#1Methil
10,712 peopleHomes cost 2.0 years of area income·#217 of 2,515 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Methil, #1 on this list · Photo: Richard Law · CC BY-SA 2.0Fife rankings · Cost of living
Most affordable towns in Fife
Methil ranks first on cost of living among Fife’s 26 towns of 2,500+; 23 of the 26 grade A− or better against UK towns.
The Cost of living Grade: the median sale price (Land Registry), a year’s private rent (ONS) and Band D council tax with the parish precept, each against the mean household income of the town’s council area. The rank across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland sits beside each letter. How grades work
#1A
#2Buckhaven
4,413 peopleHomes cost 2.1 years of area income·#221 of 2,515 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
#3Ballingry
5,823 peopleHomes cost 2.6 years of area income·#230 of 2,515 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
All 26 towns, ranked
Cost of living grade, best first; ranks are the county ranks on each town’s page (T = tied). Military garrison towns and university campuses keep their grades but aren’t ranked. Each rank across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland links to the national list.
26 towns.
#TownGrade · UK rankCompared with UK towns
T5Cardenden and Auchterderran5,266 peopleA#238 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 2.8 years of area income
7Cowdenbeath and Lumphinnans11,979 peopleA#245 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 3.0 years of area income
25Newport-on-Tay and Wormit4,119 peopleB#1,202 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 6.0 years of area income
Quick answers
Questions people ask
What is the most affordable town in Fife?
Methil ranks first on cost of living among 26 towns, with an A: homes cost 2.0 years of area income. Buckhaven and Ballingry follow.
How are these towns ranked?
The Cost of living Grade: the median sale price (Land Registry), a year’s private rent (ONS) and Band D council tax with the parish precept, each against the mean household income of the town’s council area. The letter and rank are the same as on each town’s page. How grades work.
Why isn’t my town on this list?
Garrison towns and university campuses aren’t ranked, and towns without the figures this grade needs are counted above. The list covers Fife’s towns of 2,500+ with the figure. Smaller places show it on their own pages; every town in Fife is on the county page.
Go deeper
All Fife rankings →More Fife lists
Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.
Towns with the best schools26 towns · #1 TayportHealthiest towns26 towns · #1 Dalgety Bay and HillendMost walkable towns26 towns · #1 St AndrewsTowns with the lowest flood risk26 towns · #1 Buckhaven and CrossgatesTowns with the lowest council tax26 towns · #1 Anstruther and 25 moreDescribed, no lettersTowns with the mildest winters26 towns · #1 AnstrutherDescribed, no lettersTowns with the warmest summers26 towns · #1 Newport-on-Tay and WormitDescribed, no lettersTowns with the coolest summers26 towns · #1 BallingryDescribed, no lettersTowns with the fewest frosts26 towns · #1 AnstrutherDescribed, no lettersDriest towns26 towns · #1 AnstrutherDescribed, no lettersWettest towns26 towns · #1 BallingryDescribed, no letters
County by county
Most affordable towns, county by county
AberdeenshireBedfordshireBerkshireBuckinghamshireCambridgeshireCheshireClwydCornwallCounty DurhamCumbriaDerbyshireDevonDorsetDyfedEast Riding of YorkshireEast SussexEssexFifeGloucestershireGreater ManchesterGwentHampshireHertfordshireHighlandKentLancashireLeicestershireLincolnshireLondonMerseysideMid GlamorganNorfolkNorth LanarkshireNorth YorkshireNorthamptonshireNorthumberlandNottinghamshireOxfordshireShropshireSomersetSouth LanarkshireSouth YorkshireStaffordshireSuffolkSurreyTyne and WearWarwickshireWest GlamorganWest MidlandsWest SussexWest YorkshireWiltshireWorcestershire
Sources: HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.