Dorset vs Leeds: buying or renting a home
A typical terraced house costs £62,500 (31%) more in Dorset than in Leeds. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in Dorset: it takes 7.1× median annual pay, against 5.5× in Leeds.
At a glance
| Dorset | Leeds | |
|---|---|---|
| Buying a home | Expensive | Fairly affordable |
| Renting a home | Expensive | Expensive |
| Recorded crime | Low | 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 Leeds (£36,716) is 2% lower than in Dorset (£37,462), while a typical terraced house costs 24% less (£202,500 against £265,000). Set against local pay, Leeds is the easier of the two for a typical earner to buy in.
Buying a terraced house takes 7.1× annual pay in Dorset and 5.5× in Leeds. Renting one takes 33% of pay in Dorset and 38% in Leeds. The two measures point different ways: buying is harder in Dorset, but renting takes a bigger share of pay in Leeds.
Across all property types and measured against pay, Dorset is the 87th most expensive of 316 areas to buy in, and Leeds is the 114th least expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Dorset is around the middle of 316 areas (148th most expensive) and Leeds is the 106th most expensive of 316 areas.
Someone on £40,000 in Dorset would need about £30,500 in Leeds to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £44,500 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Leeds 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 44.5 crimes per 1,000 residents in Dorset and 114.6 in Leeds, so recorded crime per resident in Leeds is 2.6 times the rate in Dorset. The biggest difference is in residential burglary: 3.3 per 1,000 in Dorset against 13.0 in Leeds.
Can a typical earner buy?
| Terraced house | Dorset | Leeds |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time pay | £37,462 | £36,716 |
| House price ÷ pay | 7.1× | 5.5× |
| Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy | 71% | 91% |
| Rent a year as a share of median pay | 33% | 38% |
Buying, by property type
| Type | Dorset | Leeds | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £475,000 | £430,000 | -9% in Leeds |
| Semi-detached | £332,000 | £262,000 | -21% in Leeds |
| Terraced | £265,000 | £202,500 | -24% in Leeds |
| Flat | £177,750 | £150,000 | -16% in Leeds |
Renting, by property type
| Type (average rent a month) | Dorset | Leeds | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,442 | £1,507 | +5% in Leeds |
| Semi-detached | £1,151 | £1,226 | +7% in Leeds |
| Terraced | £1,045 | £1,157 | +11% in Leeds |
| Flat | £841 | £905 | +8% in Leeds |
Crime
Police recorded 44.5 crimes per 1,000 residents in Dorset and 114.6 in Leeds, so recorded crime per resident in Leeds is 2.6 times the rate in Dorset.
| Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents | Dorset | Leeds | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime (excluding fraud) | 44.5 | 114.6 | +158% in Leeds |
| Violence against the person | 18.9 | 44.9 | +138% in Leeds |
| Sexual offences | 2.3 | 4.4 | +93% in Leeds |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 2.2 | +707% in Leeds |
| Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) | 3.3 | 13.0 | +288% in Leeds |
| Vehicle offences | 2.1 | 7.0 | +232% in Leeds |
| Theft from the person | 0.2 | 1.3 | +579% in Leeds |
| Criminal damage and arson | 4.8 | 8.5 | +75% in Leeds |
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 | Dorset | Leeds |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 100 | 100 |
| 2006 | 105 | 107 |
| 2007 | 116 | 114 |
| 2008 | 112 | 110 |
| 2009 | 101 | 98 |
| 2010 | 110 | 103 |
| 2011 | 108 | 101 |
| 2012 | 109 | 99 |
| 2013 | 111 | 100 |
| 2014 | 117 | 106 |
| 2015 | 123 | 111 |
| 2016 | 130 | 119 |
| 2017 | 138 | 125 |
| 2018 | 141 | 130 |
| 2019 | 140 | 134 |
| 2020 | 143 | 139 |
| 2021 | 153 | 151 |
| 2022 | 172 | 165 |
| 2023 | 172 | 168 |
| 2024 | 167 | 171 |
| 2025 | 167 | 177 |
| 12 months to July 2026 | 167 | 181 |
In 2005 the average home cost £196,167 in Dorset and £135,425 in Leeds. Now it is £327,915 and £244,464: Dorset is up 67% and Leeds is up 81%. Prices have risen faster in Leeds, so the gap between the two has narrowed.
How rents have changed in each area
Average monthly rent for all property types, indexed so that 2015 is 100.
Show the figures
| Year | Dorset | Leeds |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 100 | 100 |
| 2016 | 103 | 98 |
| 2017 | 106 | 102 |
| 2018 | 109 | 104 |
| 2019 | 112 | 107 |
| 2020 | 114 | 112 |
| 2021 | 116 | 114 |
| 2022 | 124 | 125 |
| 2023 | 129 | 136 |
| 2024 | 136 | 145 |
| 2025 | 141 | 146 |
| August 2026 | 148 | 151 |
In 2015 the average rent was £714 a month in Dorset and £758 in Leeds. Now it is £1,056 and £1,145: up 48% in Dorset and up 51% in Leeds.
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 Dorset to Leeds
| Earning in Dorset | Equivalent to buy in Leeds | Equivalent to rent in Leeds |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £23,000 | £33,000 |
| £40,000 | £30,500 | £44,500 |
| £50,000 | £38,000 | £55,500 |
| £60,000 | £46,000 | £66,500 |
Moving from Leeds to Dorset
| Earning in Leeds | Equivalent to buy in Dorset | Equivalent to rent in Dorset |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £39,500 | £27,000 |
| £40,000 | £52,500 | £36,000 |
| £50,000 | £65,500 | £45,000 |
| £60,000 | £78,500 | £54,000 |