#16.9%
Newcastle upon Tyne
North East England
Unrounded screen: 6.910571%Updated monthly from official data
Top 10 rental yield cities and areas in England, May 2026
Newcastle upon Tyne leads at 6.9% in a screen of 294 matched areas. Compare current and previous yields, rank movement, rents and house prices below.
The top three at a glance
Only 0.4 percentage points separate the top three. A small change in prices, rents or costs could change the order.
#26.6%
Manchester
North West England
Unrounded screen: 6.559286%#36.5%
Portsmouth
South East England
Unrounded screen: 6.546927%May 2026 ranking: all 294 matched areas
The first 10 are shown. Expand in groups of 10 to explore the full screen, and switch between month, quarter and year yield changes.
| Rank | Movement | Area | Broad gross yield | Yield change | Monthly rent | House price | Previous rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No change | Newcastle upon TyneNorth East England | 6.9%Previous 7.1% | -0.16 pp | £1,204 | £209,071 | 1 |
| 2 | Up 1 | ManchesterNorth West England | 6.6%Previous 6.5% | +0.06 pp | £1,352 | £247,344 | 3 |
| 3 | Down 1 | PortsmouthSouth East England | 6.5%Previous 6.6% | -0.05 pp | £1,366 | £250,377 | 2 |
| 4 | Up 1 | SouthamptonSouth East England | 6.4%Previous 6.4% | -0.03 pp | £1,250 | £234,150 | 5 |
| 5 | Down 1 | BristolSouth West England | 6.4%Previous 6.5% | -0.07 pp | £1,883 | £353,662 | 4 |
| 6 | No change | Tower HamletsGreater London | 6.3%Previous 6.4% | -0.02 pp | £2,419 | £457,504 | 6 |
| 7 | Up 1 | BlackpoolNorth West England | 6.3%Previous 6.2% | +0.09 pp | £704 | £134,732 | 8 |
| 8 | Down 1 | NottinghamEast Midlands | 6.3%Previous 6.3% | -0.04 pp | £1,006 | £192,543 | 7 |
| 9 | Up 1 | LincolnEast Midlands | 6.2%Previous 6.2% | -0.01 pp | £951 | £185,464 | 10 |
| 10 | New to top 10 | Kingston upon HullYorkshire and the Humber | 6.1%Previous 6.1% | -0.01 pp | £690 | £135,051 | 12 |
#1No change
Newcastle upon TyneNorth East England
- Broad gross yield
- 6.9%
- Month change
- -0.16 pp
- Monthly rent
- £1,204
- House price
- £209,071
- Previous yield
- 7.1%
- Previous rank
- 1
#2Up 1
ManchesterNorth West England
- Broad gross yield
- 6.6%
- Month change
- +0.06 pp
- Monthly rent
- £1,352
- House price
- £247,344
- Previous yield
- 6.5%
- Previous rank
- 3
#3Down 1
PortsmouthSouth East England
- Broad gross yield
- 6.5%
- Month change
- -0.05 pp
- Monthly rent
- £1,366
- House price
- £250,377
- Previous yield
- 6.6%
- Previous rank
- 2
#4Up 1
SouthamptonSouth East England
- Broad gross yield
- 6.4%
- Month change
- -0.03 pp
- Monthly rent
- £1,250
- House price
- £234,150
- Previous yield
- 6.4%
- Previous rank
- 5
#5Down 1
BristolSouth West England
- Broad gross yield
- 6.4%
- Month change
- -0.07 pp
- Monthly rent
- £1,883
- House price
- £353,662
- Previous yield
- 6.5%
- Previous rank
- 4
#6No change
Tower HamletsGreater London
- Broad gross yield
- 6.3%
- Month change
- -0.02 pp
- Monthly rent
- £2,419
- House price
- £457,504
- Previous yield
- 6.4%
- Previous rank
- 6
#7Up 1
BlackpoolNorth West England
- Broad gross yield
- 6.3%
- Month change
- +0.09 pp
- Monthly rent
- £704
- House price
- £134,732
- Previous yield
- 6.2%
- Previous rank
- 8
#8Down 1
NottinghamEast Midlands
- Broad gross yield
- 6.3%
- Month change
- -0.04 pp
- Monthly rent
- £1,006
- House price
- £192,543
- Previous yield
- 6.3%
- Previous rank
- 7
#9Up 1
LincolnEast Midlands
- Broad gross yield
- 6.2%
- Month change
- -0.01 pp
- Monthly rent
- £951
- House price
- £185,464
- Previous yield
- 6.2%
- Previous rank
- 10
#10New to top 10
Kingston upon HullYorkshire and the Humber
- Broad gross yield
- 6.1%
- Month change
- -0.01 pp
- Monthly rent
- £690
- House price
- £135,051
- Previous yield
- 6.1%
- Previous rank
- 12
Showing 10 of 294 matched areas.
Methodology and limitations
A comparable broad screen using official area averages. It is not a matched-property yield, profit measure, forecast or investment advice.
Formula
(Average monthly rent × 12 ÷ average house price) × 100. Ranking uses the unrounded result; yields are displayed to one decimal place.
Coverage
294 matched English local-authority-level areas from a configured universe of 295. Areas need both current inputs.
Separate source months
UK HPI April 2026 + ONS private rents May 2026. The rent month sets the short ranking label; the two inputs are never presented as one shared month.
Official sources
UK HPI area-average prices and ONS private-rent area averages describe different property universes. Combining them does not produce a matched-property yield.
What this screen leaves out
Gross yield excludes voids, maintenance, management, insurance, compliance, service charges, finance and tax. High yield alone does not make an area or property a good investment.
Excluded areas
- City of London: No current rent estimate.
Check a real property, costs and local context
Use the ranking as an area-level starting point, then test a specific deal and its operating costs.
Rental-yield ranking FAQ
What is gross rental yield?
Gross rental yield compares annual rent with a property price before operating costs, finance and tax. It is calculated as annual rent divided by the property price, multiplied by 100.
Which English city or area currently has the highest gross rental yield?
Newcastle upon Tyne ranks first in the May 2026 screen at 6.9%. This is a broad local-authority-level average, not a yield for a specific property.
Does the highest gross yield mean the best buy-to-let investment?
No. Gross yield does not account for voids, repairs, management, compliance, finance, tax, property condition, tenant demand or resale risk. A higher area average is a research signal, not an investment recommendation.
Why do rental-yield rankings change?
The order can change when official average rents or house prices are revised or move at different rates. Close rankings can switch even when the displayed one-decimal yields look similar.
How often is this page updated?
The ranking refreshes when the monthly UK House Price Index and ONS private-rent inputs have both passed validation. The page always shows the separate source months used.
What changed this month
Deterministic commentary generated from the hpi-2026-04_rents-2026-05 snapshot.
Newcastle upon Tyne stays top at 6.9%.
Kingston upon Hull is the biggest riser in the current top 10, up 2 places.
Portsmouth is the biggest faller in the current top 10, down 1 place.
Kingston upon Hull is new to the top 10.
Salford has dropped out of the top 10.
Blackpool and Nottingham are separated by only 0.0005 percentage points on the unrounded data.
Newcastle upon Tyne's broad gross yield is down 0.16 percentage points from the previous snapshot.
Only 0.4 percentage points separate the top three.