Oxford has been named the most expensive city outside London to rent in according to new research.

Britain’s most and least expensive cities to buy a first home or rent have been revealed through new Rightmove data.

The average advertised rent per month according to the study was £1,561 in Oxford which was only beaten by the £2,264 in London.

Both Cambridge and St Albans proved cheaper with average rents costing £1,533 and £1,509 respectively while Carlisle proved to be the UK’s cheapest at £607.

Oxford also featured in the list of most expensive cities to get on the property ladder according to Rightmove.

This method took the average asking price and the typical monthly mortgage payment, assuming a 35-year mortgage term.

Oxford’s average asking price was £338,085 while the typical monthly mortgage payment was around £1,254.

This ranked fifth on the list, beaten only by London, St Albans, Cambridge and Winchester.

The Rightmove research looked at more than 50 cities across Britain.

It assumed that first-time buyers in Scotland and Wales had a 20 per cent deposit and were taking out a five-year fixed-rate mortgage at average rates.

It also assumed that first-time buyers in England had a slightly higher deposit, at 25 per cent, reflecting industry averages for deposit sizes, and were taking out a five-year mortgage.

Rightmove’s property expert Tim Bannister said: “These latest figures highlight why so many people remain determined to get onto the ladder, as the soaring costs of renting has meant buying has remained attractive even with higher mortgage rates.”