Cheapest Places to Live in Nottingham

Cheapest Places To Live In Nottingham

Nottingham is a vibrant city situated in the East Midlands, it’s becoming an increasingly popular location for business professionals and families to move in particular. It’s not surprising, the area has a fantastic history which is evident throughout, a vibrant culture and several areas for natural beauty. You can find out everything you need to know about Nottingham as an area on our page.

In terms of whether it’s a cheap place to live, the average house price in Nottingham sits at £230,000 currently, but obviously this sways quite heavily depending upon the specific area within the city that you’re looking at with some areas being more expensive than others.

If you’re interested in moving to the area, or researching which may be the cheapest areas to move, it’s important to do your research and find the best area for your budget – but don’t worry, we’ve collated all that research for you in this comprehensive article.

Is Nottingham a Cheap Place To Live?

When looking at the city of Nottingham in general, as it’s considered a major city, it’s only fair to compare it to like-for-like cities, and if that’s the case then it’s a very affordable place to live.

Affordability can be pretty subjective though, because it depends where you currently live and view as affordable. The closest cities in terms of affordability that we could compare would be Leeds & Sheffield which are similar in lifestyle and costs of living.

When you look at housing in particular, the costs are much lower than cities like London, Manchester and Birmingham – and the rental costs are generally considered quite low. Food is relatively similar to all other major cities, but transport and utilities are also considered on the cheaper side. 

10 Cheapest Places To Live In Nottingham

We’ve touched previously on some of the more expensive places to live in the Nottingham area, like Wollaton & West Bridgford, these significantly rage the average house price of the area bringing it towards that £230,000 figure we mentioned before.

But what about the areas on the lower end of that? If you’re a first time buyer, or just looking for a cheaper area to live within the city, what sort of price do the properties start at in Nottingham?

We’ve picked out the budget places in Nottingham and provided you with an idea based on their average sold house price on large portals like Rightmove & Zoopla of the top 10 cheapest places to live in Nottingham.

1.      Radford

The area of Radford comes first in our list, with an average house price of £112,900 according to Rightmove – making it less than half the average across the city! It’s located quite close to the city centre, and is known for having a mix of mostly terrace houses and modern apartments, which is one of the reasons it’s generally quite cheap overall.

The positives of the area are mainly it’s location, transport links, diversity, and green spaces including the Radford Park. It does however, as you would expect being the cheapest in our list have a few negatives which are mainly the limited amenities, crime rate and noise pollution.

2.      Hockley

Known for it’s “bohemian” atmosphere it’s a popular area for students and young professionals, and makes it to second in our list with Rightmove putting the average house price at £122,125. It offers an eclectic mix of bars, culture and restaurants – it’s a trendy neighbourhood.

This can also be it’s downfall in ways though, although it’s generally safe you need to remain vigilant at night in particular and it can be quite a busy and crowded area which you need to be prepared for.

3.      Hyson Green

There are a variety of different cultures and it has the largest ethnic minority population in the whole city – it’s also seen recent development and investment in the area. The area sits third in our list with an average house price of £138,041 again according to Rightmove.

Although the majority do feel like this is generally a friendly and enjoyable place within walking distance to a lot of amenities and close to the university, it does also have a reputation of being a particularly area of high burglary rates.

4.      Lace Market

You may be surprised to see Lace Market on the list, it’s a vibrant area and thrives for shops, restaurants, cultural attractions, nightlife and more. However, the average house price here is £142,472, again according to Rightmove and it’s primarily because of it being such a built up area, majority of the properties are small apartments which lowers the average considerably.

If you’re looking for a first property or are happy with a smaller apartment lifestyle then this can be the perfect choice for you if you’re wanting to live in a good place at an affordable cost.

5.      Sneinton

If you’re looking for a place close to the city but are on a limited budget, this could be a good option for you. Sneinton has an average house price of £151,944 on Rightmove, it’s got a lot of terrace properties and good bus links, whilst also being close to Colwick Country Park.

It has a bad reputation in the past years but it is an improving area, in terms of the overall behaviour it’s somewhat middle of the line in terms of areas in Nottingham. It gets a worse reputation than it deserves and has some really great amenities and has developed a lot in recent years, it’s also got a pretty nice market!

6.      Forest Fields

This is a small inner city area in Nottingham which is situated north of the city centre and just past the Forest Recreation Ground. It sits sixth in our list with an average house price of £158,028 based on Zoopla statistics. It’s a very diverse community with significant black and South Asian communicates and is considered to be part of the wider Radford – which was earlier in the list.

It’s a bit more of a family orientated area with a huge park and good facilities, including easy access to the network but can be a bit on the rougher side, although trouble is avoidable. It’s quieter than average but it does vary street by street.

7.      Bulwell

Located in the northern part of Nottingham is Bulwell, with an average house price according to Zoopla of £160,966. The area has undergone a lot of modern regeneration and has improved significantly in term of local infrastructure and amenities in particular.

