| Edinburgh | Your employers recruit there and Scottish tax still leaves the sums working |
The seven-city story adds Birmingham, Glasgow, Bristol and Leeds, and the graduate pay table shows what each sector starts on.
This week
- List where your target employers have graduate offices: London, Manchester, Edinburgh
- Work out rent as a share of one real offer in each city
- Check the Scottish Income Tax bands before comparing an Edinburgh offer
Sources
- GOV.UK: Sponsor rating needed SW 5.3. The sponsor must be listed as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors, unless the applicant was last granted permission as a Skilled Worker and is applying to continue working for the same sponsor as in their last permission. Checked
- Home Office: Register of licensed sponsors: workers, counted by town Each count is the number of Skilled Worker entries on the Home Office register whose town is that city. An organisation registered in two towns is counted in each. Read
- Office for National Statistics: Earnings and hours worked, place of work by local authority: ASHE Table 7, 2025 provisional (Table 7.7a, Annual pay, Gross, Full-Time) Table 7.7a Annual pay, Gross (£), for full-time employee jobs: United Kingdom, 2025. Description: United Kingdom; Code: K02000001; Median: 39039; Annual percentage change: 4.3Table 7.7a Annual pay, Gross (£), for full-time employee jobs: United Kingdom, 2025. Description: London; Code: E12000007; Median: 49692; Annual percentage change: 4.7Table 7.7a Annual pay, Gross (£), for full-time employee jobs: United Kingdom, 2025. Description: City of Edinburgh; Code: S12000036; Median: 43715; Annual percentage change: 5.3Table 7.7a Annual pay, Gross (£), for full-time employee jobs: United Kingdom, 2025. Description: Manchester; Code: E08000003; Median: 40479; Annual percentage change: 9.1 Read
- Office for National Statistics: Private rent and house prices, UK: September 2026 (released 16 September 2026) The average monthly private rent in the UK was £1,400 in August 2026.Average rent was highest in London (£2,332) and lowest in the North East (£788) in August 2026.Average monthly rent for Scotland was £1,013 in August 2026, up by 1.1% (£11) from a year earlier. Read
- Office for National Statistics: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics, Table 1 (16 September 2026 edition) Time period: August 2026; Area code: S33000011; Area name: Lothian; Region or country name: Scotland; Rental price: 1415; Rental price one bed: 1035; Rental price two bed: 1324Time period: August 2026; Area code: E08000003; Area name: Manchester; Region or country name: North West; Rental price: 1373; Rental price one bed: 1003; Rental price two bed: 1233 Read
- Transport for London: Adult rate prices 2026 (Transport for London fares table, PDF, last modified 1 March 2026) Zones 1 to 2: Pay as you go caps: Daily peak £8.90; Daily off-peak £8.90; Monday to Sunday £44.70. Travelcards: Day anytime £16.60; Day off-peak £16.60; 7 Day £44.70; Monthly £171.70; Annual £1,788 Read
- Deloitte UK: Early Careers Assessment If you're applying for a Graduate, Entry Level Apprentice, Industrial Placement or BrightStart Apprentice role, your final stage assessment will take place in person at the Deloitte office linked to your application. ... The Final Stage Assessment is split into two exercises*: A discussion about your topic preparation with one of our assessors. ... A skills and motivation interview where we’ll ask some questions to learn more about your alignment with the capabilities we look for at Deloitte. Read
- KPMG UK: Application process (graduate) The dates of our Launch Pad events can be found below: Tuesday 17th November 2026: London Oval ... Wednesday 5th May 2027: Leeds New Dock Hall ... If successful you will have your job offer within 2 working days! Read
This page is about the UK job hunt and is not immigration advice. For your own situation, speak to a regulated immigration adviser or an immigration solicitor, and check the current rules on gov.uk.
Change log
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Pictures on this page
- The Library of Birmingham Photograph: Alex Liivet, Wikimedia Commons, CC0, cropped
- Painted houses on Lancaster Road, Notting Hill Photograph: Bex Walton, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped
- Canary Wharf from Limehouse at blue hour, June Photograph: King of Hearts, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
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