Where were people the most worried about the cost-of-living crisis in 2023?

• Bath was the UK area most worried about the cost-of-living crisis in 2023, with 333 average monthly searches related to the cost-of-living crisis per 10,000 residents, nearly twice the national average.
• Norwich ranked second, with 321 average monthly searches per 10,000 residents, while Wrexham was third with 312 average monthly searches per 10,000 residents.
• Wakefield was the area least worried about the cost-of-living crisis, with a monthly average of just 68 searches per 10,000 people, nearly 60% below the national average.

A new study has revealed that Bath was the most worried about the cost-of-living crisis in the UK in 2023.

Investing comparison website Investing Reviews analysed Google search data by combining more than 280 common search terms related to dealing with the current high costs of living to determine which areas of the UK were most worried about the ongoing cost-of-living crisis on average.

The study also found that the most searched-for term in 68 out of 73 surveyed areas was ‘top savings accounts’, while ‘interest rate’ ranked top in the other five.

The UK areas most worried about the cost-of-living crisis 

Bath was the UK area most worried about the cost-of-living crisis in 2023, with 333 average monthly searches per 10,000 residents for cost-of-living related topics. This is nearly twice the national average of 169 average monthly searches per 10,000 residents.

Norwich was second for the areas of the UK most worried about the cost-of-living crisis, with 321 average monthly searches per 10,000 residents, 89.9% percent more than the national average.

Wrexham was third for the UK overall and was also the most worried area about the cost-of-living crisis in Wales. Averaging 312 monthly searches per 10,000 residents, people from Wrexham searched 84.6% more than the national average for cost-of-living related topics.

With 310 average monthly searches per 10,000 residents, Hereford ranked in fourth. This is 83.4% more than the national average of 169 average monthly searches for cost-of-living related topics.

Edinburgh was fifth overall for the UK and was the most worried area of Scotland about the cost-of-living crisis in 2023, with 306 average monthly searches per 10,000 residents. This is 81.1% more than the UK average.

Chester ranked sixth for the UK areas most worried about the cost-of-living crisis in 2023. Its 303 average monthly searches for cost-of-living topics per 10,000 residents was 79.3% more than the national average.

Lincoln came seventh with 282 average monthly searches per 10,000, while Inverness was eighth, with 281 average monthly searches per 10,000. These are 66.9% and 66.3% more than the national average respectively.

Wigan was ninth with 264 average monthly searches per 10,000 residents, and Mansfield rounds out the ten UK areas who were most worried about the cost-of-living crisis in 2023, with 256 average monthly searches per 10,000 residents. These are 56.2% and 51.5% above the UK average respectively.

Table showing the ten areas of the UK most worried about the cost-of-living crisis ranked from most to least worried.

The UK areas least worried about the cost-of-living crisis 

Not all areas seemed to be as worried about the cost-living-crisis in 2023, as Wakefield had just 68 average monthly searches per 10,000 residents, a value nearly 60% below the national average of 169 searches per 10,000 residents.

Dudley was the second least worried about the cost-of-living crisis, with 71 average monthly searches per 10,000 residents, 58% below the national average.

Bradford (76 searches per 10,000 residents), Sunderland (83 searches per 10,000 residents), and Hull (87 searches per 10,000 residents) rounded out the 5 areas least worried about the cost-of-living crisis.

Table showing the five areas of the UK least worried about the cost-of-living crisis ranked from least to most worried.

Simon Jones, CEO of Investing Reviews commented on the findings:

“The study is incredibly insightful as it enables us to identify what the biggest financial struggles are across the UK and where exactly in the UK those struggles are most prevalent.

“The results indicate that the public are predominantly worried about two things: how to save money and how to wrestle with increasing interest rates. Both are ultimately understandable concerns in what is such a difficult time for so many people.”

Table showing all areas of the UK ranked from most to least worried about the cost-of-living crisis.