Gwynedd vs Swansea: buying or renting a home
A typical terraced house costs £3,500 (2%) more in Swansea than in Gwynedd. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in Gwynedd: it takes 4.6× median annual pay, against 4.2× in Swansea.
At a glance
| Gwynedd | Swansea | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Swansea (£36,586) is 11% higher than in Gwynedd (£32,868), while a typical terraced house costs 2% more (£155,000 against £151,500). Set against local pay, Swansea is the easier of the two for a typical earner to buy in.
Buying a terraced house takes 4.6× annual pay in Gwynedd and 4.2× in Swansea. Renting one takes 26% of pay in Gwynedd and 27% in Swansea. The two measures point different ways: buying is harder in Gwynedd, but renting takes a bigger share of pay in Swansea.
Across all property types and measured against pay, Gwynedd is the 73rd least expensive of 316 areas to buy in, and Swansea is the 40th least expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Gwynedd is the 60th least expensive of 316 areas and Swansea is the 86th least expensive of 316 areas.
Someone on £40,000 in Gwynedd would need about £41,000 in Swansea to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £47,000 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Swansea 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 69.7 crimes per 1,000 residents in Gwynedd and 74.2 in Swansea, so recorded crime per resident is 6% higher in Swansea. The biggest difference is in vehicle offences: 1.4 per 1,000 in Gwynedd against 3.2 in Swansea.
Can a typical earner buy?
| Terraced house | Gwynedd | Swansea |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time pay | £32,868 | £36,586 |
| House price ÷ pay | 4.6× | 4.2× |
| Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy | 108% | 118% |
| Rent a year as a share of median pay | 26% | 27% |
Buying, by property type
| Type | Gwynedd | Swansea | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £312,500 | £340,000 | +9% in Swansea |
| Semi-detached | £210,000 | £210,000 | 0% in Swansea |
| Terraced | £151,500 | £155,000 | +2% in Swansea |
Renting, by property type
| Type (average rent a month) | Gwynedd | Swansea | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £885 | £1,090 | +23% in Swansea |
| Semi-detached | £770 | £878 | +14% in Swansea |
| Terraced | £703 | £824 | +17% in Swansea |
Crime
Police recorded 69.7 crimes per 1,000 residents in Gwynedd and 74.2 in Swansea, so recorded crime per resident is 6% higher in Swansea.
| Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents | Gwynedd | Swansea | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime (excluding fraud) | 69.7 | 74.2 | +6% in Swansea |
| Violence against the person | 30.9 | 29.1 | -6% in Swansea |
| Sexual offences | 3.7 | 3.5 | -6% in Swansea |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.4 | +33% in Swansea |
| Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) | 3.0 | 2.6 | -14% in Swansea |
| Vehicle offences | 1.4 | 3.2 | +129% in Swansea |
| Theft from the person | 0.2 | 0.5 | +156% in Swansea |
| Criminal damage and arson | 7.4 | 6.8 | -9% in Swansea |
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 | Gwynedd | Swansea |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 100 | 100 |
| 2006 | 107 | 109 |
| 2007 | 116 | 118 |
| 2008 | 111 | 118 |
| 2009 | 102 | 109 |
| 2010 | 105 | 106 |
| 2011 | 103 | 103 |
| 2012 | 104 | 101 |
| 2013 | 102 | 103 |
| 2014 | 105 | 108 |
| 2015 | 107 | 108 |
| 2016 | 110 | 112 |
| 2017 | 113 | 116 |
| 2018 | 115 | 120 |
| 2019 | 121 | 123 |
| 2020 | 124 | 128 |
| 2021 | 139 | 144 |
| 2022 | 156 | 159 |
| 2023 | 156 | 161 |
| 2024 | 154 | 164 |
| 2025 | 156 | 172 |
| 12 months to July 2026 | 159 | 173 |
In 2005 the average home cost £126,241 in Gwynedd and £119,321 in Swansea. Now it is £200,677 and £206,665: Gwynedd is up 59% and Swansea is up 73%. Prices have risen faster in Swansea, 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 | Gwynedd | Swansea |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 6.5 years of pay | 5.7 years of pay |
| 2010 | – | 5.2 years of pay |
| 2015 | – | 5.2 years of pay |
| 2020 | 5.7 years of pay | 5.5 years of pay |
| 2025 | 6.0 years of pay | 5.6 years of pay |
In 2005 a home cost 6.5 years of pay in Gwynedd and 5.7 years in Swansea. In 2025 it was 6.0 years and 5.6 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 | Gwynedd | Swansea |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 100 | 100 |
| 2016 | 100 | 101 |
| 2017 | 102 | 103 |
| 2018 | 104 | 105 |
| 2019 | 107 | 105 |
| 2020 | 109 | 106 |
| 2021 | 112 | 106 |
| 2022 | 117 | 110 |
| 2023 | 127 | 120 |
| 2024 | 136 | 133 |
| 2025 | 137 | 141 |
| August 2026 | 147 | 151 |
In 2015 the average rent was £494 a month in Gwynedd and £565 in Swansea. Now it is £724 and £852: up 47% in Gwynedd and up 51% in Swansea.
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 Gwynedd to Swansea
| Earning in Gwynedd | Equivalent to buy in Swansea | Equivalent to rent in Swansea |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £30,500 | £35,000 |
| £40,000 | £41,000 | £47,000 |
| £50,000 | £51,000 | £58,500 |
| £60,000 | £61,500 | £70,500 |
Moving from Swansea to Gwynedd
| Earning in Swansea | Equivalent to buy in Gwynedd | Equivalent to rent in Gwynedd |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £29,500 | £25,500 |
| £40,000 | £39,000 | £34,000 |
| £50,000 | £49,000 | £42,500 |
| £60,000 | £58,500 | £51,000 |