Pay vs Place

East Suffolk: what a home costs and what you need to earn

East of England. House prices are based on 3,131 sales over the last 12 months.

Buying a home
Fairly affordable
A typical home costs 7.7× median full-time pay
Renting a home
Fairly affordable
Average rent takes 27% of median pay
Recorded crime
Low
49.4 per 1,000 residents (England and Wales: 81.3)

How we rate: buying compares the typical home price with median pay (under 5× affordable, 5 to 8× fairly affordable, 8 to 11× expensive, over 11× very expensive). Renting compares a year of average rent with median pay (under 25% affordable, 25 to 33% fairly affordable, 33 to 40% expensive, over 40% very expensive). Crime compares the rate per resident with the England and Wales average.

Median full-time pay
£36,793
Gross a year, people living in East Suffolk
Terraced house price ÷ pay
5.6×
A typical terraced house costs this many years of median pay
Renting a terraced house
28%
of median gross pay goes on rent (£844 a month)

What the numbers say about East Suffolk

Across all property types, the typical home sold in East Suffolk over the past year cost £285,000, which is 7.7× median full-time pay. Measured against pay, East Suffolk is around the middle of 316 areas (155th most expensive) for buying; the typical area is 7.6×. Within the East of England it is the 12th least expensive of 45 areas.

For a terraced house at £207,750, a lender would typically look for an income of around £41,500, and the 10% deposit would be £21,000, about 7 months of median gross pay. Median full-time pay here is £36,793, 89% of the income needed, so on these assumptions it takes two median incomes, or one well above the median, to meet the test.

Renting a terraced house costs about £844 a month, which is 28% of median gross pay. Across all property types the average rent is £842 a month. Measured against pay, it is the 77th least expensive of 316 areas for renting. Rents rose 5.1% over the latest year ONS measured, faster than the typical area (3.9%). Buying is relatively harder here than renting: the area ranks much higher for house prices against pay than for rents against pay.

Median full-time pay of £36,793 is the 110th lowest of 316 areas; the typical area is £38,328. This is pay for people who live in East Suffolk, wherever they work.

Police recorded 49.4 crimes per 1,000 residents in the year, which is 39% below average for England and Wales (81.3). That makes it the 41st lowest of 310 areas for recorded crime per resident. The category furthest below average is vehicle offences (56% below).

Buying

Property type Sales Median price Price ÷ pay Deposit (10%) Income typically needed
Detached 1,274 £386,000 10.5× £38,500 £77,000
Semi-detached 858 £266,500 7.2× £26,500 £53,500
Terraced 804 £207,750 5.6× £21,000 £41,500
Flat 195 £160,000 4.3× £16,000 £32,000

Renting

Property type Average rent a month Rent a year Share of median pay
Detached £1,121 £13,452 37%
Semi-detached £920 £11,040 30%
Terraced £844 £10,128 28%
Flat £651 £7,812 21%
Income needed is illustrative: it assumes a 10% deposit and a lender willing to lend 4.5 times income. Real lending depends on your circumstances. Pay is the median for full-time employees living in East Suffolk, before tax, and rents are the ONS average for the area. Property types with fewer than 100 sales in the last 12 months are left out.

How prices in East Suffolk have changed

Average house price for all property types, by year. The last point is the latest 12 months.

Average house price in East Suffolk, 1995 to July 2026Average price rose from £50,711 in 1995 to £281,317 now.£0£100k£200k£300k1995200020052010201520202025£281,317Average house price in East Suffolk, 1995 to July 2026Average price rose from £50,711 in 1995 to £281,317 now.£0£100k£200k£300k200020102020£281,317
Show the figures
YearAverage price
1995£50,711
1996£50,107
1997£54,122
1998£57,792
1999£62,790
2000£73,106
2001£86,046
2002£103,426
2003£125,646
2004£146,661
2005£155,801
2006£161,524
2007£179,447
2008£176,708
2009£160,561
2010£174,178
2011£171,539
2012£172,412
2013£175,723
2014£186,989
2015£200,109
2016£212,798
2017£227,356
2018£236,449
2019£237,798
2020£245,396
2021£261,658
2022£291,198
2023£290,594
2024£286,125
2025£281,145
12 months to July 2026£281,317

The average home price in East Suffolk was £212,798 in 2016 and £281,317 in the 12 months to July 2026, a rise of 32% over ten years. The typical area of England and Wales saw a rise of 36%. That makes East Suffolk around the middle of 316 areas (190th fastest-rising) for ten-year price growth.

Going back to 2005, the average price has moved from £155,801 to £281,317, a rise of 81% (the typical area: a rise of 84%).

Prices fell 11% after the 2008 financial crisis, from £179,447 in 2007 to £160,561 in 2009. They did not get back to their 2007 level until 2014.

Prices are cash figures, not adjusted for inflation, and come from the HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, which uses a different method from the median prices above, so the two will not match exactly.

How rents in East Suffolk have changed

Average monthly rent for all property types, by year. The last point is the latest month.

Average monthly rent in East Suffolk, 2015 to August 2026Average rent rose from £547 a month in 2015 to £842 now.£0£250£500£750£1,000201620182020202220242026£842Average monthly rent in East Suffolk, 2015 to August 2026Average rent rose from £547 a month in 2015 to £842 now.£0£250£500£750£1,000201520202025£842
Show the figures
YearAverage rent
2015£547 a month
2016£563 a month
2017£573 a month
2018£584 a month
2019£589 a month
2020£599 a month
2021£614 a month
2022£648 a month
2023£679 a month
2024£740 a month
2025£800 a month
August 2026£842 a month

The average rent in East Suffolk was £547 a month in 2015 and £842 in August 2026, a rise of 54%. The typical area of England and Wales saw a rise of 52%. That makes East Suffolk around the middle of 316 areas (140th fastest-rising) for rent growth since 2015.

Over the same period the average house price rose 41%. Rents have risen faster than house prices here, by 13 percentage points.

Rent figures are from the ONS Price Index of Private Rents and are cash figures, not adjusted for inflation.

Crime

Police recorded crime in the year ending March 2026, per 1,000 residents, against the average for the areas of England and Wales covered here.

Type of crime Per 1,000 residents England and Wales average Compared with average Change on a year earlier
All recorded crime (excluding fraud) 49.4 81.3 39% below average −4%
Violence against the person 20.4 31.0 34% below average −2%
Sexual offences 3.2 3.4 5% below average +2%
Robbery 0.2 1.4 85% below average –
Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) 3.7 6.2 40% below average +2%
Vehicle offences 2.1 4.9 56% below average +5%
Theft from the person 0.3 1.6 83% below average –
Criminal damage and arson 5.8 7.1 17% below average −6%

Recorded crime in East Suffolk was 51.5 per 1,000 residents in the year ending March 2025 and 49.4 in the year ending March 2026, down 4%. Across England and Wales it was down 4%.

Changes are left blank where the rate is very low, as a few extra crimes would look like a big swing. This is one year's change only, so it can reflect one-off events or changes in how police record crime, not just a real trend. Rates per resident use ONS population estimates for each year.

East Suffolk is made up of several police partnership areas, and the figures above combine them. Their total recorded crime per 1,000 residents: Suffolk Coastal 38.3, Waveney 61.9.

Rates use the resident population, so areas with many daytime visitors, students or a busy night-time economy, such as city centres, show higher crime per resident than residents experience. Recorded crime also depends on how likely crimes are to be reported and how police record them. Residential burglary is per 1,000 households. Robbery and theft from the person are concentrated in a few city centres, so most areas sit well below the national average for them.

Compare East Suffolk with another area