Pay vs Place

Birmingham vs Wokingham: buying or renting a home

A typical terraced house costs £165,000 (75%) more in Wokingham than in Birmingham. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in Wokingham: it takes 7.4× median annual pay, against 6.1× in Birmingham.

Birmingham, terraced
£220,000
Income typically needed: £44,000
Median full-time pay: £35,989
Wokingham, terraced
£385,000
Income typically needed: £77,000
Median full-time pay: £52,222

At a glance

Birmingham Wokingham
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 Wokingham (£52,222) is 45% higher than in Birmingham (£35,989), while a typical terraced house costs 75% more (£385,000 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 7.4× in Wokingham. Renting one takes 37% of pay in Birmingham and 32% in Wokingham. The two measures point different ways: buying is harder in Wokingham, 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 Wokingham is the 81st most expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Birmingham is the 112th most expensive of 316 areas and Wokingham is around the middle of 316 areas (150th most expensive).

Someone on £40,000 in Birmingham would need about £70,000 in Wokingham to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £51,000 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Wokingham 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 39.2 in Wokingham, so recorded crime per resident is 66% lower in Wokingham. The biggest difference is in vehicle offences: 10.2 per 1,000 in Birmingham against 2.2 in Wokingham.

Can a typical earner buy?

Terraced house Birmingham Wokingham
Median full-time pay £35,989 £52,222
House price ÷ pay 6.1× 7.4×
Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy 82% 68%
Rent a year as a share of median pay 37% 32%

Buying, by property type

Type Birmingham Wokingham Difference
Detached £452,500 £670,000 +48% in Wokingham
Semi-detached £265,000 £482,000 +82% in Wokingham
Terraced £220,000 £385,000 +75% in Wokingham
Flat £145,000 £260,000 +79% in Wokingham

Renting, by property type

Type (average rent a month) Birmingham Wokingham Difference
Detached £1,434 £2,120 +48% in Wokingham
Semi-detached £1,151 £1,679 +46% in Wokingham
Terraced £1,095 £1,401 +28% in Wokingham
Flat £919 £1,206 +31% in Wokingham

Crime

Police recorded 114.2 crimes per 1,000 residents in Birmingham and 39.2 in Wokingham, so recorded crime per resident is 66% lower in Wokingham.

Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents Birmingham Wokingham Difference
All recorded crime (excluding fraud) 114.2 39.2 -66% in Wokingham
Violence against the person 46.1 14.9 -68% in Wokingham
Sexual offences 4.8 1.6 -66% in Wokingham
Robbery 3.1 0.4 -87% in Wokingham
Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) 11.7 2.9 -75% in Wokingham
Vehicle offences 10.2 2.2 -78% in Wokingham
Theft from the person 1.3 0.2 -86% in Wokingham
Criminal damage and arson 9.1 3.5 -62% in Wokingham

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.

Birmingham: 179Wokingham: 203
House prices in Birmingham and Wokingham since 2005, indexed so that 2005 is 100Prices indexed to 2005 = 100. Birmingham now 179, Wokingham now 203.5010015020025020052010201520202025House prices in Birmingham and Wokingham since 2005, indexed so that 2005 is 100Prices indexed to 2005 = 100. Birmingham now 179, Wokingham now 203.5010015020025020102020
Show the figures
YearBirminghamWokingham
2005100100
2006104105
2007109117
2008105115
200995104
2010100113
201197114
201298115
2013100120
2014106135
2015111151
2016120168
2017129170
2018136171
2019140166
2020142171
2021157177
2022172191
2023174197
2024174195
2025178205
12 months to July 2026179203

In 2005 the average home cost £130,237 in Birmingham and £245,648 in Wokingham. Now it is £232,548 and £498,516: Birmingham is up 79% and Wokingham is up 103%. Prices have risen faster in Wokingham, so the gap between the two has widened.

Buying a home against local pay, over time

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

Birmingham: 6.5 years of payWokingham: 9.6 years of pay
Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Birmingham and WokinghamBirmingham now 6.5, Wokingham now 9.6 years of pay.0×5×10×15×20052010201520202025Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Birmingham and WokinghamBirmingham now 6.5, Wokingham now 9.6 years of pay.0×5×10×15×20052010201520202025
Show the figures
YearBirminghamWokingham
20056.1 years of pay7.6 years of pay
20105.5 years of pay7.8 years of pay
20155.8 years of pay9.9 years of pay
20206.3 years of pay11.0 years of pay
20256.5 years of pay9.6 years of pay

In 2005 a home cost 6.1 years of pay in Birmingham and 7.6 years in Wokingham. In 2025 it was 6.5 years and 9.6 years.

Affordability has worsened more in Wokingham over that time.

How rents have changed in each area

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

Birmingham: 161Wokingham: 139
Rents in Birmingham and Wokingham since 2015, indexed so that 2015 is 100Rents indexed to 2015 = 100. Birmingham now 161, Wokingham now 139.100120140160180201620182020202220242026Rents in Birmingham and Wokingham since 2015, indexed so that 2015 is 100Rents indexed to 2015 = 100. Birmingham now 161, Wokingham now 139.100120140160180201520202025
Show the figures
YearBirminghamWokingham
2015100100
2016105102
2017108105
2018111103
2019113104
2020116103
2021118104
2022122106
2023132112
2024147126
2025156137
August 2026161139

In 2015 the average rent was £682 a month in Birmingham and £1,057 in Wokingham. Now it is £1,099 and £1,466: up 61% in Birmingham and up 39% in Wokingham. 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 Wokingham

Earning in Birmingham Equivalent to buy in Wokingham Equivalent to rent in Wokingham
£30,000 £52,500 £38,500
£40,000 £70,000 £51,000
£50,000 £87,500 £64,000
£60,000 £105,000 £77,000

Moving from Wokingham to Birmingham

Earning in Wokingham Equivalent to buy in Birmingham Equivalent to rent in Birmingham
£30,000 £17,000 £23,500
£40,000 £23,000 £31,500
£50,000 £28,500 £39,000
£60,000 £34,500 £47,000
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 Birmingham figures · All Wokingham figures