While Bulwell has many positive aspects, like any area, it also faces challenges. There are issues with low income and unemployment as well as a higher than general Nottingham crime rate.

8.      Carrington

A small and primarily residential area which just sits not of the city centre, it’s well known for it’s Victorian architecture in particular and sits between Sherwood and Forest Fields. The average house price in the area currently sits at £168,500 according to Zoopla.

It benefits from a range of local shops, cafes and restaurants and is quieter than most of the surrounding areas, it’s also extremely well connected to the city centre as well as other parts of the city and isn’t far from green space such as the Arboretum. If you are interested in this area, you might be interested in some of the negative aspects, one of the big ones is simply parking issues, being Victorian the streets aren’t build for modern car ownership and it can be difficult, as well as having heavy traffic. Another issue can simply be again, the houses are old, which can mean they are more expensive to upkeep and renovate. 

9.      Bestwood

This area has a rich history tied to coal mining but has evolved to a diverse residential area, it has a more rural like feel than a lot of the locations in this list and is known to mostly have semi-detached and terrace homes. The area itself according to Rightmove has an average house price of £180,744 making it place 9^th in our list.

Some of the positive aspects of Bestwood include it’s access to green spaces with the large Country Park, the affordable housing, strong community, heritage and proximity to the city centre. There are of course a couple of cons, which are primarily an aging infrastructure, isolated transport in some areas, higher crime rates than most of Nottingham’s suburbs & some of the areas face socio-economic challenges.

10.      Basford

Located around 3 years Northwest of the city centre Basford has an industrial heritage but has a mix of new and old developments – and the house price makes it the 10^th place in our list with an average of £182,179 on Rightmove.

It’s an attractive area for residents with a mix of old and new, urban and suburban charm. The positives of living in the area are the fantastic transport links, rich history, green spaces & closest to the city centre. However just like a few others in the list the crime rate is high, it has areas of deprivation and the schools have varying levels of performance.

Our Pick of The Most Affordable, But Nice, Area To Live In Nottingham

There are several great affordable areas within the city of Nottingham, because as a whole it’s a lovely place to live, but if we had to pick one of the places in the list, we would personally suggest Bestwood.

The more rural like feel gives it a great sense of community that you usually find in villages, despite it being quite a large area. It also has several modern developments which gives it a wide range of different housing type options and despite the challenges it faces which we mentioned earlier it still remains a vibrant and diverse community within Nottingham. It’s an extremely popular choice mostly for first time buyers or families and you still get good access to the city centre.

Most Affordable Places In Nottingham For First Time Buyers

For first time buyers, affordability is usually the number one option when it comes to getting onto the property ladder, it’s the key consideration.

Bulwell – As you have seen in our list of cheap places, the average price here is pretty good, however it’s actually the housing options that make it a particularly attractive place to buy. If you a busy area, it also has a town centre with several shops, supermarkets and even a market.

Basford – It’s a nice area considering the cost of the housing, and one of the reasons it can be seen as a really attractive option is it’s well connected public transport links with trams and bus routes.

Sneinton – Another area that is close to the city centre but also popular in it’s own right for the local shops, markets, food and arts events. It’s a good practical and affordable option for first time buyers.

Netherfield – You might be surprised to see this one, as it wasn’t in our list of cheapest areas above. That’s mainly because it has a mix of different properties with some at the higher end which brings the average up, but it’s a excellent choice for the budget-conscious.

How Much Money Do You Need To Live Comfortably in Nottingham?

Generally the city of Nottingham is known as an affordable city to live in, which we’ve touched on and you might find evident based upon the areas we’ve picked out and their average house prices. It’s hard to determine how much you need to live comfortably in the area without knowing the full details, but let’s choose Sneinton to use as an example as it’s right in the middle of our average house price list.

If you bought a property at £151,944 and put down a 10% deposit with the current 5% mortgage rate you would be looking at paying £799.43 per month over a 24 year period.

This bit will differ depending on the size of the property and how many people living there, however if you look at the rough cost of living in Nottingham it would be around £200 a month for utilities, £250 a month for council tax and other bills, then say £200-£350 for food – let’s total that at £750.

That would mean your total expenses are £1,549.43, so to live comfortably we would estimate a required salary of around £30,000 which is a take home of £2,093.30 a month – leaving an additional £543.87 extra.

Looking To Sell Your House Fast & Move To Nottingham?

Are you looking to move to Nottingham? It’s a fantastic city with a great lifestyle and affordable housing – we don’t blame you! If you’re interested in selling your house quickly and flocking to the city, that’s something we can definitely help with.

We offer a quick sale property solution if you have a property anywhere in England or Wales. In just 7 days we can buy your house for cash & getting an offer is completely free, and no obligation.