Regional Fuel Affordability
Where fuel takes the biggest bite out of household income. A typical petrol car costs nearly the same in pounds in every region of the UK - what separates the regions is the income behind the pump.
Petrol, most stretched
5.5%
of income - North East
Petrol, least stretched
3.1%
of income - London
Diesel, most stretched
7.5%
of income - North East
UK average, petrol
4.4%
£1,141 a year
Final figures for a closed month. Authored by findpetrol.co.uk Research.
The finding: same pounds, different incomes
A typical petrol car - 6,200 miles a year at 42 miles per gallon, the averages for the UK fleet - burns 671 litres a year. Across the UK that costs about £1,141, or 4.4% of average disposable household income. But the same car costs nearly the same in pounds wherever it is filled: between £1,098 and £1,152 in every region of the country. What separates the regions is not the pump; it is the income behind it.
In the North East, where average disposable income is £20,562 a head, fuel takes 5.5% of income - the largest share in the UK. In London, incomes of £36,487 keep the same running costs to 3.1%. That is a 1.8-to-1 difference in how hard fuel bites, driven almost entirely by income: the two regions' pump prices differ by 1.9p a litre, their incomes by £15,925.
Diesel drivers feel it more: a typical diesel car - 8,300 miles a year at 47 mpg - uses 803 litres, and in the North East the annual bill is £1,547, or 7.5% of income. Northern Ireland, meanwhile, has the UK's cheapest petrol at 163.6p - yet still sits mid-table on affordability, because cheaper pumps do not outrun lower incomes.
Affordability by region - petrol
What a typical petrol car costs in each region, ranked by the share of income fuel takes, most stretched first. Pump prices from this edition's 4 weekly snapshots, set against ONS gross disposable household income per head (2024, provisional).
| Region | Petrol avg (p/l) | Annual spend | Income per head | Share of income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | 169.0p | £1,134 | £20,562 | 5.5% |
| Wales | 169.5p | £1,137 | £21,469 | 5.3% |
| West Midlands | 170.7p | £1,145 | £22,064 | 5.2% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 169.0p | £1,134 | £21,913 | 5.2% |
| North West | 170.0p | £1,141 | £22,523 | 5.1% |
| East Midlands | 170.5p | £1,144 | £22,761 | 5.0% |
| Northern Ireland | 163.6p | £1,098 | £22,258 | 4.9% |
| Scotland | 171.4p | £1,150 | £24,283 | 4.7% |
| South West | 170.7p | £1,145 | £25,924 | 4.4% |
| East of England | 170.7p | £1,145 | £26,795 | 4.3% |
| South East | 171.6p | £1,152 | £29,577 | 3.9% |
| London | 170.9p | £1,147 | £36,487 | 3.1% |
| United Kingdom (average) | 170.1p | £1,141 | £25,965 | 4.4% |
Petrol average in pence per litre. Annual spend is for a typical petrol car: 6,200 miles a year at 42 mpg, 671 litres. Income is ONS gross disposable household income per head, 2024 (provisional). Share of income = annual spend ÷ income.
The pattern is consistent: the Midlands, the North, Wales and Northern Ireland carry the largest shares, the South and East of England the smallest. Pump prices vary by only 8.0p a litre between the most and least expensive regions - incomes vary by £15,925 a head.
Affordability by region - diesel
The same analysis for a typical diesel car. Diesel stretches every region further, because a typical diesel car covers more miles: the same income supports a bill roughly a third larger.
| Region | Diesel avg (p/l) | Annual spend | Income per head | Share of income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | 192.7p | £1,547 | £20,562 | 7.5% |
| Wales | 192.7p | £1,547 | £21,469 | 7.2% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 192.4p | £1,545 | £21,913 | 7.0% |
| West Midlands | 193.5p | £1,553 | £22,064 | 7.0% |
| North West | 192.9p | £1,549 | £22,523 | 6.9% |
| East Midlands | 193.1p | £1,550 | £22,761 | 6.8% |
| Northern Ireland | 186.9p | £1,501 | £22,258 | 6.7% |
| Scotland | 194.4p | £1,561 | £24,283 | 6.4% |
| South West | 193.6p | £1,554 | £25,924 | 6.0% |
| East of England | 193.6p | £1,554 | £26,795 | 5.8% |
| South East | 194.5p | £1,562 | £29,577 | 5.3% |
| London | 194.2p | £1,559 | £36,487 | 4.3% |
| United Kingdom (average) | 193.1p | £1,550 | £25,965 | 6.0% |
Diesel average in pence per litre. Annual spend is for a typical diesel car: 8,300 miles a year at 47 mpg, 803 litres. Income basis as above. The ranking barely changes between fuels - which is the point: affordability is set by income, not by the pump.
