Kensington and Chelsea vs Westminster: buying or renting a home

A typical terraced house costs £1,040,000 (52%) more in Kensington and Chelsea than in Westminster. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in Kensington and Chelsea: it takes 57.5× median annual pay, against 37.7× in Westminster.

At a glance

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 Westminster (£52,610) is the same than in Kensington and Chelsea (£52,576), while a typical terraced house costs 34% less (£1,985,000 against £3,025,000). Set against local pay, Westminster is the easier of the two for a typical earner to buy in.

Buying a terraced house takes 57.5× annual pay in Kensington and Chelsea and 37.7× in Westminster. Renting one takes 103% of pay in Kensington and Chelsea and 87% in Westminster. Both are harder in Kensington and Chelsea, and the gap is wider for buying.

Across all property types and measured against pay, Kensington and Chelsea is the most expensive of 316 areas to buy in, and Westminster is the 2nd most expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Kensington and Chelsea is the most expensive of 316 areas and Westminster is the 2nd most expensive of 316 areas.

Someone on £40,000 in Kensington and Chelsea would need about £26,000 in Westminster to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £34,000 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Westminster 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 145.8 crimes per 1,000 residents in Kensington and Chelsea and 355.5 in Westminster, so recorded crime per resident in Westminster is 2.4 times the rate in Kensington and Chelsea. The biggest difference is in sexual offences: 4.1 per 1,000 in Kensington and Chelsea against 7.6 in Westminster. Westminster's rate is inflated by visitors and the night-time economy relative to its resident population, so it overstates the risk to residents.

Can a typical earner buy?

Buying, by property type

Renting, by property type

Crime

Police recorded 145.8 crimes per 1,000 residents in Kensington and Chelsea and 355.5 in Westminster, so recorded crime per resident in Westminster is 2.4 times the rate in Kensington and Chelsea.

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.

In 2005 the average home cost £562,861 in Kensington and Chelsea and £424,580 in Westminster. Now it is £1,327,221 and £932,605: Kensington and Chelsea is up 136% and Westminster is up 120%. Prices have risen faster in Kensington and Chelsea, so the gap between the two has widened.

How rents have changed in each area

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

In 2015 the average rent was £2,713 a month in Kensington and Chelsea and £2,462 in Westminster. Now it is £3,690 and £3,196: up 36% in Kensington and Chelsea and up 30% in Westminster. Rents have risen faster in Kensington and Chelsea.

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 Kensington and Chelsea to Westminster

Moving from Westminster to Kensington and Chelsea

All Kensington and Chelsea figures · All Westminster figures