Civometry

Civometry estimate · official averages only · nothing inferred about you

What does it cost to live in Medway?

An estimate assembled from official averages: what households like yours spend according to the ONS survey, scaled to your region, plus your area’s official average rent and Band D council tax. It is a benchmark for a household of your shape, not a prediction of your bills, and every line says where it came from.

Civometry estimate · 1 adult, 0 children, Medway, renting · Medway (South East)

£2,360 a month

£1,270 everyday spending + £900 housing + £190 council tax

Against net household income of £2,393 a month from the 2026/27 tax rules, that leaves £30 a month unallocated. Rounded to £10: the survey averages do not support anything finer.

Line by line

ItemA monthBasis
Food and non-alcoholic drinks£203UK survey average, Non-retired: One person, Year ending March 2025 × 1.163 (South East)
Alcoholic drinks, tobacco and narcotics£43UK survey average, Non-retired: One person, Year ending March 2025 × 1.163 (South East)
Clothing and footwear£53UK survey average, Non-retired: One person, Year ending March 2025 × 1.163 (South East)
Household goods and services£142UK survey average, Non-retired: One person, Year ending March 2025 × 1.163 (South East)
Transport£274UK survey average, Non-retired: One person, Year ending March 2025 × 1.163 (South East)
Communication£75UK survey average, Non-retired: One person, Year ending March 2025 × 1.163 (South East)
Recreation and culture£204UK survey average, Non-retired: One person, Year ending March 2025 × 1.163 (South East)
Restaurants and hotels£137UK survey average, Non-retired: One person, Year ending March 2025 × 1.163 (South East)
Miscellaneous goods and services£141UK survey average, Non-retired: One person, Year ending March 2025 × 1.163 (South East)
Housing£899official average private rent, 1-bedroom, Medway, July 2026 (bedrooms assumed: one per child plus one; type yours above)
Council tax£194Band D, Medway, Year ending March 2027 (MHCLG); your band may differ
Total£2,360

Not in the total: energy, water and home maintenance (the survey folds them into a housing group that also contains rent, so they cannot be separated at this level), mortgage payments unless typed, childcare, and the survey’s “other expenditure items” (holidays, gifts, mortgage capital). The survey suppressed health, education for this group as too small a sample, so they are missing too.

Assumptions and geographic level

Household group
Non-retired: One person: chosen from the number of adults and children typed. Retirement is not inferred from age.
Everyday spending
UK-wide survey averages for that group (Year ending March 2025), because the ONS publishes composition breakdowns only for the UK.
Regional scaling
South East total spending £724 a week ÷ UK £623 a week = 1.163, from the three-year regional table (April 2022 to March 2025 (three-year average)). One ratio for every category: the ONS does not publish category-by-region for this household type.
Housing
Official average rent for Medway from the ONS Price Index of Private Rents, which covers all tenancies and sits below advertised rents for new lets.
Council tax
Band D for the billing authority. Bands A to C pay less; discounts and support are not applied.
Price periods
The lines are published for different periods (survey averages Year ending March 2025; rent July 2026; council tax Year ending March 2027) and are added together without inflation adjustment, so the total mixes price years. The older a line’s period, the more it understates today’s prices.
Income
Net pay from the statutory rules (working); benefits other than Child Benefit are not included.

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