Pay vs Place

Sheffield: what a home costs and what you need to earn

Yorkshire and The Humber. House prices are based on 5,070 sales over the last 12 months.

Buying a home
Fairly affordable
A typical home costs 5.7× median full-time pay
Renting a home
Fairly affordable
Average rent takes 29% of median pay
Recorded crime
Above average
96.9 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
£37,885
Gross a year, people living in Sheffield
Terraced house price ÷ pay
5.1×
A typical terraced house costs this many years of median pay
Renting a terraced house
29%
of median gross pay goes on rent (£923 a month)

What the numbers say about Sheffield

Across all property types, the typical home sold in Sheffield over the past year cost £215,000, which is 5.7× median full-time pay. Measured against pay, Sheffield is the 48th least expensive of 316 areas for buying; the typical area is 7.6×. Within the Yorkshire and The Humber it is around the middle of 15 areas (7th most expensive).

For a terraced house at £193,000, a lender would typically look for an income of around £38,500, and the 10% deposit would be £19,500, about 6 months of median gross pay. Median full-time pay here is £37,885, 98% 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 £923 a month, which is 29% of median gross pay. Across all property types the average rent is £931 a month. Measured against pay, it is the 114th least expensive of 316 areas for renting. Rents rose 4.3% over the latest year ONS measured, in line with the typical area (3.9%). Renting is relatively harder here than buying: the area ranks much higher for rents against pay than for house prices against pay.

Median full-time pay of £37,885 is around the middle of 316 areas (171st highest); the typical area is £38,328. This is pay for people who live in Sheffield, wherever they work.

Police recorded 96.9 crimes per 1,000 residents in the year, which is 19% above average for England and Wales (81.3). That makes it the 55th highest of 310 areas for recorded crime per resident. The category furthest above average is residential burglary (67% above).

Buying

Property type Sales Median price Price ÷ pay Deposit (10%) Income typically needed
Detached 769 £385,000 10.2× £38,500 £77,000
Semi-detached 1,942 £223,500 5.9× £22,500 £44,500
Terraced 1,646 £193,000 5.1× £19,500 £38,500
Flat 713 £144,000 3.8× £14,500 £29,000

Renting

Property type Average rent a month Rent a year Share of median pay
Detached £1,233 £14,796 39%
Semi-detached £990 £11,880 31%
Terraced £923 £11,076 29%
Flat £774 £9,288 25%
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 Sheffield, 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 Sheffield have changed

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

Average house price in Sheffield, 1995 to July 2026Average price rose from £39,773 in 1995 to £219,222 now.£0£100k£200k£300k1995200020052010201520202025£219,222Average house price in Sheffield, 1995 to July 2026Average price rose from £39,773 in 1995 to £219,222 now.£0£100k£200k£300k200020102020£219,222
Show the figures
YearAverage price
1995£39,773
1996£40,030
1997£42,134
1998£44,022
1999£45,961
2000£50,261
2001£54,803
2002£64,562
2003£80,959
2004£103,812
2005£116,228
2006£126,774
2007£136,882
2008£132,547
2009£120,397
2010£124,358
2011£119,785
2012£122,090
2013£123,216
2014£131,209
2015£138,052
2016£143,450
2017£149,388
2018£157,376
2019£160,959
2020£165,564
2021£182,519
2022£200,908
2023£207,310
2024£210,264
2025£216,033
12 months to July 2026£219,222

The average home price in Sheffield was £143,450 in 2016 and £219,222 in the 12 months to July 2026, a rise of 53% over ten years. The typical area of England and Wales saw a rise of 36%. That makes Sheffield the 61st fastest-rising of 316 areas for ten-year price growth.

Going back to 2005, the average price has moved from £116,228 to £219,222, a rise of 89% (the typical area: a rise of 84%).

Prices fell 12% after the 2008 financial crisis, from £136,882 in 2007 to £119,785 in 2011. They did not get back to their 2007 level until 2015.

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.

Buying a home against local pay, over time

Average house price divided by median full-time pay, in 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2025. A higher number means homes are harder to afford.

Sheffield: 5.7 years of payTypical area in England and Wales: 7.5 years of pay
Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Sheffield, 2005 to 2025Rose from 5.4 to 5.7 years of pay.0×2×4×6×8×20052010201520202025Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Sheffield, 2005 to 2025Rose from 5.4 to 5.7 years of pay.0×2×4×6×8×20052010201520202025
Show the figures
YearSheffieldTypical area in England and Wales
20055.4 years of pay7.0 years of pay
20105.1 years of pay6.5 years of pay
20155.5 years of pay7.1 years of pay
20205.8 years of pay7.8 years of pay
20255.7 years of pay7.5 years of pay

In 2005 the average home in Sheffield cost 5.4 years of median full-time pay. By 2025 it cost 5.7 years, so homes have become harder to afford relative to local pay.

Between 2005 and 2025, median pay in Sheffield rose 75% (from £21,668 to £37,885), while the average house price rose 86%.

The typical area of England and Wales needed 7.5 years of pay in 2025, so Sheffield is below the typical area.

Pay is the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, median for full-time employees living in the area, before tax, in cash terms (not adjusted for inflation). The 2025 figure is provisional. Where ONS withheld a figure because it was unreliable, or the council did not exist in its current form, that year is left out.

How rents in Sheffield have changed

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

Average monthly rent in Sheffield, 2015 to August 2026Average rent rose from £615 a month in 2015 to £931 now.£0£250£500£750£1,000201620182020202220242026£931Average monthly rent in Sheffield, 2015 to August 2026Average rent rose from £615 a month in 2015 to £931 now.£0£250£500£750£1,000201520202025£931
Show the figures
YearAverage rent
2015£615 a month
2016£625 a month
2017£639 a month
2018£652 a month
2019£663 a month
2020£676 a month
2021£688 a month
2022£722 a month
2023£775 a month
2024£848 a month
2025£892 a month
August 2026£931 a month

The average rent in Sheffield was £615 a month in 2015 and £931 in August 2026, a rise of 51%. The typical area of England and Wales saw a rise of 52%. That makes Sheffield around the middle of 316 areas (161st fastest-rising) for rent growth since 2015.

Over the same period the average house price rose 59%. House prices have risen faster than rents here, by 7 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) 96.9 81.3 19% above average −7%
Violence against the person 34.4 31.0 11% above average +0%
Sexual offences 3.5 3.4 5% above average +2%
Robbery 1.6 1.4 15% above average +19%
Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) 10.3 6.2 67% above average −28%
Vehicle offences 7.1 4.9 46% above average −12%
Theft from the person 1.0 1.6 40% below average –
Criminal damage and arson 9.3 7.1 31% above average −3%

Recorded crime in Sheffield was 103.9 per 1,000 residents in the year ending March 2025 and 96.9 in the year ending March 2026, down 7%. Across England and Wales it was down 4%.

Violence against the person was little changed 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.

Compare Sheffield with another area