#1Thurso
7,419 peopleHomes cost 2.7 years of area income·#175 of 2,515 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Thurso, #1 on this list · Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.0Highland rankings · Cost of living
Most affordable towns in Highland
Thurso ranks first on cost of living among Highland’s 16 towns of 2,500+; 16 of the 16 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+
#2Wick
6,905 peopleHomes cost 2.7 years of area income·#179 of 2,515 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
#3Invergordon
3,801 peopleHomes cost 2.9 years of area income·#184 of 2,515 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
All 16 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.
16 towns.
#TownGrade · UK rankCompared with UK towns
Quick answers
Questions people ask
What is the most affordable town in Highland?
Thurso ranks first on cost of living among 16 towns, with an A+: homes cost 2.7 years of area income. Wick and Invergordon 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 Highland’s towns of 2,500+ with the figure. Smaller places show it on their own pages; every town in Highland is on the county page.
Go deeper
All Highland rankings →More Highland lists
Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.
Towns with the best schools15 towns · #1 SmithtonHealthiest towns16 towns · #1 Milton of LeysMost walkable towns16 towns · #1 Fort WilliamTowns with the lowest flood risk16 towns · #1 Culloden and 2 moreTowns with the lowest council tax16 towns · #1 Alness and 15 moreDescribed, no lettersTowns with the mildest winters16 towns · #1 CaolDescribed, no lettersTowns with the warmest summers16 towns · #1 Muir of OrdDescribed, no lettersTowns with the coolest summers16 towns · #1 Fort WilliamDescribed, no lettersTowns with the fewest frosts16 towns · #1 InvergordonDescribed, no lettersDriest towns16 towns · #1 NairnDescribed, no lettersWettest towns16 towns · #1 Fort WilliamDescribed, 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.