Pay vs Place

Bromsgrove vs Liverpool: buying or renting a home

A typical terraced house costs £88,000 (53%) more in Bromsgrove than in Liverpool. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in Bromsgrove: it takes 5.9× median annual pay, against 4.4× in Liverpool.

Bromsgrove, terraced
£253,000
Income typically needed: £50,500
Median full-time pay: £42,776
Liverpool, terraced
£165,000
Income typically needed: £33,000
Median full-time pay: £37,144

At a glance

Bromsgrove Liverpool
Buying a home Fairly affordable Fairly affordable
Renting a home Fairly affordable Fairly affordable
Recorded crime About average Above 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 Liverpool (£37,144) is 13% lower than in Bromsgrove (£42,776), while a typical terraced house costs 35% less (£165,000 against £253,000). Set against local pay, Liverpool is the easier of the two for a typical earner to buy in.

Buying a terraced house takes 5.9× annual pay in Bromsgrove and 4.4× in Liverpool. Renting one takes 27% of pay in Bromsgrove and 30% in Liverpool. The two measures point different ways: buying is harder in Bromsgrove, but renting takes a bigger share of pay in Liverpool.

Across all property types and measured against pay, Bromsgrove is around the middle of 316 areas (144th most expensive) to buy in, and Liverpool is the 27th least expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Bromsgrove is the 84th least expensive of 316 areas and Liverpool is the 115th least expensive of 316 areas.

Someone on £40,000 in Bromsgrove would need about £26,000 in Liverpool to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £37,500 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Liverpool would leave you better 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 63.8 crimes per 1,000 residents in Bromsgrove and 124.1 in Liverpool, so recorded crime per resident is 94% higher in Liverpool. The biggest difference is in violence against the person: 25.6 per 1,000 in Bromsgrove against 45.6 in Liverpool.

Can a typical earner buy?

Terraced house Bromsgrove Liverpool
Median full-time pay £42,776 £37,144
House price ÷ pay 5.9× 4.4×
Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy 85% 113%
Rent a year as a share of median pay 27% 30%

Buying, by property type

Type Bromsgrove Liverpool Difference
Detached £500,000 £380,000 -24% in Liverpool
Semi-detached £320,000 £240,000 -25% in Liverpool
Terraced £253,000 £165,000 -35% in Liverpool

Renting, by property type

Type (average rent a month) Bromsgrove Liverpool Difference
Detached £1,341 £1,225 -9% in Liverpool
Semi-detached £1,040 £1,008 -3% in Liverpool
Terraced £976 £917 -6% in Liverpool

Crime

Police recorded 63.8 crimes per 1,000 residents in Bromsgrove and 124.1 in Liverpool, so recorded crime per resident is 94% higher in Liverpool.

Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents Bromsgrove Liverpool Difference
All recorded crime (excluding fraud) 63.8 124.1 +94% in Liverpool
Violence against the person 25.6 45.6 +78% in Liverpool
Sexual offences 3.1 4.1 +35% in Liverpool
Robbery 0.9 1.6 +87% in Liverpool
Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) 5.4 6.1 +13% in Liverpool
Vehicle offences 3.8 5.3 +40% in Liverpool
Theft from the person 0.2 1.2 +441% in Liverpool
Criminal damage and arson 5.8 10.3 +77% in Liverpool

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.

Bromsgrove: 178Liverpool: 183
House prices in Bromsgrove and Liverpool since 2005, indexed so that 2005 is 100Prices indexed to 2005 = 100. Bromsgrove now 178, Liverpool now 183.7510012515017520020052010201520202025House prices in Bromsgrove and Liverpool since 2005, indexed so that 2005 is 100Prices indexed to 2005 = 100. Bromsgrove now 178, Liverpool now 183.7510012515017520020102020
Show the figures
YearBromsgroveLiverpool
2005100100
2006105110
2007110117
2008107113
200998104
2010104105
2011103101
201210399
201310599
2014112103
2015118107
2016127110
2017136115
2018142121
2019147123
2020149128
2021157148
2022171161
2023174163
2024174166
2025177179
12 months to July 2026178183

In 2005 the average home cost £187,487 in Bromsgrove and £99,018 in Liverpool. Now it is £333,501 and £181,637: Bromsgrove is up 78% and Liverpool is up 83%. Prices have risen faster in Liverpool, 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.

Bromsgrove: 7.8 years of payLiverpool: 4.8 years of pay
Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Bromsgrove and LiverpoolBromsgrove now 7.8, Liverpool now 4.8 years of pay.0×2.5×5×7.5×10×20052010201520202025Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Bromsgrove and LiverpoolBromsgrove now 7.8, Liverpool now 4.8 years of pay.0×2.5×5×7.5×10×20052010201520202025
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YearBromsgroveLiverpool
20057.0 years of pay4.9 years of pay
20106.4 years of pay4.3 years of pay
2015–4.1 years of pay
20208.2 years of pay4.1 years of pay
20257.8 years of pay4.8 years of pay

In 2005 a home cost 7.0 years of pay in Bromsgrove and 4.9 years in Liverpool. In 2025 it was 7.8 years and 4.8 years.

Affordability has worsened more in Bromsgrove over that time.

How rents have changed in each area

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

Bromsgrove: 149Liverpool: 161
Rents in Bromsgrove and Liverpool since 2015, indexed so that 2015 is 100Rents indexed to 2015 = 100. Bromsgrove now 149, Liverpool now 161.100120140160180201620182020202220242026Rents in Bromsgrove and Liverpool since 2015, indexed so that 2015 is 100Rents indexed to 2015 = 100. Bromsgrove now 149, Liverpool now 161.100120140160180201520202025
Show the figures
YearBromsgroveLiverpool
2015100100
2016101103
2017104104
2018106104
2019108105
2020111106
2021114111
2022115119
2023124127
2024136138
2025145151
August 2026149161

In 2015 the average rent was £664 a month in Bromsgrove and £567 in Liverpool. Now it is £992 and £913: up 49% in Bromsgrove and up 61% in Liverpool. Rents have risen faster in Liverpool.

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 Bromsgrove to Liverpool

Earning in Bromsgrove Equivalent to buy in Liverpool Equivalent to rent in Liverpool
£30,000 £19,500 £28,000
£40,000 £26,000 £37,500
£50,000 £32,500 £47,000
£60,000 £39,000 £56,500

Moving from Liverpool to Bromsgrove

Earning in Liverpool Equivalent to buy in Bromsgrove Equivalent to rent in Bromsgrove
£30,000 £46,000 £32,000
£40,000 £61,500 £42,500
£50,000 £76,500 £53,000
£60,000 £92,000 £64,000
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 Bromsgrove figures · All Liverpool figures