Boston vs East Lindsey: buying or renting a home
A typical semi-detached house costs £19,035 (12%) more in East Lindsey than in Boston. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in East Lindsey: it takes 5.7× median annual pay, against 5.4× in Boston.
At a glance
| Boston | East Lindsey | |
|---|---|---|
| Buying a home | Fairly affordable | Fairly affordable |
| Renting a home | Fairly affordable | Fairly affordable |
| Recorded crime | About average | About average |
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 East Lindsey (£31,516) is 6% higher than in Boston (£29,805), while a typical semi-detached house costs 12% more (£180,000 against £160,965). Set against local pay, Boston is the easier of the two for a typical earner to buy in.
Buying a semi-detached house takes 5.4× annual pay in Boston and 5.7× in East Lindsey. Renting one takes 35% of pay in Boston and 29% in East Lindsey. The two measures point different ways: buying is harder in East Lindsey, but renting takes a bigger share of pay in Boston.
Across all property types and measured against pay, Boston is the 112th least expensive of 316 areas to buy in, and East Lindsey is the 107th least expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Boston is around the middle of 316 areas (165th most expensive) and East Lindsey is the 69th least expensive of 316 areas.
Someone on £40,000 in Boston would need about £44,500 in East Lindsey to be equally placed to buy a semi-detached house, and about £35,500 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to East Lindsey 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 88.4 crimes per 1,000 residents in Boston and 71.0 in East Lindsey, so recorded crime per resident is 20% lower in East Lindsey. The biggest difference is in residential burglary: 8.3 per 1,000 in Boston against 4.7 in East Lindsey.
Can a typical earner buy?
| Semi-detached house | Boston | East Lindsey |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time pay | £29,805 | £31,516 |
| House price ÷ pay | 5.4× | 5.7× |
| Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy | 93% | 88% |
| Rent a year as a share of median pay | 35% | 29% |
Buying, by property type
| Type | Boston | East Lindsey | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £253,000 | £265,000 | +5% in East Lindsey |
| Semi-detached | £160,965 | £180,000 | +12% in East Lindsey |
Renting, by property type
| Type (average rent a month) | Boston | East Lindsey | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,035 | £823 | -20% in East Lindsey |
| Semi-detached | £861 | £762 | -11% in East Lindsey |
Crime
Police recorded 88.4 crimes per 1,000 residents in Boston and 71.0 in East Lindsey, so recorded crime per resident is 20% lower in East Lindsey.
| Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents | Boston | East Lindsey | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime (excluding fraud) | 88.4 | 71.0 | -20% in East Lindsey |
| Violence against the person | 34.1 | 31.6 | -7% in East Lindsey |
| Sexual offences | 4.0 | 3.7 | -8% in East Lindsey |
| Robbery | 1.3 | 0.5 | -64% in East Lindsey |
| Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) | 8.3 | 4.7 | -43% in East Lindsey |
| Vehicle offences | 3.1 | 2.3 | -26% in East Lindsey |
| Theft from the person | 0.4 | 0.2 | -51% in East Lindsey |
| Criminal damage and arson | 8.4 | 7.3 | -13% in East Lindsey |
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 | Boston | East Lindsey |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 100 | 100 |
| 2006 | 105 | 104 |
| 2007 | 113 | 111 |
| 2008 | 108 | 104 |
| 2009 | 95 | 97 |
| 2010 | 98 | 99 |
| 2011 | 98 | 97 |
| 2012 | 94 | 95 |
| 2013 | 95 | 97 |
| 2014 | 103 | 102 |
| 2015 | 110 | 106 |
| 2016 | 115 | 111 |
| 2017 | 118 | 119 |
| 2018 | 123 | 124 |
| 2019 | 126 | 129 |
| 2020 | 128 | 128 |
| 2021 | 138 | 141 |
| 2022 | 153 | 159 |
| 2023 | 154 | 162 |
| 2024 | 151 | 158 |
| 2025 | 151 | 157 |
| 12 months to July 2026 | 153 | 159 |
In 2005 the average home cost £120,538 in Boston and £134,039 in East Lindsey. Now it is £184,684 and £213,545: Boston is up 53% and East Lindsey is up 59%. Prices have risen faster in East Lindsey, 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.
Show the figures
| Year | Boston | East Lindsey |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 6.6 years of pay | 7.0 years of pay |
| 2010 | 5.8 years of pay | 6.2 years of pay |
| 2015 | 6.5 years of pay | – |
| 2020 | 6.3 years of pay | 6.5 years of pay |
| 2025 | 6.1 years of pay | 6.7 years of pay |
In 2005 a home cost 6.6 years of pay in Boston and 7.0 years in East Lindsey. In 2025 it was 6.1 years and 6.7 years.
How rents have changed in each area
Average monthly rent for all property types, indexed so that 2015 is 100.
Show the figures
| Year | Boston | East Lindsey |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 100 | 100 |
| 2016 | 102 | 101 |
| 2017 | 104 | 103 |
| 2018 | 106 | 105 |
| 2019 | 109 | 106 |
| 2020 | 108 | 109 |
| 2021 | 110 | 111 |
| 2022 | 115 | 115 |
| 2023 | 121 | 121 |
| 2024 | 131 | 130 |
| 2025 | 139 | 137 |
| August 2026 | 143 | 147 |
In 2015 the average rent was £563 a month in Boston and £480 in East Lindsey. Now it is £806 and £704: up 43% in Boston and up 47% in East Lindsey.
What your salary is worth in each area
Salary needed to afford the same kind of home (semi-detached), going by median prices and average rents.
Moving from Boston to East Lindsey
| Earning in Boston | Equivalent to buy in East Lindsey | Equivalent to rent in East Lindsey |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £33,500 | £26,500 |
| £40,000 | £44,500 | £35,500 |
| £50,000 | £56,000 | £44,500 |
| £60,000 | £67,000 | £53,000 |
Moving from East Lindsey to Boston
| Earning in East Lindsey | Equivalent to buy in Boston | Equivalent to rent in Boston |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £27,000 | £34,000 |
| £40,000 | £36,000 | £45,000 |
| £50,000 | £44,500 | £56,500 |
| £60,000 | £53,500 | £68,000 |