Kensington and Chelsea: what a home costs and what you need to earn

London. House prices are based on 1,121 sales over the last 12 months.

Buying a home

Very expensive

A typical home costs 19.8× median full-time pay

Renting a home

Very expensive

Average rent takes 84% of median pay

Recorded crime

High

145.8 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

£52,576

Gross a year, people living in Kensington and Chelsea

Terraced house price ÷ pay

57.5×

A typical terraced house costs this many years of median pay

Renting a terraced house

103%

of median gross pay goes on rent (£4,500 a month)

What the numbers say about Kensington and Chelsea

Across all property types, the typical home sold in Kensington and Chelsea over the past year cost £1,040,000, which is 19.8× median full-time pay. Measured against pay, Kensington and Chelsea is the most expensive of 316 areas for buying; the typical area is 7.6×. Within London it is the most expensive of 32 areas.

For a terraced house at £3,025,000, a lender would typically look for an income of around £605,000, and the 10% deposit would be £302,500, about 69 months of median gross pay. Median full-time pay here is £52,576, 9% of the income needed, so on these assumptions even two median incomes would fall short of the test.

Renting a terraced house costs about £4,500 a month, which is 103% of median gross pay. Across all property types the average rent is £3,690 a month. Measured against pay, it is the most expensive of 316 areas for renting. Rents rose 2.1% over the latest year ONS measured, slower than the typical area (3.9%).

Median full-time pay of £52,576 is the 6th highest of 316 areas; the typical area is £38,328. This is pay for people who live in Kensington and Chelsea, wherever they work.

Police recorded 145.8 crimes per 1,000 residents in the year, which is 79% above average for England and Wales (81.3). That makes it the 5th highest of 310 areas for recorded crime per resident. The category furthest above average is vehicle offences (3.0 times the average).

Buying

Property type	Sales	Median price	Price ÷ pay	Deposit (10%)	Income typically needed
Terraced	198	£3,025,000	57.5×	£302,500	£605,000
Flat	897	£860,000	16.4×	£86,000	£172,000

Renting

Property type	Average rent a month	Rent a year	Share of median pay
Terraced	£4,500	£54,000	103%
Flat	£3,069	£36,828	70%

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 Kensington and Chelsea, 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 Kensington and Chelsea have changed

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

Show the figures

Year	Average price
1995	£208,671
1996	£224,143
1997	£266,880
1998	£290,354
1999	£336,993
2000	£407,698
2001	£454,578
2002	£498,132
2003	£498,249
2004	£554,184
2005	£562,861
2006	£647,041
2007	£807,903
2008	£849,187
2009	£763,010
2010	£905,971
2011	£983,063
2012	£1,091,782
2013	£1,218,947
2014	£1,394,049
2015	£1,408,869
2016	£1,380,881
2017	£1,454,786
2018	£1,475,628
2019	£1,337,300
2020	£1,428,848
2021	£1,454,001
2022	£1,565,768
2023	£1,476,108
2024	£1,392,971
2025	£1,387,290
12 months to July 2026	£1,327,221

The average home price in Kensington and Chelsea was £1,380,881 in 2016 and £1,327,221 in the 12 months to July 2026, a fall of 4% over ten years. The typical area of England and Wales saw a rise of 36%. That makes Kensington and Chelsea the 3rd slowest-rising of 316 areas for ten-year price growth.

Going back to 2005, the average price has moved from £562,861 to £1,327,221, which is 2.4 times as much (the typical area: 1.8 times).

Prices fell 10% after the 2008 financial crisis, from £849,187 in 2008 to £763,010 in 2009. They did not get back to their 2008 level until 2010.

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 Kensington and Chelsea have changed

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

Show the figures

Year	Average rent
2015	£2,713 a month
2016	£2,887 a month
2017	£2,992 a month
2018	£2,759 a month
2019	£2,759 a month
2020	£2,767 a month
2021	£2,651 a month
2022	£2,763 a month
2023	£3,107 a month
2024	£3,404 a month
2025	£3,633 a month
August 2026	£3,690 a month

The average rent in Kensington and Chelsea was £2,713 a month in 2015 and £3,690 in August 2026, a rise of 36%. The typical area of England and Wales saw a rise of 52%. That makes Kensington and Chelsea the 13th slowest-rising of 316 areas for rent growth since 2015.

Over the same period the average house price rose 6%. Rents have risen faster than house prices here, by 42 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)	145.8	81.3	79% above average	−5%
Violence against the person	31.8	31.0	3% above average	+4%
Sexual offences	4.1	3.4	22% above average	−5%
Robbery	4.2	1.4	211% above average	−9%
Residential burglary (per 1,000 households)	11.4	6.2	86% above average	−17%
Vehicle offences	14.6	4.9	199% above average	−18%
Theft from the person	12.8	1.6	688% above average	−31%
Criminal damage and arson	6.9	7.1	3% below average	−12%

Recorded crime in Kensington and Chelsea was 154.2 per 1,000 residents in the year ending March 2025 and 145.8 in the year ending March 2026, down 5%. Across England and Wales it was down 4%.

Violence against the person was up 4% over the same year.

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.

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.