The rising cost of food essentials: how foodflation is stretching UK household budgets

The UK's ongoing cost of living crisis has reshaped everyday spending in many ways, with rising grocery bills putting sustained pressure on household budgets. Essentials that were once considered reliably affordable – from rice and potatoes to chicken and bananas – have seen significant price increases, forcing many to rethink how they shop and eat. While inflation has been a nationwide challenge, its impact has not been evenly distributed, with some communities experiencing far steeper rises than others.

Our analysis explores how the cost of a typical weekly basket of food essentials has changed across major UK towns and cities over the past five years, and how these increases compare to local wage growth. By combining food price data with income trends, a clearer picture emerges of where households are under the greatest pressure, which items have driven the sharpest rises, and how the gap between earnings and essential costs is reshaping food affordability across the UK in 2026.

Key Findings

• The cost of a weekly basket of food essentials has increased in every city analysed, with rises ranging from 9.80% in Rotherham to 30.75% in Salford

• Households now spend between 3% and 4% of their weekly income on food, up from around 2% in 2021, with some towns and cities exceeding this range

• In many areas, food costs are rising significantly faster than wages, reaching as high as 17 times faster in Edinburgh and at least 2–4 times faster even in the least affected areas

• The financial impact is substantial: households are paying hundreds of pounds more per year for the same basket of essentials, with increases ranging from £428 to £916 annually

• In the hardest-hit locations, residents must work 50+ additional hours per year to afford the same groceries they did in 2021

• Leicester, Bradford and Hull rank among the most food-stressed cities, combining below-average wages (all under £650/week) with high shares of income spent on food (around 3.9%–4.1%)

• Nottingham records the highest income share spent on food, with households allocating 4.37% of weekly income

• Salford stands out with the steepest overall cost increase (30.75%) and the highest annual burden, with residents paying £916 more per year than in 2021

• Hull has the lowest weekly wage (£561) in the study, alongside a 23% rise in food costs, intensifying affordability pressures

• Rice has seen the most extreme price increases of any product, rising by over 500% in Southampton and nearly 470% in both Bolton and Wolverhampton

• Chicken, tomatoes, apples and bananas have all more than doubled in price across the majority of towns and cities studied.

How Much More Are Brits Actually Paying for Food Essentials?

The cost of a weekly shop has risen substantially across every city in the study, but the headline figures only tell part of the story. What matters just as much is how those rises sit relative to what people actually earn.

Here is how the picture has shifted:

• In 2021, most households spent roughly 2% of their income on weekly food essentials

• By 2026, that figure has climbed to between 3% and 4% for the majority of locations – and higher in some

• Compounded over a full year, and set against stagnant or slowly growing wages, the real-world impact on household budgets is hard to ignore

The Towns and Cities Where Food Prices Increased the Most

Costs have risen everywhere, but some areas have seen increases far steeper than others.

The biggest increases:

1. Salford – up 30.75% since 2021

2. Bolton – up 30.42%

3. Leicester – up 27.29%

4. Dudley– up 25.18%

5. Bradford– up 24.81%

The most contained increases:

1. Rotherham – 9.80%

2. Stockport – 11.02%

3. Wakefield – 15.22%

The Towns and Cities Most Impacted by Food Price Increases

It is worth noting that the areas where food prices increased the most are not necessarily those that feel it the hardest. A 30% rise is far more damaging on a weekly wage of £683, as in Salford, than on a wage above £800.

Leicester, Bradford and Hull top the food stress rankings – locations where steep price rises, lower wages and a high income share devoted to food put the most acute pressure on households.

1. Leicester (Food stress score: 99/108)

• Weekly essentials costs up 27.29% since 2021

• Now spending 4.07% of income on food each week – up from 2.03% in 2021

• Average weekly wage: £594

• Annual food cost increase: £768

2. Bradford (Food stress score: 93/108)

• Weekly shop up 24.81%

• 4.10% of income now spent on food each week

• Average weekly wage: £640

• Annual food cost increase: £829

3. Hull (Food stress score: 92/108)

• The lowest weekly wage of any city in the study at just £561

• Weekly essentials costs up 23.22% since 2021

• 3.91% of income now going on food each week

• Annual food cost increase: £635

4. Sunderland (Food stress score: 91/108)

• Average weekly wage of £596

• 4.11% of income now going on food – the second highest proportion of any city

• Annual food cost increase: £721

5. Stoke-on-Trent (Food stress score: 85/108)

• Average weekly wage of £613

• Weekly shop up by 21.89% since 2021

• 3.94% of income now going on food each week

• Annual food cost increase: £710.85

The Products With the Biggest Price Spikes

While every item in the weekly basket has become more expensive, some products have seen price increases that are way more significant than others. Rice stands out as the single most affected product in the study. Price increases are staggering in several locations:

