Revealed: 15 most expensive UK cities to raise a family - is yours on the list?

The 15 most expensive cities in which to raise a child have been named, with annual costs ranging from £44,692 up to a whopping £80,416.

Raising a family is an expensive endeavour, when you consider how much it costs to raise a child and rising average childcare costs. But it turns out that where you live can be a big influencing factor too. 

The study from OutdoorToys looked at a range of costs, including the average costs of childcare, rent, utilities and broadband in different cities, in order to find out which locations were the most expensive to raise a family. 

Most expensive UK cities to raise a family in

Unsurprisingly, the research found that London was the most expensive city to raise a family in, costing a sky-high £80,416 per year. This figure includes an average nursery place for two children costing just under £38,000 a year, average annual rent costing only slightly more at £38,650, as well as average annual utility bills of £3,661 per year. 

Second place on the list went to Westminster, with annual costs of £59,757, more than £20,000 cheaper than in the City of London. 

Cambridge ranked a very close third, with average annual nursery costs of around £8,000 more than rent. 

Other cities that made the list of the top 15 most expensive cities to raise a family in, with annual costs between £58,390 and £44,692, include:

• St Albans
• Winchester
• Oxford
• Brighton & Hove
• Southend-on-Sea
• Bristol
• York
• Birmingham
• Edinburgh
• Manchester
• Milton Keynes
• Canterbury

Most expensive cities for childcare

• London - £37,740
• St Albans - £34,162
• Cambridge - £32,430
• Oxford - £30,300
• Birmingham - £29,069

Most expensive cities for rent

• London - £38,650
• Westminster - £31,500
• Winchester - £30,000
• Oxford - £24,990
• Brighton & Hove - £24,805

Most expensive cities for utility bills

• London - £3,661
• Canterbury - £3,461
• Southend-on-Sea - £3,300
• Milton Keynes - £2,824
• Westminster - £2,778

Most affordable UK cities to raise a family in

The research also found the most affordable cities in which to raise a family, with annual costs ranging from £14,220 up to £36,969. 

The top spot for most affordable city went to Derry in Northern Ireland, with average nursery costs of £4,554 per year, average rents of £7,626 per year, and average utility bills of £1,454 - less than half of the price families in London pay for their utilities. 

Second place went to Wakefield, with average annual costs of £22,520, while in third place Doncaster it costs £27,518 per year to raise a family. 

Other affordable cities that rounded out the list included:

• Carlisle
• Gloucester
• Preston
• Swansea
• Stoke-on-Trent
• Lancaster
• Kingston upon Hull
• Plymouth
• Dundee
• Leicester
• Salford
• Belfast

Cheapest cities for childcare

• Derry - £4,554
• Wakefield- £11,520
• Preston - £12,000
• Gloucester - £14,400
• Swansea - £14,712

Cheapest cities for rent

• Derry - £7,626
• Doncaster - £7,901
• Wakefield - £8,400
• Kingston upon Hull - £8,715
• Carlisle - £8,835

Cheapest cities for utility bills

• Portsmouth - £1,424
• Derry - £1,454
• Belfast - £1,478
• Carlisle - £1,560
• Swansea - £1,593

If you've found that you live in one of the most expensive cities, then make sure you follow these family-friendly ways to save money, and think about how you can save money for your child's future.