Households in Brighton and Hove have some of the highest levels of disposable income in the country.

According to new research, city households had an average £17,332 after bills to spend or save in 2012 – the second highest in the UK behind oil-rich Aberdeen.

Low interest rates are thought to be the reason with disposable income set to take a severe blow if rates were to rise for the first time in six years, according to Brighton accountants UHY Hacker Young.

Meanwhile, business leaders warned the surplus was undermined by a lack of well-paid jobs.

Richard Simmons, partner at UHY Hacker Young, says: “The cut in interest rates meant that households in Brighton experienced a sudden drop in their mortgage payments, leaving them with a lot of spare cash.

“However, stagnating wages and high unemployment means that people’s increase in surplus cash has not been so visible.

“Increases to interest rates could hit Brighton households hard. If families are feeling the pinch now, they will struggle if mortgage costs go up.”

Tony Mernagh, executive director of the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, said: “Some Brighton residents undoubtedly do have more disposable income than the UK average.

“Too many of them, however, have considerably less disposable time to spend it because they have to leave the city and head north to find higher paying jobs. The shortage of well paid jobs in the city is an issue which the economic strategy seeks to address.

“It is reflected in spending to the extent that the usual victims of recession and austerity, such as retail and hospitality, have survived unlike very many other locations in the UK.

He added: “Now we have to cement the recovery, currently built on consumer spending, with increases in business investment and net exports. Then we can all breathe a sigh of relief.”

Geoffrey Bowden, chair of the economic development and culture committee at Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “Any rises in interest rates could reduce the disposable income of many households in the city.

“By supporting private sector jobs growth the council can help create the conditions which make the city resilient to interest rate rises.”