UK · Reading

Is £28,000 enough to live in Reading?

Rough estimate of what's left after typical rent, bills and commute for a single renter in Reading. For proper planning, plug your own numbers into the full Real Cost Simulator.

Reading has a typical monthly rent of around £1100, with average bills of about £165. Combined with commute costs of roughly £160 per month and a daily commute time of about 60 minutes, Reading tends to be one of the pricier UK cities for single renters. Your take-home pay determines whether you’ll have breathing room or a tight month. Below you’ll find a breakdown showing how far a given salary stretches in Reading, plus an option to test your exact situation in the full Real Cost Simulator.

Comfortable (roughly)

Gross salary

£28,000 / year

Est. take-home

£1,973 / month

Est. leftover

£548 / month

Hour of freedom*

positive

*very rough, based on leftovers vs. working hours

Rough monthly breakdown in Reading

CategoryAmount

Net pay (after tax)

£1,973

Rent

£1,100

Bills & council tax

£165

Commute costs

~60–70 mins/day

£160

Estimated leftover

£548

Try your exact numbers in the Real Cost Simulator:

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