Cannock Chase vs Walsall: buying or renting a home
A typical terraced house costs £6,000 (3%) more in Walsall than in Cannock Chase. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in Walsall: it takes 5.5× median annual pay, against 5.0× in Cannock Chase.
At a glance
| Cannock Chase | Walsall | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Walsall (£34,036) is 6% lower than in Cannock Chase (£36,140), while a typical terraced house costs 3% more (£188,000 against £182,000). Set against local pay, Cannock Chase is the easier of the two for a typical earner to buy in.
Buying a terraced house takes 5.0× annual pay in Cannock Chase and 5.5× in Walsall. Renting one takes 29% of pay in Cannock Chase and 32% in Walsall. Both are harder in Walsall, and the gap is wider for renting.
Across all property types and measured against pay, Cannock Chase is the 77th least expensive of 316 areas to buy in, and Walsall is the 102nd least expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Cannock Chase is the 102nd least expensive of 316 areas and Walsall is around the middle of 316 areas (161st most expensive).
Someone on £40,000 in Cannock Chase would need about £41,500 in Walsall to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £41,500 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Walsall 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 72.2 crimes per 1,000 residents in Cannock Chase and 92.9 in Walsall, so recorded crime per resident is 29% higher in Walsall. The biggest difference is in residential burglary: 2.6 per 1,000 in Cannock Chase against 7.3 in Walsall.
Can a typical earner buy?
| Terraced house | Cannock Chase | Walsall |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time pay | £36,140 | £34,036 |
| House price ÷ pay | 5.0× | 5.5× |
| Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy | 99% | 91% |
| Rent a year as a share of median pay | 29% | 32% |
Buying, by property type
| Type | Cannock Chase | Walsall | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £331,000 | £365,000 | +10% in Walsall |
| Semi-detached | £215,000 | £235,000 | +9% in Walsall |
| Terraced | £182,000 | £188,000 | +3% in Walsall |
Renting, by property type
| Type (average rent a month) | Cannock Chase | Walsall | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,169 | £1,229 | +5% in Walsall |
| Semi-detached | £910 | £963 | +6% in Walsall |
| Terraced | £876 | £913 | +4% in Walsall |
Crime
Police recorded 72.2 crimes per 1,000 residents in Cannock Chase and 92.9 in Walsall, so recorded crime per resident is 29% higher in Walsall.
| Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents | Cannock Chase | Walsall | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime (excluding fraud) | 72.2 | 92.9 | +29% in Walsall |
| Violence against the person | 32.7 | 35.6 | +9% in Walsall |
| Sexual offences | 3.4 | 3.4 | +1% in Walsall |
| Robbery | 0.8 | 1.6 | +93% in Walsall |
| Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) | 2.6 | 7.3 | +183% in Walsall |
| Vehicle offences | 4.0 | 9.0 | +123% in Walsall |
| Theft from the person | 0.1 | 0.5 | +213% in Walsall |
| Criminal damage and arson | 5.0 | 9.2 | +82% in Walsall |
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 | Cannock Chase | Walsall |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 100 | 100 |
| 2006 | 106 | 106 |
| 2007 | 111 | 111 |
| 2008 | 108 | 108 |
| 2009 | 97 | 97 |
| 2010 | 99 | 100 |
| 2011 | 98 | 97 |
| 2012 | 99 | 96 |
| 2013 | 100 | 99 |
| 2014 | 108 | 103 |
| 2015 | 111 | 105 |
| 2016 | 117 | 113 |
| 2017 | 123 | 120 |
| 2018 | 128 | 127 |
| 2019 | 133 | 131 |
| 2020 | 139 | 135 |
| 2021 | 153 | 147 |
| 2022 | 170 | 161 |
| 2023 | 177 | 167 |
| 2024 | 174 | 167 |
| 2025 | 185 | 174 |
| 12 months to July 2026 | 188 | 178 |
In 2005 the average home cost £123,512 in Cannock Chase and £120,857 in Walsall. Now it is £232,542 and £214,672: Cannock Chase is up 88% and Walsall is up 78%. Prices have risen faster in Cannock Chase, 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 | Cannock Chase | Walsall |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 5.8 years of pay | 6.2 years of pay |
| 2010 | 5.2 years of pay | 5.5 years of pay |
| 2015 | 5.2 years of pay | 5.3 years of pay |
| 2020 | 6.3 years of pay | 5.9 years of pay |
| 2025 | 6.3 years of pay | 6.2 years of pay |
In 2005 a home cost 5.8 years of pay in Cannock Chase and 6.2 years in Walsall. In 2025 it was 6.3 years and 6.2 years.
Affordability has worsened more in Cannock Chase over that time.
How rents have changed in each area
Average monthly rent for all property types, indexed so that 2015 is 100.
Show the figures
| Year | Cannock Chase | Walsall |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 100 | 100 |
| 2016 | 102 | 102 |
| 2017 | 105 | 104 |
| 2018 | 108 | 105 |
| 2019 | 110 | 108 |
| 2020 | 113 | 111 |
| 2021 | 120 | 116 |
| 2022 | 127 | 124 |
| 2023 | 135 | 133 |
| 2024 | 144 | 143 |
| 2025 | 152 | 150 |
| August 2026 | 163 | 163 |
In 2015 the average rent was £533 a month in Cannock Chase and £566 in Walsall. Now it is £867 and £924: up 63% in Cannock Chase and up 63% in Walsall.
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 Cannock Chase to Walsall
| Earning in Cannock Chase | Equivalent to buy in Walsall | Equivalent to rent in Walsall |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £31,000 | £31,500 |
| £40,000 | £41,500 | £41,500 |
| £50,000 | £51,500 | £52,000 |
| £60,000 | £62,000 | £62,500 |
Moving from Walsall to Cannock Chase
| Earning in Walsall | Equivalent to buy in Cannock Chase | Equivalent to rent in Cannock Chase |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £29,000 | £29,000 |
| £40,000 | £38,500 | £38,500 |
| £50,000 | £48,500 | £48,000 |
| £60,000 | £58,000 | £57,500 |