Great Yarmouth vs Ipswich: buying or renting a home
A typical terraced house costs £45,000 (28%) more in Ipswich than in Great Yarmouth. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in Ipswich: it takes 5.6× median annual pay, against 4.6× in Great Yarmouth.
At a glance
| Great Yarmouth | Ipswich | |
|---|---|---|
| Buying a home | Fairly affordable | Fairly affordable |
| Renting a home | Fairly affordable | Fairly affordable |
| Recorded crime | Above 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 Ipswich (£36,660) is 5% higher than in Great Yarmouth (£34,794), while a typical terraced house costs 28% more (£205,000 against £160,000). Set against local pay, Great Yarmouth is the easier of the two for a typical earner to buy in.
Buying a terraced house takes 4.6× annual pay in Great Yarmouth and 5.6× in Ipswich. Renting one takes 29% of pay in Great Yarmouth and 32% in Ipswich. Both are harder in Ipswich, and the gap is wider for buying.
Across all property types and measured against pay, Great Yarmouth is the 82nd least expensive of 316 areas to buy in, and Ipswich is the 96th least expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Great Yarmouth is the 106th least expensive of 316 areas and Ipswich is around the middle of 316 areas (162nd most expensive).
Someone on £40,000 in Great Yarmouth would need about £51,500 in Ipswich to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £46,000 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Ipswich 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 96.2 crimes per 1,000 residents in Great Yarmouth and 90.5 in Ipswich, so recorded crime per resident is 6% lower in Ipswich. The biggest difference is in residential burglary: 6.0 per 1,000 in Great Yarmouth against 3.6 in Ipswich.
Can a typical earner buy?
| Terraced house | Great Yarmouth | Ipswich |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time pay | £34,794 | £36,660 |
| House price ÷ pay | 4.6× | 5.6× |
| Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy | 109% | 89% |
| Rent a year as a share of median pay | 29% | 32% |
Buying, by property type
| Type | Great Yarmouth | Ipswich | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £320,000 | £380,000 | +19% in Ipswich |
| Semi-detached | £228,500 | £260,500 | +14% in Ipswich |
| Terraced | £160,000 | £205,000 | +28% in Ipswich |
Renting, by property type
| Type (average rent a month) | Great Yarmouth | Ipswich | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,141 | £1,294 | +13% in Ipswich |
| Semi-detached | £905 | £1,056 | +17% in Ipswich |
| Terraced | £839 | £965 | +15% in Ipswich |
Crime
Police recorded 96.2 crimes per 1,000 residents in Great Yarmouth and 90.5 in Ipswich, so recorded crime per resident is 6% lower in Ipswich.
| Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents | Great Yarmouth | Ipswich | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime (excluding fraud) | 96.2 | 90.5 | -6% in Ipswich |
| Violence against the person | 43.1 | 34.6 | -20% in Ipswich |
| Sexual offences | 4.2 | 4.7 | +11% in Ipswich |
| Robbery | 0.9 | 0.8 | -13% in Ipswich |
| Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) | 6.0 | 3.6 | -40% in Ipswich |
| Vehicle offences | 3.0 | 4.8 | +61% in Ipswich |
| Theft from the person | 0.9 | 0.6 | -27% in Ipswich |
| Criminal damage and arson | 10.6 | 8.0 | -24% in Ipswich |
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 | Great Yarmouth | Ipswich |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 100 | 100 |
| 2006 | 104 | 106 |
| 2007 | 117 | 115 |
| 2008 | 111 | 109 |
| 2009 | 99 | 94 |
| 2010 | 102 | 102 |
| 2011 | 101 | 99 |
| 2012 | 104 | 102 |
| 2013 | 103 | 103 |
| 2014 | 110 | 113 |
| 2015 | 115 | 120 |
| 2016 | 122 | 133 |
| 2017 | 130 | 144 |
| 2018 | 135 | 149 |
| 2019 | 141 | 149 |
| 2020 | 140 | 149 |
| 2021 | 156 | 160 |
| 2022 | 176 | 176 |
| 2023 | 174 | 176 |
| 2024 | 171 | 169 |
| 2025 | 174 | 172 |
| 12 months to July 2026 | 174 | 170 |
In 2005 the average home cost £120,000 in Great Yarmouth and £129,403 in Ipswich. Now it is £209,206 and £219,372: Great Yarmouth is up 74% and Ipswich is up 70%.
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 | Great Yarmouth | Ipswich |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 5.7 years of pay | 5.6 years of pay |
| 2015 | 5.8 years of pay | 6.0 years of pay |
| 2020 | 6.0 years of pay | 7.0 years of pay |
| 2025 | 6.0 years of pay | 6.1 years of pay |
In 2010 a home cost 5.7 years of pay in Great Yarmouth and 5.6 years in Ipswich. In 2025 it was 6.0 years and 6.1 years.
How rents have changed in each area
Average monthly rent for all property types, indexed so that 2015 is 100.
Show the figures
| Year | Great Yarmouth | Ipswich |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 100 | 100 |
| 2016 | 102 | 106 |
| 2017 | 105 | 112 |
| 2018 | 107 | 115 |
| 2019 | 110 | 118 |
| 2020 | 113 | 120 |
| 2021 | 116 | 121 |
| 2022 | 121 | 129 |
| 2023 | 127 | 135 |
| 2024 | 137 | 151 |
| 2025 | 148 | 162 |
| August 2026 | 160 | 168 |
In 2015 the average rent was £526 a month in Great Yarmouth and £591 in Ipswich. Now it is £841 and £995: up 60% in Great Yarmouth and up 68% in Ipswich. Rents have risen faster in Ipswich.
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 Great Yarmouth to Ipswich
| Earning in Great Yarmouth | Equivalent to buy in Ipswich | Equivalent to rent in Ipswich |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £38,500 | £34,500 |
| £40,000 | £51,500 | £46,000 |
| £50,000 | £64,000 | £57,500 |
| £60,000 | £77,000 | £69,000 |
Moving from Ipswich to Great Yarmouth
| Earning in Ipswich | Equivalent to buy in Great Yarmouth | Equivalent to rent in Great Yarmouth |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £23,500 | £26,000 |
| £40,000 | £31,000 | £35,000 |
| £50,000 | £39,000 | £43,500 |
| £60,000 | £47,000 | £52,000 |