Colchester vs Luton: buying or renting a home
A typical terraced house costs £5,000 (2%) more in Luton than in Colchester. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in Luton: it takes 8.0× median annual pay, against 6.9× in Colchester.
At a glance
| Colchester | Luton | |
|---|---|---|
| Buying a home | Expensive | Expensive |
| Renting a home | Expensive | Very expensive |
| 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 Luton (£34,732) is 12% lower than in Colchester (£39,353), while a typical terraced house costs 2% more (£277,500 against £272,500). Set against local pay, Colchester is the easier of the two for a typical earner to buy in.
Buying a terraced house takes 6.9× annual pay in Colchester and 8.0× in Luton. Renting one takes 37% of pay in Colchester and 42% in Luton. Both are harder in Luton, and the gap is wider for buying.
Across all property types and measured against pay, Colchester is around the middle of 316 areas (133rd most expensive) to buy in, and Luton is the 80th most expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Colchester is the 116th most expensive of 316 areas and Luton is the 65th most expensive of 316 areas.
Someone on £40,000 in Colchester would need about £40,500 in Luton to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £39,500 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Luton 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 82.6 crimes per 1,000 residents in Colchester and 82.2 in Luton: about the same. The biggest difference is in vehicle offences: 5.4 per 1,000 in Colchester against 7.1 in Luton.
Can a typical earner buy?
| Terraced house | Colchester | Luton |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time pay | £39,353 | £34,732 |
| House price ÷ pay | 6.9× | 8.0× |
| Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy | 72% | 63% |
| Rent a year as a share of median pay | 37% | 42% |
Buying, by property type
| Type | Colchester | Luton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £442,960 | £435,000 | -2% in Luton |
| Semi-detached | £325,000 | £338,000 | +4% in Luton |
| Terraced | £272,500 | £277,500 | +2% in Luton |
| Flat | £170,000 | £160,000 | -6% in Luton |
Renting, by property type
| Type (average rent a month) | Colchester | Luton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,566 | £1,604 | +2% in Luton |
| Semi-detached | £1,268 | £1,329 | +5% in Luton |
| Terraced | £1,229 | £1,217 | -1% in Luton |
| Flat | £955 | £976 | +2% in Luton |
Crime
Police recorded 82.6 crimes per 1,000 residents in Colchester and 82.2 in Luton: about the same.
| Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents | Colchester | Luton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime (excluding fraud) | 82.6 | 82.2 | -0% in Luton |
| Violence against the person | 35.7 | 30.4 | -15% in Luton |
| Sexual offences | 4.0 | 3.3 | -18% in Luton |
| Robbery | 0.9 | 1.5 | +75% in Luton |
| Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) | 5.5 | 5.7 | +4% in Luton |
| Vehicle offences | 5.4 | 7.1 | +30% in Luton |
| Theft from the person | 0.5 | 1.0 | +102% in Luton |
| Criminal damage and arson | 6.6 | 6.3 | -5% in Luton |
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 | Colchester | Luton |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 100 | 100 |
| 2006 | 106 | 103 |
| 2007 | 113 | 113 |
| 2008 | 105 | 111 |
| 2009 | 93 | 96 |
| 2010 | 103 | 103 |
| 2011 | 103 | 100 |
| 2012 | 104 | 103 |
| 2013 | 106 | 105 |
| 2014 | 115 | 113 |
| 2015 | 126 | 129 |
| 2016 | 140 | 152 |
| 2017 | 152 | 166 |
| 2018 | 155 | 168 |
| 2019 | 154 | 164 |
| 2020 | 154 | 162 |
| 2021 | 162 | 174 |
| 2022 | 179 | 192 |
| 2023 | 180 | 191 |
| 2024 | 175 | 189 |
| 2025 | 177 | 195 |
| 12 months to July 2026 | 177 | 195 |
In 2005 the average home cost £167,925 in Colchester and £145,768 in Luton. Now it is £297,216 and £284,756: Colchester is up 77% and Luton is up 95%. Prices have risen faster in Luton, 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.
Show the figures
| Year | Colchester | Luton |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 6.6 years of pay | 6.6 years of pay |
| 2010 | 6.5 years of pay | 6.2 years of pay |
| 2015 | 7.4 years of pay | 7.1 years of pay |
| 2020 | 8.0 years of pay | 8.0 years of pay |
| 2025 | 7.6 years of pay | 8.2 years of pay |
In 2005 a home cost 6.6 years of pay in Colchester and 6.6 years in Luton. In 2025 it was 7.6 years and 8.2 years.
Affordability has worsened more in Luton 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 | Colchester | Luton |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 100 | 100 |
| 2016 | 103 | 107 |
| 2017 | 108 | 114 |
| 2018 | 112 | 116 |
| 2019 | 116 | 117 |
| 2020 | 115 | 118 |
| 2021 | 123 | 120 |
| 2022 | 127 | 125 |
| 2023 | 134 | 132 |
| 2024 | 145 | 145 |
| 2025 | 159 | 157 |
| August 2026 | 163 | 162 |
In 2015 the average rent was £735 a month in Colchester and £754 in Luton. Now it is £1,197 and £1,222: up 63% in Colchester and up 62% in Luton.
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 Colchester to Luton
| Earning in Colchester | Equivalent to buy in Luton | Equivalent to rent in Luton |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £30,500 | £29,500 |
| £40,000 | £40,500 | £39,500 |
| £50,000 | £51,000 | £49,500 |
| £60,000 | £61,000 | £59,500 |
Moving from Luton to Colchester
| Earning in Luton | Equivalent to buy in Colchester | Equivalent to rent in Colchester |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £29,500 | £30,500 |
| £40,000 | £39,500 | £40,500 |
| £50,000 | £49,000 | £50,500 |
| £60,000 | £59,000 | £60,500 |