the salary you need to earn to rent alone in london in 2026 — and it's bleak

Renting alone is nothing but a fever dream (Picture: Getty Images)

Living in a flat alone in the big city is one of the requirements of our most beloved movie characters.

Just look at our beloved Bridget Jones,who lived in her one-bed Borough Market flat (which would now cost more than £2,000 per month to rent),or Carrie Bradshaw in her iconic Upper East Side apartment.

But the concept of renting alone in 2026 feels like as much of a work of fiction,as our favourite films and TV shows.

With ever-increasing rental prices,the salary you need to earn to live alone is pretty astronomical.

The Economist recently crunched the numbers in their aptly named annual ‘Carrie Bradshaw Index’,which assesses how easy it is to do so in European cities.

Londoners,strap in for a rather nasty reality check…

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So,if living alone feels unachievable,just know that you certainly aren’t alone.

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