Pay vs Place

Bristol vs Woking: buying or renting a home

A typical terraced house costs £35,000 (9%) more in Woking than in Bristol. Measured against local pay, buying is about equally hard in both.

Bristol, terraced
£380,000
Income typically needed: £76,000
Median full-time pay: £39,509
Woking, terraced
£415,000
Income typically needed: £83,000
Median full-time pay: £43,719

At a glance

Bristol Woking
Buying a home Expensive Expensive
Renting a home Very expensive Very expensive
Recorded crime High 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 Woking (£43,719) is 11% higher than in Bristol (£39,509), while a typical terraced house costs 9% more (£415,000 against £380,000).

Buying a terraced house takes 9.6× annual pay in Bristol and 9.5× in Woking. Renting one takes 61% of pay in Bristol and 41% in Woking. Renting is harder in Bristol; buying is about the same.

Across all property types and measured against pay, Bristol is the 99th most expensive of 316 areas to buy in, and Woking is the 46th most expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Bristol is the 14th most expensive of 316 areas and Woking is the 52nd most expensive of 316 areas.

Someone on £40,000 in Bristol would need about £43,500 in Woking to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £29,500 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Woking 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 62.3 in Woking, so recorded crime per resident is 52% lower in Woking. The biggest difference is in vehicle offences: 9.8 per 1,000 in Bristol against 2.6 in Woking.

Can a typical earner buy?

Terraced house Bristol Woking
Median full-time pay £39,509 £43,719
House price ÷ pay 9.6× 9.5×
Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy 52% 53%
Rent a year as a share of median pay 61% 41%

Buying, by property type

Type Bristol Woking Difference
Detached £536,500 £787,500 +47% in Woking
Semi-detached £370,000 £482,000 +30% in Woking
Terraced £380,000 £415,000 +9% in Woking
Flat £265,000 £250,000 -6% in Woking

Renting, by property type

Type (average rent a month) Bristol Woking Difference
Detached £2,106 £2,508 +19% in Woking
Semi-detached £2,091 £1,762 -16% in Woking
Terraced £2,008 £1,491 -26% in Woking
Flat £1,508 £1,292 -14% in Woking

Crime

Police recorded 131.0 crimes per 1,000 residents in Bristol and 62.3 in Woking, so recorded crime per resident is 52% lower in Woking.

Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents Bristol Woking Difference
All recorded crime (excluding fraud) 131.0 62.3 -52% in Woking
Violence against the person 47.4 24.8 -48% in Woking
Sexual offences 5.2 2.3 -55% in Woking
Robbery 3.0 0.7 -78% in Woking
Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) 9.2 4.1 -55% in Woking
Vehicle offences 9.8 2.6 -73% in Woking
Theft from the person 0.8 0.3 -56% in Woking
Criminal damage and arson 10.7 5.7 -47% in Woking

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: 227Woking: 189
House prices in Bristol and Woking since 2005, indexed so that 2005 is 100Prices indexed to 2005 = 100. Bristol now 227, Woking now 189.10015020025020052010201520202025House prices in Bristol and Woking since 2005, indexed so that 2005 is 100Prices indexed to 2005 = 100. Bristol now 227, Woking now 189.10015020025020102020
Show the figures
YearBristolWoking
2005100100
2006108104
2007121118
2008116118
2009103104
2010112114
2011112116
2012114121
2013118125
2014131141
2015144155
2016164170
2017173173
2018180175
2019182175
2020189176
2021201183
2022222196
2023225197
2024224194
2025227192
12 months to July 2026227189

In 2005 the average home cost £154,224 in Bristol and £231,726 in Woking. Now it is £350,147 and £438,721: Bristol is up 127% and Woking is up 89%. 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 payWoking: 10.2 years of pay
Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Bristol and WokingBristol now 8.9, Woking now 10.2 years of pay.0×5×10×15×20052010201520202025Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Bristol and WokingBristol now 8.9, Woking now 10.2 years of pay.0×5×10×15×20052010201520202025
Show the figures
YearBristolWoking
20057.0 years of pay–
20106.8 years of pay9.2 years of pay
20158.1 years of pay11.6 years of pay
20209.0 years of pay10.1 years of pay
20258.9 years of pay10.2 years of pay

In 2010 a home cost 6.8 years of pay in Bristol and 9.2 years in Woking. In 2025 it was 8.9 years and 10.2 years.

Affordability has worsened more in Bristol over that time.

How rents have changed in each area

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

Bristol: 177Woking: 128
Rents in Bristol and Woking since 2015, indexed so that 2015 is 100Rents indexed to 2015 = 100. Bristol now 177, Woking now 128.100120140160180201620182020202220242026Rents in Bristol and Woking since 2015, indexed so that 2015 is 100Rents indexed to 2015 = 100. Bristol now 177, Woking now 128.100120140160180201520202025
Show the figures
YearBristolWoking
2015100100
2016108104
2017115105
2018118103
2019120102
2020125103
2021131104
2022143107
2023155115
2024165124
2025168130
August 2026177128

In 2015 the average rent was £1,064 a month in Bristol and £1,264 in Woking. Now it is £1,883 and £1,620: up 77% in Bristol and up 28% in Woking. 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 Woking

Earning in Bristol Equivalent to buy in Woking Equivalent to rent in Woking
£30,000 £33,000 £22,500
£40,000 £43,500 £29,500
£50,000 £54,500 £37,000
£60,000 £65,500 £44,500

Moving from Woking to Bristol

Earning in Woking Equivalent to buy in Bristol Equivalent to rent in Bristol
£30,000 £27,500 £40,500
£40,000 £36,500 £54,000
£50,000 £46,000 £67,500
£60,000 £55,000 £81,000
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 Woking figures