Pay vs Place

Hartlepool vs Liverpool: buying or renting a home

A typical terraced house costs £70,000 (74%) more in Liverpool than in Hartlepool. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in Liverpool: it takes 4.4× median annual pay, against 3.0× in Hartlepool.

Hartlepool, terraced
£95,000
Income typically needed: £19,000
Median full-time pay: £31,871
Liverpool, terraced
£165,000
Income typically needed: £33,000
Median full-time pay: £37,144

At a glance

Hartlepool Liverpool
Buying a home Affordable Fairly affordable
Renting a home Affordable Fairly affordable
Recorded crime High 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 Liverpool (£37,144) is 17% higher than in Hartlepool (£31,871), while a typical terraced house costs 74% more (£165,000 against £95,000). Set against local pay, Hartlepool is the easier of the two for a typical earner to buy in.

Buying a terraced house takes 3.0× annual pay in Hartlepool and 4.4× in Liverpool. Renting one takes 21% of pay in Hartlepool and 30% in Liverpool. Both are harder in Liverpool, and the gap is wider for buying.

Across all property types and measured against pay, Hartlepool is the 18th least expensive of 316 areas to buy in, and Liverpool is the 27th least expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Hartlepool is the 3rd least expensive of 316 areas and Liverpool is the 115th least expensive of 316 areas.

Someone on £40,000 in Hartlepool would need about £69,500 in Liverpool to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £66,500 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Liverpool 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 134.2 crimes per 1,000 residents in Hartlepool and 124.1 in Liverpool, so recorded crime per resident is 8% lower in Liverpool. The biggest difference is in residential burglary: 10.7 per 1,000 in Hartlepool against 6.1 in Liverpool.

Can a typical earner buy?

Terraced house Hartlepool Liverpool
Median full-time pay £31,871 £37,144
House price ÷ pay 3.0× 4.4×
Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy 168% 113%
Rent a year as a share of median pay 21% 30%

Buying, by property type

Type Hartlepool Liverpool Difference
Detached £273,738 £380,000 +39% in Liverpool
Semi-detached £155,000 £240,000 +55% in Liverpool
Terraced £95,000 £165,000 +74% in Liverpool

Renting, by property type

Type (average rent a month) Hartlepool Liverpool Difference
Detached £801 £1,225 +53% in Liverpool
Semi-detached £620 £1,008 +63% in Liverpool
Terraced £553 £917 +66% in Liverpool

Crime

Police recorded 134.2 crimes per 1,000 residents in Hartlepool and 124.1 in Liverpool, so recorded crime per resident is 8% lower in Liverpool.

Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents Hartlepool Liverpool Difference
All recorded crime (excluding fraud) 134.2 124.1 -8% in Liverpool
Violence against the person 47.1 45.6 -3% in Liverpool
Sexual offences 5.6 4.1 -26% in Liverpool
Robbery 2.5 1.6 -33% in Liverpool
Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) 10.7 6.1 -43% in Liverpool
Vehicle offences 4.5 5.3 +19% in Liverpool
Theft from the person 0.6 1.2 +109% in Liverpool
Criminal damage and arson 14.8 10.3 -30% in Liverpool

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.

Hartlepool: 141Liverpool: 183
House prices in Hartlepool and Liverpool since 2005, indexed so that 2005 is 100Prices indexed to 2005 = 100. Hartlepool now 141, Liverpool now 183.7510012515017520020052010201520202025House prices in Hartlepool and Liverpool since 2005, indexed so that 2005 is 100Prices indexed to 2005 = 100. Hartlepool now 141, Liverpool now 183.7510012515017520020102020
Show the figures
YearHartlepoolLiverpool
2005100100
2006114110
2007126117
2008122113
2009109104
2010111105
2011106101
201210199
201310099
201499103
2015101107
2016104110
2017105115
2018107121
2019108123
2020108128
2021123148
2022134161
2023134163
2024131166
2025139179
12 months to July 2026141183

In 2005 the average home cost £92,751 in Hartlepool and £99,018 in Liverpool. Now it is £130,733 and £181,637: Hartlepool is up 41% and Liverpool is up 83%. Prices have risen faster in Liverpool, 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.

Hartlepool: 4.0 years of payLiverpool: 4.8 years of pay
Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Hartlepool and LiverpoolHartlepool now 4.0, Liverpool now 4.8 years of pay.0×2×4×6×20052010201520202025Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Hartlepool and LiverpoolHartlepool now 4.0, Liverpool now 4.8 years of pay.0×2×4×6×20052010201520202025
Show the figures
YearHartlepoolLiverpool
20054.4 years of pay4.9 years of pay
20104.3 years of pay4.3 years of pay
20153.6 years of pay4.1 years of pay
20203.5 years of pay4.1 years of pay
20254.0 years of pay4.8 years of pay

In 2005 a home cost 4.4 years of pay in Hartlepool and 4.9 years in Liverpool. In 2025 it was 4.0 years and 4.8 years.

How rents have changed in each area

Average monthly rent for all property types, indexed so that 2015 is 100.

Hartlepool: 120Liverpool: 161
Rents in Hartlepool and Liverpool since 2015, indexed so that 2015 is 100Rents indexed to 2015 = 100. Hartlepool now 120, Liverpool now 161.80100120140160180201620182020202220242026Rents in Hartlepool and Liverpool since 2015, indexed so that 2015 is 100Rents indexed to 2015 = 100. Hartlepool now 120, Liverpool now 161.80100120140160180201520202025
Show the figures
YearHartlepoolLiverpool
2015100100
201699103
201799104
2018100104
2019103105
2020106106
2021107111
2022109119
2023112127
2024115138
2025118151
August 2026120161

In 2015 the average rent was £466 a month in Hartlepool and £567 in Liverpool. Now it is £558 and £913: up 20% in Hartlepool and up 61% in Liverpool. Rents have risen faster in Liverpool.

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 Hartlepool to Liverpool

Earning in Hartlepool Equivalent to buy in Liverpool Equivalent to rent in Liverpool
£30,000 £52,000 £49,500
£40,000 £69,500 £66,500
£50,000 £87,000 £83,000
£60,000 £104,000 £99,500

Moving from Liverpool to Hartlepool

Earning in Liverpool Equivalent to buy in Hartlepool Equivalent to rent in Hartlepool
£30,000 £17,500 £18,000
£40,000 £23,000 £24,000
£50,000 £29,000 £30,000
£60,000 £34,500 £36,000
Prices are medians for each property type over the last 12 months of registered sales; types with fewer than 100 sales in either area are left out. Rents are ONS averages for the area. Pay is the median for full-time employees living in the area, before tax. Income needed is illustrative: it assumes a 10% deposit and a lender willing to lend 4.5 times income. Real lending depends on your circumstances. Salary equivalents compare housing costs only, not other living costs, tax or the pay you could earn in a new job.

All Hartlepool figures · All Liverpool figures