First-ever Greggs index shows what cities Scots must work the longest in order to afford a sausage roll

A new nationwide index has used the amount of time a typical full-time employee has to work in any UK city to afford a Greggs sausage roll to reveal the areas hit hardest by the cost of living crisis.

The Greggs Sausage Roll Index is the first known use of " Sausage Roll-onomics" as a benchmark tool to compare living standards across Great Britain – using the latest hourly pay estimates provided by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

It's been designed to expose the regional inequalities that persist despite the government’s flagship levelling-up agenda.

InvestingReviews.co.uk commissioned senior independent economist John Hawksworth to carry out the study of 100 cities and towns across Great Britain, measuring the amount of time a typical full-time employee has to work to afford the high street snack from the famous bakery, which is typically priced at £1.05.

Scottish cities ranked comfortably on the list, with Dundee the highest placing in 32nd out of the 100 areas.

Scots workers in the city have to work 15 seconds longer (3 mins 47 secs) than those in Stirling (15th) before they can afford to buy one.

Both Glasgow (3 mins 38 secs) and Edinburgh (3 mins 35 secs) placed in the Top 25, reflecting the fact that their median hourly pay rate is slightly above the national average.

Loosely modelled on the famous Big Mac Index published by The Economist to measure purchasing power across different nations, the humble sausage roll is used as its yardstick because it is also a standardised product sold by the same provider on every high street.

Greggs sells approximately 2.5million sausage rolls a week across more than 2,000 shops with takeaway sausage rolls typically priced at £1.05.

Lichfield, Middlesbrough, Nuneaton, Truro and Hereford were named as the worst towns and cities in the UK where people must work for nearly five minutes to afford a Greggs sausage roll.

People in those towns typically had to work around 65% longer than more affluent Londoners to afford their sausage roll.

The fastest earned sausage rolls were mostly in the South East with London (2mins 58secs).

Greggs’ spiritual home of Newcastle-upon-Tyne — where the late John Gregg opened his first shop in 1951 — managed only 30th place in the list of the country’s fastest earned sausage rolls. Geordies had to work an estimated 3mins 46secs to scrape together the necessary funds.

Publication of the index comes just weeks after the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities released its levelling up white paper which outlined the government's plans to target geographic inequalities. Critics have branded it “unambitious” and “lacking detail.”

Meanwhile, Greggs has warned customers they may have to work even harder for their sausage roll in the future, with a raft of price hikes expected later in the year.

Economist John Hawksworth said: “In part the analysis is a bit of fun with the sausage roll standing in for the Big Mac as a standardised product to compare purchasing power across different places. But it does also make the serious point that there are very large variations in income levels across our towns and cities.

“These local earnings gaps are driven by variations in productivity across places that reflect deep-seated disparities in education, opportunity and infrastructure across the country.

“Narrowing these income gaps remains one of the most important economic challenges facing this and future governments.”

InvestingReviews.co.uk CEO Simon Jones added: “Amid all the government’s talk of levelling up, a great divide still exists across Great Britain today with Greggs customers in some parts typically having to work 65% longer than Londoners just to be able to afford a sausage roll.

“As the cost of living squeeze continues to intensify, Brits are going to have to work a lot harder in the future to afford life’s simple pleasures.

“The government is going to have to take urgent action if their flagship policy doesn’t become a millstone around their neck.”

Ranking	Location	Minutes worked per sausage roll
100	Lichfield	04:54
99	Middlesbrough	04:48
98	Nuneaton	04:48
97	Truro	04:48
96	Hereford	04:48
95	Mansfield	04:46
94	Hastings	04:45
93	Canterbury	04:45
92	Doncaster	04:39
91	Chesterfield	04:38
90	Rochdale	04:35
89	Gateshead	04:35
88	Sunderland	04:32
87	Wigan	04:31
86	Durham	04:31
85	Carlisle	04:31
84	Barnsley	04:29
83	Newport	04:29
82	Wolverhampton	04:29
81	Oldham	04:28
80	Rotherham	04:27
79	Lancaster	04:23
78	Southend-On-Sea	04:23
77	Bolton	04:23
76	Wakefield	04:21
75	Gloucester	04:21
74	Blackpool	04:20
73	King's Lynn	04:20
72	Plymouth	04:19
71	Stockport	04:19
70	Stoke-on-Trent	04:17
69	Bradford	04:16
68	Hull	04:16
67	Preston	04:16
66	Chichester	04:15
65	Bournemouth	04:15
64	Nottingham	04:15
63	Stockton on Tees	04:14
62	Ipswich	04:14
61	Leicester	04:13
60	Salford	04:13
59	Taunton	04:13
58	Bath & N E Somerset	04:13
57	Swansea	04:12
56	Blackburn (Darwen)	04:10
55	Hartlepool	04:10
54	Peterborough	04:08
53	Darlington	04:08
52	Sheffield	04:07
51	Colchester	04:05
50	Lincoln	04:05
49	Huntingdon	04:04
48	Worthing	04:03
47	Bedford	04:01
46	Maidstone	03:59
45	Norwich	03:57
44	Worcester	03:57
43	Basildon	03:56
42	Eastbourne	03:56
41	Leeds	03:56
40	Cardiff	03:54
39	Portsmouth	03:53
38	Exeter	03:52
37	Swindon	03:52
36	Cheltenham	03:51
35	Warrington	03:51
34	Warwick	03:48
33	Liverpool	03:47
32	Dundee	03:47
31	Brighton	03:47
30	Newcastle upon Tyne	03:46
29	Birmingham	03:44
28	Manchester	03:44
27	Chelmsford	03:44
26	Watford	03:41
25	Perth & Kinross	03:39
24	Winchester	03:39
23	Glasgow	03:38
22	Aberdeen	03:38
21	York	03:38
20	Southampton	03:36
19	Bristol	03:36
18	Luton	03:36
17	Edinburgh	03:35
16	Milton Keynes	03:32
15	Stirling	03:32
14	Coventry	03:31
13	Reading	03:29
12	Solihull	03:28
11	St Helens	03:27
10	Woking	03:26
9	Basingstoke	03:22
8	Rugby	03:22
7	Stevenage	03:19
6	Cambridge	03:17
5	Derby	03:17
4	Guildford	03:16
3	Slough	03:16
2	Oxford	03:15
1	London	02:58

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