Birmingham vs Dorset: buying or renting a home
A typical terraced house costs £45,000 (20%) more in Dorset than in Birmingham. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in Dorset: it takes 7.1× median annual pay, against 6.1× in Birmingham.
At a glance
| Birmingham | Dorset | |
|---|---|---|
| Buying a home | Fairly affordable | Expensive |
| Renting a home | Expensive | Expensive |
| Recorded crime | Above 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 Dorset (£37,462) is 4% higher than in Birmingham (£35,989), while a typical terraced house costs 20% more (£265,000 against £220,000). Set against local pay, Birmingham is the easier of the two for a typical earner to buy in.
Buying a terraced house takes 6.1× annual pay in Birmingham and 7.1× in Dorset. Renting one takes 37% of pay in Birmingham and 33% in Dorset. The two measures point different ways: buying is harder in Dorset, but renting takes a bigger share of pay in Birmingham.
Across all property types and measured against pay, Birmingham is the 108th least expensive of 316 areas to buy in, and Dorset is the 87th most expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Birmingham is the 112th most expensive of 316 areas and Dorset is around the middle of 316 areas (148th most expensive).
Someone on £40,000 in Birmingham would need about £48,000 in Dorset to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £38,000 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Dorset would leave you worse 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 114.2 crimes per 1,000 residents in Birmingham and 44.5 in Dorset, so recorded crime per resident is 61% lower in Dorset. The biggest difference is in vehicle offences: 10.2 per 1,000 in Birmingham against 2.1 in Dorset.
Can a typical earner buy?
| Terraced house | Birmingham | Dorset |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time pay | £35,989 | £37,462 |
| House price ÷ pay | 6.1× | 7.1× |
| Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy | 82% | 71% |
| Rent a year as a share of median pay | 37% | 33% |
Buying, by property type
| Type | Birmingham | Dorset | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £452,500 | £475,000 | +5% in Dorset |
| Semi-detached | £265,000 | £332,000 | +25% in Dorset |
| Terraced | £220,000 | £265,000 | +20% in Dorset |
| Flat | £145,000 | £177,750 | +23% in Dorset |
Renting, by property type
| Type (average rent a month) | Birmingham | Dorset | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,434 | £1,442 | +1% in Dorset |
| Semi-detached | £1,151 | £1,151 | 0% in Dorset |
| Terraced | £1,095 | £1,045 | -5% in Dorset |
| Flat | £919 | £841 | -8% in Dorset |
Crime
Police recorded 114.2 crimes per 1,000 residents in Birmingham and 44.5 in Dorset, so recorded crime per resident is 61% lower in Dorset.
| Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents | Birmingham | Dorset | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime (excluding fraud) | 114.2 | 44.5 | -61% in Dorset |
| Violence against the person | 46.1 | 18.9 | -59% in Dorset |
| Sexual offences | 4.8 | 2.3 | -53% in Dorset |
| Robbery | 3.1 | 0.3 | -91% in Dorset |
| Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) | 11.7 | 3.3 | -72% in Dorset |
| Vehicle offences | 10.2 | 2.1 | -79% in Dorset |
| Theft from the person | 1.3 | 0.2 | -85% in Dorset |
| Criminal damage and arson | 9.1 | 4.8 | -47% in Dorset |
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.
Show the figures
| Year | Birmingham | Dorset |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 100 | 100 |
| 2006 | 104 | 105 |
| 2007 | 109 | 116 |
| 2008 | 105 | 112 |
| 2009 | 95 | 101 |
| 2010 | 100 | 110 |
| 2011 | 97 | 108 |
| 2012 | 98 | 109 |
| 2013 | 100 | 111 |
| 2014 | 106 | 117 |
| 2015 | 111 | 123 |
| 2016 | 120 | 130 |
| 2017 | 129 | 138 |
| 2018 | 136 | 141 |
| 2019 | 140 | 140 |
| 2020 | 142 | 143 |
| 2021 | 157 | 153 |
| 2022 | 172 | 172 |
| 2023 | 174 | 172 |
| 2024 | 174 | 167 |
| 2025 | 178 | 167 |
| 12 months to July 2026 | 179 | 167 |
In 2005 the average home cost £130,237 in Birmingham and £196,167 in Dorset. Now it is £232,548 and £327,915: Birmingham is up 79% and Dorset is up 67%. Prices have risen faster in Birmingham, so the gap between the two has narrowed.
How rents have changed in each area
Average monthly rent for all property types, indexed so that 2015 is 100.
Show the figures
| Year | Birmingham | Dorset |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 100 | 100 |
| 2016 | 105 | 103 |
| 2017 | 108 | 106 |
| 2018 | 111 | 109 |
| 2019 | 113 | 112 |
| 2020 | 116 | 114 |
| 2021 | 118 | 116 |
| 2022 | 122 | 124 |
| 2023 | 132 | 129 |
| 2024 | 147 | 136 |
| 2025 | 156 | 141 |
| August 2026 | 161 | 148 |
In 2015 the average rent was £682 a month in Birmingham and £714 in Dorset. Now it is £1,099 and £1,056: up 61% in Birmingham and up 48% in Dorset. Rents have risen faster in Birmingham.
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 Birmingham to Dorset
| Earning in Birmingham | Equivalent to buy in Dorset | Equivalent to rent in Dorset |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £36,000 | £28,500 |
| £40,000 | £48,000 | £38,000 |
| £50,000 | £60,000 | £47,500 |
| £60,000 | £72,500 | £57,500 |
Moving from Dorset to Birmingham
| Earning in Dorset | Equivalent to buy in Birmingham | Equivalent to rent in Birmingham |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £25,000 | £31,500 |
| £40,000 | £33,000 | £42,000 |
| £50,000 | £41,500 | £52,500 |
| £60,000 | £50,000 | £63,000 |