• Southampton – up 512%

• Bolton — up 467%

• Wolverhampton – up 438%

• Portsmouth – up 402%

• Hull – up 392%

For a product that millions of households rely on as an affordable, everyday staple, these are huge increases, and they fall disproportionately on households where rice is a dietary cornerstone. Chicken has also seen dramatic rises across the board, with increases exceeding 200% in many locations:

• Aberdeen – up 254%

• Bolton – up 247%

• Leicester – up 246%

• Salford – up 245%

• Southampton – up 220%

Fresh fruit and vegetables tell a similarly stark story. Tomatoes, apples, bananas and oranges have all seen sharp rises in multiple locations:

• Tomatoes – up 466% in Bolton, 446% in Dudley and 420% in Salford

• Apples – up 404% in Bolton and 318% in Dudley

• Bananas – up 344% in Bolton and 309% in Bradford

• Oranges – up 400% in Salford and 344% in Bolton

Milk and bread, two of the most fundamental weekly essentials, have also become significantly more expensive:

• Milk – up 126% in London, 93% in Hull and 87% in Coventry

• Bread – up 115% in Newcastle, 97% in Swansea and 87% in Salford

One notable exception is lettuce, which has seen far more modest increases across most locations – and in some cases, barely any increase at all. Bradford recorded just a 1.14% rise, Sheffield 4.88% and Doncaster 4.29%. It is one of the few items in the basket that has remained relatively stable.

The overall picture is one where the most nutritious and filling foods – proteins, carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables – have seen the steepest rises, making a balanced diet increasingly difficult to afford for a growing number of households.

The Worst Affected Towns & Cities for Staple Food Inflation

While some areas recorded large increases in the overall cost of a weekly shop, others stand out because they appear repeatedly among the steepest rises for individual staple foods such as rice, chicken, fruit, vegetables, bread and milk. This suggests households in these locations are facing broad inflation across multiple essentials, rather than isolated spikes in one or two products.

1. Bolton

Bolton stands out as the most consistently affected city in the study, appearing among the biggest increases across multiple staple foods. Rice prices rose by 466.67%, tomatoes by 466.04%, apples by 404.44%, oranges by 344.44%, chicken by 246.56% and bananas by 120.00%. Few cities recorded such widespread increases across so many everyday essentials.

2. Salford

Salford combines one of the highest overall grocery cost increases with major spikes across several key staples. Rice increased by 311.76%, tomatoes by 420.00%, oranges by 400.00%, bananas by 257.50%, chicken by 244.83%, bread by 87.34% and milk by 83.20%. It is one of the clearest examples of sustained inflation across an entire weekly shop.

3. Southampton

Southampton recorded the single biggest product increase in the study, with rice up 512.12%. Elsewhere, onions rose by 314.29%, tomatoes by 295.45%, chicken by 219.72%, apples by 168.29% and bananas by 163.83%. This makes Southampton one of the most extreme cities for staple food inflation overall.

4. Dudley

Dudley saw sharp rises across fresh produce and pantry staples alike. Tomatoes increased by 446.15%, oranges by 328.89%, apples by 317.78%, onions by 207.69%, rice by 201.54% and bananas by 175.00%. The breadth of increases suggests pressure across both healthy foods and household basics.

5. Bradford

Bradford appears among the worst-hit cities across several essential products. Rice rose by 320.69%, bananas by 309.43%, oranges by 292.65%, tomatoes by 290.28%, apples by 278.13%, potatoes by 250.00% and onions by 224.39%. It is one of the strongest examples of widespread food inflation affecting multiple staples at once.

When Food Costs Rise Faster Than Wages

We’ve calculated how much faster food costs are rising compared to wages – we’ll call this the Income Squeeze Ratio for the sake of this article.

The most impacted towns and cities:

1. Edinburgh – food costs rising 17x faster than wages

2. Southampton – 9x faster than wages

3. Derby and Newcastle – 8x faster than wages

4. Bradford, Dudley and Leeds – around 7x faster

5. Birmingham – 6x faster

The least impacted towns and cities:

1. Rotherham – food costs rising 2x faster than wages

2. Portsmouth, Sheffield, and Brighton – 3x faster than wages

3. Wolverhampton – 4x faster

Even so, no city is immune. Even in London, food costs are rising three times faster than wages. The squeeze is universal, it is only the severity that differs.

