Two areas of Lancashire have been named among the most affordable places to live in the UK.

Ciphr revealed that the average property in the UK now costs £281,000 (as of April 2024) which is 8x the average UK salary of £34,963.

It revealed the most affordable towns and cities in the UK to rent or buy property and Blackburn and Preston both feature in the list.

Here’s what Ciphr said about Blackburn and Preston.

2 Lancashire areas named among most affordable places to live

According to the research, the average cost for rental property per month in Blackburn is £550 while in Preston it’s slightly more at £575.

Blackburn’s rental costs are 21% of the average full-time worker’s salary there (£31,527) while Preston’s rental costs are the same percentage of the average full-time worker’s salary there (£33,188).

Both areas of Lancashire are among the UK towns and cities with the lowest property prices in the country (comparative to average wages) – Blackburn’s is £159,432 (5.1x the average salary) while Preston’s is £178,247 (5.4x the average salary). This is based on average sold prices in the last year as at July 2024 from Rightmove.

Tips for first-time buyers

Blackburn and Preston are among the areas of the UK to have seen the biggest pay rises for full time employees in the last year.

Blackburn’s increased by 14.8% to £31,527 while Preston’s increased by the same percentage to £33,188.

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Preston also features in the list of the UK’s happiest towns and cities to live in as it received a happiness score of 7.79 out of 10 (joint second place with Chelmsford), only being beaten by Sevenoaks which received a score of 7.89.

Lancaster was ranked in third place, just below Preston, with a score of 7.78 out of 10.

Overall, Preston is ranked in 6th place in the list of best places to live in the UK, making it the only Lancashire area to feature in the top 10.