Pay vs Place

Barnet vs Harrow: buying or renting a home

A typical terraced house costs £55,000 (10%) more in Barnet than in Harrow. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in Barnet: it takes 13.4× median annual pay, against 12.7× in Harrow.

Barnet, terraced
£630,000
Income typically needed: £126,000
Median full-time pay: £47,141
Harrow, terraced
£575,000
Income typically needed: £115,000
Median full-time pay: £45,232

At a glance

Barnet Harrow
Buying a home Very expensive Very expensive
Renting a home Very expensive Very expensive
Recorded crime About average Low

Buying rates the typical price of all homes against median pay; renting rates a year of average rent against median pay; crime rates recorded crime per resident against the England and Wales average.

What the numbers say

Median full-time pay in Harrow (£45,232) is 4% lower than in Barnet (£47,141), while a typical terraced house costs 9% less (£575,000 against £630,000). Set against local pay, Harrow is the easier of the two for a typical earner to buy in.

Buying a terraced house takes 13.4× annual pay in Barnet and 12.7× in Harrow. Renting one takes 57% of pay in Barnet and 53% in Harrow. Renting is harder in Barnet; buying is about the same.

Across all property types and measured against pay, Barnet is the 13th most expensive of 316 areas to buy in, and Harrow is the 15th most expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Barnet is the 27th most expensive of 316 areas and Harrow is the 36th most expensive of 316 areas.

Someone on £40,000 in Barnet would need about £36,500 in Harrow to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £36,000 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Harrow would leave you better placed to buy. These figures compare housing costs only; they ignore other living costs and the pay you could earn in a new job.

Police recorded 67.8 crimes per 1,000 residents in Barnet and 59.5 in Harrow, so recorded crime per resident is 12% lower in Harrow. The biggest difference is in vehicle offences: 8.4 per 1,000 in Barnet against 6.3 in Harrow.

Can a typical earner buy?

Terraced house Barnet Harrow
Median full-time pay £47,141 £45,232
House price ÷ pay 13.4× 12.7×
Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy 37% 39%
Rent a year as a share of median pay 57% 53%

Buying, by property type

Type Barnet Harrow Difference
Detached £1,196,250 £1,000,000 -16% in Harrow
Semi-detached £805,000 £637,500 -21% in Harrow
Terraced £630,000 £575,000 -9% in Harrow
Flat £380,000 £330,000 -13% in Harrow

Renting, by property type

Type (average rent a month) Barnet Harrow Difference
Detached £3,018 £2,756 -9% in Harrow
Semi-detached £2,572 £2,247 -13% in Harrow
Terraced £2,231 £2,013 -10% in Harrow
Flat £1,738 £1,615 -7% in Harrow

Crime

Police recorded 67.8 crimes per 1,000 residents in Barnet and 59.5 in Harrow, so recorded crime per resident is 12% lower in Harrow.

Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents Barnet Harrow Difference
All recorded crime (excluding fraud) 67.8 59.5 -12% in Harrow
Violence against the person 19.4 18.8 -3% in Harrow
Sexual offences 2.0 1.7 -14% in Harrow
Robbery 1.9 2.1 +6% in Harrow
Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) 11.0 10.8 -1% in Harrow
Vehicle offences 8.4 6.3 -25% in Harrow
Theft from the person 2.2 3.5 +62% in Harrow
Criminal damage and arson 4.4 3.7 -16% in Harrow

Rates use resident population, so city centres and student areas show higher crime per resident than residents experience. Recorded crime also depends on reporting and police recording practice.

How prices have changed in each area

Average house price for all property types, indexed so that 2005 is 100. A line at 200 means prices have doubled.

Barnet: 201Harrow: 204
House prices in Barnet and Harrow since 2005, indexed so that 2005 is 100Prices indexed to 2005 = 100. Barnet now 201, Harrow now 204.10015020025020052010201520202025House prices in Barnet and Harrow since 2005, indexed so that 2005 is 100Prices indexed to 2005 = 100. Barnet now 201, Harrow now 204.10015020025020102020
Show the figures
YearBarnetHarrow
2005100100
2006104104
2007117115
2008118115
2009107103
2010119114
2011121116
2012128119
2013134125
2014154141
2015171160
2016188178
2017193184
2018191182
2019187176
2020188178
2021199192
2022213204
2023210200
2024209199
2025206205
12 months to July 2026201204

In 2005 the average home cost £296,425 in Barnet and £261,258 in Harrow. Now it is £594,641 and £531,770: Barnet is up 101% and Harrow is up 104%.

Buying a home against local pay, over time

Average house price divided by median full-time pay. Higher means harder to afford.

Barnet: 13.0 years of payHarrow: 11.8 years of pay
Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Barnet and HarrowBarnet now 13.0, Harrow now 11.8 years of pay.0×5×10×15×20×20052010201520202025Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Barnet and HarrowBarnet now 13.0, Harrow now 11.8 years of pay.0×5×10×15×20×20052010201520202025
Show the figures
YearBarnetHarrow
200510.0 years of pay9.8 years of pay
201010.8 years of pay9.4 years of pay
201515.4 years of pay12.8 years of pay
202015.3 years of pay12.2 years of pay
202513.0 years of pay11.8 years of pay

In 2005 a home cost 10.0 years of pay in Barnet and 9.8 years in Harrow. In 2025 it was 13.0 years and 11.8 years.

Affordability has worsened more in Barnet over that time.

How rents have changed in each area

Average monthly rent for all property types, indexed so that 2015 is 100.

Barnet: 141Harrow: 144
Rents in Barnet and Harrow since 2015, indexed so that 2015 is 100Rents indexed to 2015 = 100. Barnet now 141, Harrow now 144.100120140160201620182020202220242026Rents in Barnet and Harrow since 2015, indexed so that 2015 is 100Rents indexed to 2015 = 100. Barnet now 141, Harrow now 144.100120140160201520202025
Show the figures
YearBarnetHarrow
2015100100
2016105104
2017106108
2018105107
2019106108
2020107110
2021107111
2022110113
2023119119
2024127131
2025136140
August 2026141144

In 2015 the average rent was £1,380 a month in Barnet and £1,231 in Harrow. Now it is £1,949 and £1,778: up 41% in Barnet and up 44% in Harrow.

What your salary is worth in each area

Salary needed to afford the same kind of home (terraced), going by median prices and average rents.

Moving from Barnet to Harrow

Earning in Barnet Equivalent to buy in Harrow Equivalent to rent in Harrow
£30,000 £27,500 £27,000
£40,000 £36,500 £36,000
£50,000 £45,500 £45,000
£60,000 £55,000 £54,000

Moving from Harrow to Barnet

Earning in Harrow Equivalent to buy in Barnet Equivalent to rent in Barnet
£30,000 £33,000 £33,000
£40,000 £44,000 £44,500
£50,000 £55,000 £55,500
£60,000 £65,500 £66,500
Prices are medians for each property type over the last 12 months of registered sales; types with fewer than 100 sales in either area are left out. Rents are ONS averages for the area. Pay is the median for full-time employees living in the area, before tax. 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. Salary equivalents compare housing costs only, not other living costs, tax or the pay you could earn in a new job.

All Barnet figures · All Harrow figures