Rotherham vs Wakefield: buying or renting a home
A typical terraced house costs £20,000 (15%) more in Wakefield than in Rotherham. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in Wakefield: it takes 4.5× median annual pay, against 3.9× in Rotherham.
At a glance
| Rotherham | Wakefield | |
|---|---|---|
| Buying a home | Fairly affordable | Fairly affordable |
| Renting a home | Affordable | Fairly affordable |
| Recorded crime | About average | 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 Wakefield (£34,400) is 1% lower than in Rotherham (£34,713), while a typical terraced house costs 15% more (£155,000 against £135,000). Set against local pay, Rotherham is the easier of the two for a typical earner to buy in.
Buying a terraced house takes 3.9× annual pay in Rotherham and 4.5× in Wakefield. Renting one takes 23% of pay in Rotherham and 27% in Wakefield. Both are harder in Wakefield, and the gap is wider for renting.
Across all property types and measured against pay, Rotherham is the 44th least expensive of 316 areas to buy in, and Wakefield is the 58th least expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Rotherham is the 26th least expensive of 316 areas and Wakefield is the 88th least expensive of 316 areas.
Someone on £40,000 in Rotherham would need about £46,000 in Wakefield to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £46,500 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Wakefield 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 93.1 crimes per 1,000 residents in Rotherham and 105.8 in Wakefield, so recorded crime per resident is 14% higher in Wakefield. The biggest difference is in violence against the person: 37.1 per 1,000 in Rotherham against 47.7 in Wakefield.
Can a typical earner buy?
| Terraced house | Rotherham | Wakefield |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time pay | £34,713 | £34,400 |
| House price ÷ pay | 3.9× | 4.5× |
| Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy | 129% | 111% |
| Rent a year as a share of median pay | 23% | 27% |
Buying, by property type
| Type | Rotherham | Wakefield | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £310,000 | £335,000 | +8% in Wakefield |
| Semi-detached | £188,000 | £205,000 | +9% in Wakefield |
| Terraced | £135,000 | £155,000 | +15% in Wakefield |
Renting, by property type
| Type (average rent a month) | Rotherham | Wakefield | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £917 | £1,105 | +21% in Wakefield |
| Semi-detached | £739 | £868 | +17% in Wakefield |
| Terraced | £678 | £784 | +16% in Wakefield |
Crime
Police recorded 93.1 crimes per 1,000 residents in Rotherham and 105.8 in Wakefield, so recorded crime per resident is 14% higher in Wakefield.
| Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents | Rotherham | Wakefield | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime (excluding fraud) | 93.1 | 105.8 | +14% in Wakefield |
| Violence against the person | 37.1 | 47.7 | +28% in Wakefield |
| Sexual offences | 3.7 | 4.4 | +18% in Wakefield |
| Robbery | 1.3 | 1.1 | -14% in Wakefield |
| Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) | 8.3 | 7.5 | -9% in Wakefield |
| Vehicle offences | 6.2 | 6.3 | +2% in Wakefield |
| Theft from the person | 0.3 | 0.6 | +65% in Wakefield |
| Criminal damage and arson | 8.3 | 8.2 | -1% in Wakefield |
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 | Rotherham | Wakefield |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 100 | 100 |
| 2006 | 110 | 108 |
| 2007 | 119 | 116 |
| 2008 | 117 | 111 |
| 2009 | 105 | 102 |
| 2010 | 107 | 102 |
| 2011 | 105 | 98 |
| 2012 | 103 | 97 |
| 2013 | 103 | 97 |
| 2014 | 106 | 101 |
| 2015 | 108 | 104 |
| 2016 | 114 | 109 |
| 2017 | 117 | 114 |
| 2018 | 122 | 118 |
| 2019 | 126 | 121 |
| 2020 | 130 | 125 |
| 2021 | 147 | 141 |
| 2022 | 161 | 155 |
| 2023 | 164 | 158 |
| 2024 | 170 | 160 |
| 2025 | 180 | 165 |
| 12 months to July 2026 | 182 | 169 |
In 2005 the average home cost £104,169 in Rotherham and £116,811 in Wakefield. Now it is £190,060 and £197,147: Rotherham is up 82% and Wakefield is up 69%. Prices have risen faster in Rotherham, 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 | Rotherham | Wakefield |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 5.0 years of pay | 5.7 years of pay |
| 2010 | 4.8 years of pay | 5.4 years of pay |
| 2015 | 4.5 years of pay | 5.2 years of pay |
| 2020 | 4.8 years of pay | 5.6 years of pay |
| 2025 | 5.4 years of pay | 5.6 years of pay |
In 2005 a home cost 5.0 years of pay in Rotherham and 5.7 years in Wakefield. In 2025 it was 5.4 years and 5.6 years.
Affordability has worsened more in Rotherham over that time.
How rents have changed in each area
Average monthly rent for all property types, indexed so that 2015 is 100.
Show the figures
| Year | Rotherham | Wakefield |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 100 | 100 |
| 2016 | 101 | 101 |
| 2017 | 103 | 102 |
| 2018 | 104 | 103 |
| 2019 | 105 | 104 |
| 2020 | 107 | 108 |
| 2021 | 109 | 112 |
| 2022 | 113 | 119 |
| 2023 | 120 | 128 |
| 2024 | 128 | 136 |
| 2025 | 137 | 139 |
| August 2026 | 143 | 148 |
In 2015 the average rent was £480 a month in Rotherham and £546 in Wakefield. Now it is £686 and £806: up 43% in Rotherham and up 48% in Wakefield.
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 Rotherham to Wakefield
| Earning in Rotherham | Equivalent to buy in Wakefield | Equivalent to rent in Wakefield |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £34,500 | £34,500 |
| £40,000 | £46,000 | £46,500 |
| £50,000 | £57,500 | £58,000 |
| £60,000 | £69,000 | £69,500 |
Moving from Wakefield to Rotherham
| Earning in Wakefield | Equivalent to buy in Rotherham | Equivalent to rent in Rotherham |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £26,000 | £26,000 |
| £40,000 | £35,000 | £34,500 |
| £50,000 | £43,500 | £43,000 |
| £60,000 | £52,500 | £52,000 |