The Annual Burden

The annual increase in food costs reveals the cumulative weight of these changes on household finances.

The highest annual increases:

1. Salford – £916 more per year than in 2021

2. Derby – £848

3. Aberdeen - £840

4. Southampton – £831

5. Bradford – £829

The lowest annual increases:

1. Wigan – £428

2. Rotherham – £449

3. Stockport – £545

Even at the lower end, households are spending hundreds of pounds more every year simply to maintain the same basket of essentials.

Working Longer For the Same Products

Perhaps the most human way to understand this data is through working hours. Across the country, people are effectively working significantly more each year just to afford the same food they bought in 2021.

Towns and cities that needs to work the most additional hours per year to keep up with rising food costs:

1. Salford – 53.7 hours

2. Bradford– 51.8 hours

3. Leicester – 51.7 hours

4. Derby – 50.8 hours

5. Bolton – 50.5 hours

To put that in perspective: For UK residents on an average wage, that is nearly a week and a half’s worth of additional work – dedicated entirely to keeping up with the weekly shop.

The Towns and Cities With More Breathing Room

Not every city in the study is facing the same degree of pressure. Some locations benefit from a combination of higher wages and more modest price rises, giving households more room to absorb the changes.

The least food-stressed towns and cities: (food stress score out of 108)

• London (10/108) and Reading (10/108) – joint lowest stress scores in the study; London with a weekly wage of £1,058 and just 2.63% of income spent on food, Reading with a weekly wage of £841 and 2.93% of income on food.

• Brighton (15/108) and Stockport (15/108) – both benefit from relatively modest price increases and wages above the study average.

• Sheffield (22/108) – a cost increase of just 16.56% and a weekly wage of £703 keep pressure relatively contained.

That said, 'more breathing room' is relative. Even the towns and cities at the bottom of the food stress index are spending a greater share of income on food than five years ago, and wages are failing to keep pace with food prices everywhere.

A Widening Divide

The data points to something bigger than rising prices. It reveals a growing divide between areas where wages offer a genuine buffer, and areas where they do not.

• In northern and midlands towns and cities, lower wages combined with sharp food price rises are placing a disproportionate burden on households already managing tightly.

• Food affordability is no longer a concern confined to the lowest income brackets – it is becoming a mainstream pressure for working households across the country.

• The gap between those who can absorb these increases and those who cannot is widening every year.

Why your credit report matters

The rising cost of food essentials could lead some people to rely on credit for other expenses where they otherwise may not have done. This could be anything like:

• A personal loan to cover a deposit.

• A credit card to bridge a gap between paydays.

• Buying something on finance instead of outright.

Lenders review your credit report whenever you apply, and a healthy file can mean the difference between competitive rates and costly borrowing – or a successful application and a declined one.

At Checkmyfile, you get the most detailed credit report out there, showing your information from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion all in one place. You can see everything a lender could see, identify any issues, and take practical steps to improve your credit health before your next application. Start with a 7-day free trial, then it’s £14.99 per month – cancel online anytime.

Methodology

Using Numbeo, we first totalled up the price of a weekly essentials food shop in 2026 for major towns and cities across the UK. This shop included the following 12 products:

Milk, Bread, Rice, Eggs, Chicken, Apples, Bananas, Oranges, Tomatoes, Potatoes, Onions and Lettuce

We then used the WayBack Machine to find prices for the same products five years prior, in 2021. This allowed us to calculate the percentage change in price for the weekly shop as a whole, and for each individual product, across every city– revealing where in the UK food shop prices had risen the most and the least.

To understand how these price rises interact with household finances, we supplemented our food price data with average income and wage figures sourced from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for both 2021 and 2026. This enabled us to calculate the proportion of weekly income being spent on food essentials in each year, and to measure how that proportion has shifted over the five-year period.

From this, we derived two additional metrics. The annual increase represents the total additional amount households are spending on food essentials per year in 2026 compared to 2021. The income squeeze ratio shows how much faster food costs are rising relative to wages in each city – for example, a ratio of 6 means food costs are rising six times faster than wages.

Finally, we developed a food stress score to provide an overall ranking of the cities most impacted by rising food costs. Each city was assigned a score out of 108 by combining three equally weighted factors: the rate of food price increases between 2021 and 2026, local weekly wage levels in 2026, and the proportion of weekly income spent on food essentials in 2026. Higher wages result in a lower score, reflecting the buffer they provide against rising costs. The higher the overall score, the greater the financial pressure placed on households by rising food costs.