Pay vs Place

Bristol vs Harrow: buying or renting a home

A typical terraced house costs £195,000 (51%) more in Harrow than in Bristol. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in Harrow: it takes 12.7× median annual pay, against 9.6× in Bristol.

Bristol, terraced
£380,000
Income typically needed: £76,000
Median full-time pay: £39,509
Harrow, terraced
£575,000
Income typically needed: £115,000
Median full-time pay: £45,232

At a glance

Bristol Harrow
Buying a home Expensive Very expensive
Renting a home Very expensive Very expensive
Recorded crime High 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 14% higher than in Bristol (£39,509), while a typical terraced house costs 51% more (£575,000 against £380,000). Set against local pay, Bristol is the easier of the two for a typical earner to buy in.

Buying a terraced house takes 9.6× annual pay in Bristol and 12.7× in Harrow. Renting one takes 61% of pay in Bristol and 53% in Harrow. The two measures point different ways: buying is harder in Harrow, but renting takes a bigger share of pay in Bristol.

Across all property types and measured against pay, Bristol is the 99th most expensive of 316 areas to buy in, and Harrow is the 15th most expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Bristol is the 14th most expensive of 316 areas and Harrow is the 36th most expensive of 316 areas.

Someone on £40,000 in Bristol would need about £60,500 in Harrow to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £40,000 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Harrow 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 131.0 crimes per 1,000 residents in Bristol and 59.5 in Harrow, so recorded crime per resident is 55% lower in Harrow. The biggest difference is in sexual offences: 5.2 per 1,000 in Bristol against 1.7 in Harrow.

Can a typical earner buy?

Terraced house Bristol Harrow
Median full-time pay £39,509 £45,232
House price ÷ pay 9.6× 12.7×
Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy 52% 39%
Rent a year as a share of median pay 61% 53%

Buying, by property type

Type Bristol Harrow Difference
Detached £536,500 £1,000,000 +86% in Harrow
Semi-detached £370,000 £637,500 +72% in Harrow
Terraced £380,000 £575,000 +51% in Harrow
Flat £265,000 £330,000 +25% in Harrow

Renting, by property type

Type (average rent a month) Bristol Harrow Difference
Detached £2,106 £2,756 +31% in Harrow
Semi-detached £2,091 £2,247 +7% in Harrow
Terraced £2,008 £2,013 +0% in Harrow
Flat £1,508 £1,615 +7% in Harrow

Crime

Police recorded 131.0 crimes per 1,000 residents in Bristol and 59.5 in Harrow, so recorded crime per resident is 55% lower in Harrow.

Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents Bristol Harrow Difference
All recorded crime (excluding fraud) 131.0 59.5 -55% in Harrow
Violence against the person 47.4 18.8 -60% in Harrow
Sexual offences 5.2 1.7 -67% in Harrow
Robbery 3.0 2.1 -31% in Harrow
Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) 9.2 10.8 +18% in Harrow
Vehicle offences 9.8 6.3 -36% in Harrow
Theft from the person 0.8 3.5 +340% in Harrow
Criminal damage and arson 10.7 3.7 -65% 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.

Bristol: 227Harrow: 204
House prices in Bristol and Harrow since 2005, indexed so that 2005 is 100Prices indexed to 2005 = 100. Bristol now 227, Harrow now 204.10015020025020052010201520202025House prices in Bristol and Harrow since 2005, indexed so that 2005 is 100Prices indexed to 2005 = 100. Bristol now 227, Harrow now 204.10015020025020102020
Show the figures
YearBristolHarrow
2005100100
2006108104
2007121115
2008116115
2009103103
2010112114
2011112116
2012114119
2013118125
2014131141
2015144160
2016164178
2017173184
2018180182
2019182176
2020189178
2021201192
2022222204
2023225200
2024224199
2025227205
12 months to July 2026227204

In 2005 the average home cost £154,224 in Bristol and £261,258 in Harrow. Now it is £350,147 and £531,770: Bristol is up 127% and Harrow is up 104%. Prices have risen faster in Bristol, so the gap between the two has narrowed.

Buying a home against local pay, over time

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

Bristol: 8.9 years of payHarrow: 11.8 years of pay
Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Bristol and HarrowBristol now 8.9, Harrow now 11.8 years of pay.0×5×10×15×20052010201520202025Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Bristol and HarrowBristol now 8.9, Harrow now 11.8 years of pay.0×5×10×15×20052010201520202025
Show the figures
YearBristolHarrow
20057.0 years of pay9.8 years of pay
20106.8 years of pay9.4 years of pay
20158.1 years of pay12.8 years of pay
20209.0 years of pay12.2 years of pay
20258.9 years of pay11.8 years of pay

In 2005 a home cost 7.0 years of pay in Bristol and 9.8 years in Harrow. In 2025 it was 8.9 years and 11.8 years.

How rents have changed in each area

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

Bristol: 177Harrow: 144
Rents in Bristol and Harrow since 2015, indexed so that 2015 is 100Rents indexed to 2015 = 100. Bristol now 177, Harrow now 144.100120140160180201620182020202220242026Rents in Bristol and Harrow since 2015, indexed so that 2015 is 100Rents indexed to 2015 = 100. Bristol now 177, Harrow now 144.100120140160180201520202025
Show the figures
YearBristolHarrow
2015100100
2016108104
2017115108
2018118107
2019120108
2020125110
2021131111
2022143113
2023155119
2024165131
2025168140
August 2026177144

In 2015 the average rent was £1,064 a month in Bristol and £1,231 in Harrow. Now it is £1,883 and £1,778: up 77% in Bristol and up 44% in Harrow. Rents have risen faster in Bristol.

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 Bristol to Harrow

Earning in Bristol Equivalent to buy in Harrow Equivalent to rent in Harrow
£30,000 £45,500 £30,000
£40,000 £60,500 £40,000
£50,000 £75,500 £50,000
£60,000 £91,000 £60,000

Moving from Harrow to Bristol

Earning in Harrow Equivalent to buy in Bristol Equivalent to rent in Bristol
£30,000 £20,000 £30,000
£40,000 £26,500 £40,000
£50,000 £33,000 £50,000
£60,000 £39,500 £60,000
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 Bristol figures · All Harrow figures