Doncaster people need to work 75 hours to afford new iPhone 18 Pro

The latest iPhone might be one of the most sought-after smartphones, but how affordable is it for the average UK worker?

With wages varying significantly across the country, someone in one city could have to work considerably longer than someone elsewhere to afford exactly the same handset.

A new study has revealed how many hours workers across 63 UK cities and towns would need to work to afford the iPhone 18 Pro, with some needing to work more than three additional days compared with those in the highest-paying cities.

Doncaster has been named as one of the UK cities where people need to work the most hours to afford it.

The city was ranked 8th in the UK, with workers on average earnings of £15.90 having to work 75.4 hours to afford the handset.

The new study by CSGOGEM compared the price of the new iPhone 18 Pro against average weekly earnings across 63 UK cities and towns to uncover where workers would need to work the most hours to afford the latest Apple handset.

Using wage data from Centre for Cities' 2026 dataset, the research calculated the number of working hours required to purchase an iPhone 18 Pro, based on a handset price of £1,199.

Workers in Southend face the longest wait to afford the new iPhone 18 Pro, needing to work an estimated 79.1 hours, equivalent to almost ten eight-hour working days. With average weekly earnings of £606.13, workers in the Essex seaside city face the least favourable wage-to-iPhone-price ratio of all 63 locations analysed.

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Burnley ranked second, with workers needing to work 77.8 hours to afford the handset, based on average weekly earnings of £616.63.

Sunderland followed in third place, with workers needing to work 77.4 hours, while earning an average of £619.90 per week.

Huddersfield and Exeter completed the top five, with workers needing to work 76.4 and 76.3 hours respectively.

At the opposite end of the rankings, London workers can afford the iPhone 18 Pro in the fewest working hours, needing an estimated 47 hours, based on average weekly earnings of £1,022.14.

Cambridge ranked second, with workers needing to work 51.8 hours, based on average weekly earnings of £924.50.

Reading followed closely behind, with workers needing to work 52.3 hours, while Slough ranked fourth at 54.9 hours.