Cost of living in Jersey, Channel Islands: what things actually cost in 2026

Groceries cost roughly a third more than the cheapest UK supermarkets, full-time nursery runs £80 to £110 a day, petrol is cheaper than the UK and there is no council tax. A working couple in a two-bed flat spends about £4,200 a month; a family of four in a three-bed house about £7,200.

Jersey is expensive. Anyone who tells you the tax saving pays for everything has not rented a two-bed flat in St Helier. That said, some things are cheaper than London (fuel, school fees, no council tax) and the tax saving is real. Here are the figures, with sources. Where a figure relies on asking prices or a small sample, the page says so.

Renting

Statistics Jersey publishes a rental index rather than average rents by type, so the figures below come from asking prices on the main portals in October 2026 and from the Numbeo crowd-sourced survey. Treat them as a range, not a quote.

Statistics Jersey reported advertised rents 2 per cent lower in Q2 2026 than a year earlier, and roughly flat over the previous twelve months, so the market has cooled after the 2022 to 2023 spike. Registered property, which Standard-status arrivals are limited to, is scarcer and tends to cost more for the same size.

Deposits are usually one month's rent, held in the mydeposits Jersey scheme. Leases of a year are standard, and many landlords want to see your registration card and a job offer.

Buying

These are the Q2 2026 mean sale prices from Statistics Jersey's House Price Index. The overall index was 5 per cent higher than a year earlier, and 282 properties sold in the quarter.

Quarterly figures jump about because the sample is small, so look at the trend. Four-bed houses in the sought-after parishes routinely go for £1.5 million to £3 million.

Stamp duty on an £800,000 home is about £17,590. Mortgages are available from Skipton International, Butterfield, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest International and Santander International; in August 2026 Butterfield was quoting 4.99 per cent two-year and 5.60 per cent five-year fixes up to 90 per cent loan to value^†. You will need Licensed or Entitled status, which the lender checks. Conveyancing is by a Jersey advocate, and freehold property passes through the Royal Court on a Friday afternoon.

Bills

There is no council tax, which offsets a good chunk of the higher housing cost. Utilities are single-supplier, so there is no switching to save money.

Groceries

Food is noticeably dearer than mainland UK, partly freight, partly 5 per cent GST on food. The main supermarkets are Waitrose, the Channel Islands Co-op, Marks and Spencer, Iceland, Alliance and Morrisons Daily. Numbeo puts the per-person monthly grocery spend at about £300.

The Central Market and farm honesty boxes are a genuine saving on fruit and veg.

Childcare

The big one for families. The Nursery Education Fund gives up to 30 free hours a week, term time (38 weeks), in the school year your child turns four, at States school nurseries and registered private nurseries. From January 2026 a new scheme pays families of two to three year olds up to about £6,270 a year towards registered childcare, in arrears, with no income or work test.

Before those kick in, full-time private nursery is expensive. The last published survey (late 2023) showed full-day rates of roughly £76 to £103 a day and annual costs of £19,000 to £26,000 per child. Allow for inflation; £80 to £110 a day is a sensible planning figure for 2026^†. Numbeo's crowd-sourced monthly figure is about £2,050.

Registered childcare costs raise your income tax exemption threshold (£8,050, or £20,950 for a pre-school child), but only help if you are on the marginal rate, broadly under about £92,000 of income per parent. Childminders cannot deliver the free hours.

Running a car

The island speed limit is 40 mph. You can live in St Helier without a car. Outside town it is hard.

Eating and going out

Jersey eats well. Expect London prices at the top end and sensible prices at beach cafes. A Sunday roast is £20 to £28, a pint £6 to £7, gym membership £35 to £70 a month. Flights to London from about £50 one way booked ahead, but same-week fares can be £200 plus.

Worked monthly budgets

Couple, both working, 2-bed flat in St Helier or St Clement

On combined earnings of £150,000 that is comfortably affordable with take-home of about £9,500 a month between you, leaving room to save for a deposit.

Family of four, 3-bed house in St Saviour or St Brelade, one child in nursery, one at a States primary

On a single salary of £150,000 take-home is around £9,450 a month, so this is doable but not lavish. Swap the States primary for Victoria College or JCG and add about £970 a month. Buy rather than rent and an £800,000 mortgage at 5 per cent over 25 years is roughly £4,700 a month.

The honest summary

Housing is the cost that matters and it is London-level. Almost everything else sits between the UK average and London. The tax saving for a high earner covers the difference and then some, but do the sums on your own numbers rather than taking anyone's word for it, including this page's. For the rest of the move, from housing status to schools, see our full guide to moving to Jersey, Channel Islands.

Frequently asked questions

^† Figure still being checked against its source before launch.