For journalists & researchers
UK Trade Pricing Data
Methodology, findings, and custom data requests for 218,538 priced services across 342 UK cities.
What We Track
How Much? maintains one of the largest publicly available UK service pricing datasets -- 51 trades priced across every UK local authority, refreshed annually.
Key Findings (2026)
Headline numbers from the current dataset. All figures citable -- please attribute "How Much Should It Cost (howmuchshoulditcost.co.uk)".
Methodology
Each trade has a set of national base prices (low / average / high) for common jobs within that trade. Base prices are compiled from industry cost guides including Checkatrade, Heatable, and Boiler Guide, then cross-referenced against at least two additional sources per job. Conflicting figures are reconciled using a weighted average biased toward the most recent and comprehensive datasets.
Local prices are produced by applying a per-city cost multiplier derived from the Office for National Statistics Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). Cities with above-average local wages carry a multiplier above 1.0; cities with below-average wages, below 1.0. This approach reflects the empirical finding that UK service prices track local wages closely. The multiplier is uniform across trades within a city -- it models local cost of living, not trade-specific regional markups.
Multipliers range from 0.766 (Boston) to 1.598 (St Albans). The median UK city sits at a multiplier close to 1.0 by construction.
Limitations: the dataset models average job costs, not quotes for specific properties. Prices should be understood as typical ranges rather than guaranteed figures. For any specific job, homeowners are advised to obtain multiple written quotes from qualified local tradespeople.
Suggested Story Angles
We are happy to produce custom breakdowns on request for any of the below, including region or city-specific cuts of the data.
Cost of living by city
Ranking the UK's most and least expensive cities for the basket of routine services a typical household needs each year.
The North-South divide in 2026
A data-led take on whether the North-South price gap is widening, narrowing, or shifting towards newer regional clusters.
Which trade has the most local variation?
Single biggest price spread across cities, broken down by trade -- useful for consumer reporters covering moving or renovation.
London premium, service by service
Where the London surcharge bites hardest. Some trades price far above the UK average in London -- others barely move.
Affordable renovation hotspots
For home-and-property desks: cities where extension, rewire, and kitchen fit costs are significantly below the UK average.
Press & Data Requests
For custom data cuts, interviews, or attributed quotes on any of the above topics, please get in touch. We can typically turn around city-level or region-level breakdowns within 24 hours.
Working to a tight deadline? Put "DEADLINE" in the subject line and we will prioritise accordingly.