Where fuel bites hardest, petrol
Share of disposable household income spent on petrol by a typical petrol car, by region. The dashed bar is the UK average of 4.4%.
Every bar is a similar number of pounds - between £1,098 and £1,152 a year. The chart shows what those pounds weigh against £20,562 of income in the North East against £36,487 in London.
Where the pumps are dearest
Every region our collection covers this edition, cheapest petrol first, with the station count behind each average and the number of weekly snapshots it rests on. Our regional series began in late July 2026; areas with fewer weeks joined the collection during this month, and their averages cover the weeks shown.
| Region | Nation | Weeks | Stations | Petrol (p/l) | Diesel (p/l) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Belfast | Northern Ireland | 4 | 201 | 163.6p | 186.4p |
| East of Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland | 4 | 313 | 163.6p | 187.3p |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | England | 4 | 663 | 169.0p | 192.4p |
| North East England | England | 4 | 307 | 169.0p | 192.7p |
| South Wales | Wales | 4 | 350 | 169.1p | 192.3p |
| South of Scotland | Scotland | 4 | 108 | 169.4p | 192.4p |
| Mid Wales | Wales | 4 | 49 | 169.9p | 194.2p |
| North West England | England | 4 | 841 | 170.0p | 192.9p |
| East Midlands | England | 4 | 588 | 170.5p | 193.1p |
| North East Scotland | Scotland | 4 | 105 | 170.6p | 194.4p |
| West Midlands | England | 4 | 702 | 170.7p | 193.5p |
| South West England | England | 4 | 779 | 170.7p | 193.6p |
| East of England | England | 4 | 752 | 170.7p | 193.6p |
| North Wales | Wales | 4 | 101 | 170.8p | 193.3p |
| Greater London | England | 4 | 518 | 170.9p | 194.2p |
| Central Belt | Scotland | 4 | 420 | 171.4p | 194.0p |
| South East England | England | 4 | 1,062 | 171.6p | 194.5p |
| Highlands and Islands | Scotland | 4 | 142 | 173.6p | 197.1p |
Averages in pence per litre, unweighted across stations: a station is one observation however much fuel it sells. Stations is the weekly average over the weeks shown. Northern Ireland's region figures aggregate its areas station-weighted in the tables above; Scotland and Wales use their nationwide series.
Methodology, in brief
Prices. The mean of this edition's weekly regional snapshots from our own collection, which begins in late July 2026 and covers 18 areas. This edition uses 4 weekly snapshots.
Income. ONS gross disposable household income per head, 2024 (provisional), published 19 August 2026 - the money households have available to spend or save after taxes and benefits. It includes drivers and non-drivers alike, which is why we describe a share of income per head rather than of a driver's budget.
Why not earnings? The newest earnings release - ONS's Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings for April 2026, published 22 October 2026 - is two years fresher, and it corroborates the picture: full-time pay grew in every region, from 4.0% to 8.2%. We use GDHI because an affordability share needs the income households actually have to spend - after tax and benefits, pensions included, everyone counted - not the gross pay of employees only. When GDHI for 2025 is published (expected autumn 2027), the next edition moves to it.
Consumption. A typical petrol car: 6,200 miles a year at 42 mpg (DfT National Travel Survey 2024; Which? combined real-world economy). A typical diesel car: 8,300 miles at 47 mpg. These are stated assumptions - a heavier foot scales every figure proportionally.
What this is not. Not a household expenditure survey: it compares a fixed typical consumption with regional averages. It does not model who drives how far in each region, vehicle mix, or car ownership. Full methodology →
Using this data
These figures are free to use in articles, research and reporting. We ask only that you credit findpetrol.co.uk and link to this report, so readers can see the current figures and the method behind them.
https://www.findpetrol.co.uk/reports/regional-fuel-affordability
Underlying pump price data is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0; income data is Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence). Data enquiries: findpetrol.co.uk/contact.