People in the UK have a worse quality of life than many of their European counterparts despite earning more money, according to a study published today.

Familiar bugbears such as longer working hours and the high cost of living contributed to Britain's bottom place in a survey of 10 European countries. Relatively low holiday entitlement was another reason the UK came last in the uSwitch.com European quality of life index.

The UK had the highest net household income – £35,730 a year, £10,000 more than the European average – but most of it was spent on keeping a "roof over our heads, food on the table and our homes warm", the study said.

Researchers compared 17 factors, including net income, taxes, the cost of essential goods, working hours, holiday entitlement and life expectancy. France and Spain topped the list in terms of quality of life.

The UK had the lowest number of holiday days a year and paid the most for diesel and food. Britons have an average annual holiday entitlement of 28 days, while Spaniards get 41 days a year.

The average retirement age of the 10 European countries is 62, but UK workers can expect to carry on six months longer, according to the survey. The UK average is likely to rise in the next couple of decades as both of the main political parties have plans to raise the retirement age.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, said there was "more to good living than money" and that the UK had "lost all sense of balance between wealth and wellbeing".

"We earn substantially more than our European neighbours, but this level of income is needed just to keep a roof over our heads, food on the table and our homes warm," she said. "It's giving us a decent standard of living, but it's not helping us achieve the quality of life that people in other countries enjoy. For too long the focus in the UK has been on standard of living rather than quality of life."

She suggested that the recession "could prove to be a turning point, forcing us to re-evaluate our way of life, get back to basics and to the things that really count". The other seven countries in the study were Denmark, Holland, Germany, Poland, Italy, Sweden and Ireland.