Pay vs Place

Slough vs Vale of White Horse: buying or renting a home

A typical terraced house costs £85,000 (27%) more in Slough than in Vale of White Horse. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in Slough: it takes 10.4× median annual pay, against 7.1× in Vale of White Horse.

Slough, terraced
£400,000
Income typically needed: £80,000
Median full-time pay: £38,483
Vale of White Horse, terraced
£315,000
Income typically needed: £63,000
Median full-time pay: £44,454

At a glance

Slough Vale of White Horse
Buying a home Expensive Expensive
Renting a home Very expensive Expensive
Recorded crime About average Low

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 Vale of White Horse (£44,454) is 16% higher than in Slough (£38,483), while a typical terraced house costs 21% less (£315,000 against £400,000). Set against local pay, Vale of White Horse is the easier of the two for a typical earner to buy in.

Buying a terraced house takes 10.4× annual pay in Slough and 7.1× in Vale of White Horse. Renting one takes 49% of pay in Slough and 37% in Vale of White Horse. Both are harder in Slough, and the gap is wider for buying.

Across all property types and measured against pay, Slough is the 44th most expensive of 316 areas to buy in, and Vale of White Horse is the 102nd most expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Slough is the 31st most expensive of 316 areas and Vale of White Horse is the 117th most expensive of 316 areas.

Someone on £40,000 in Slough would need about £31,500 in Vale of White Horse to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £34,500 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Vale of White Horse 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 88.3 crimes per 1,000 residents in Slough and 46.4 in Vale of White Horse, so recorded crime per resident is 47% lower in Vale of White Horse. The biggest difference is in vehicle offences: 9.7 per 1,000 in Slough against 1.7 in Vale of White Horse.

Can a typical earner buy?

Terraced house Slough Vale of White Horse
Median full-time pay £38,483 £44,454
House price ÷ pay 10.4× 7.1×
Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy 48% 71%
Rent a year as a share of median pay 49% 37%

Buying, by property type

Type Slough Vale of White Horse Difference
Semi-detached £483,000 £380,000 -21% in Vale of White Horse
Terraced £400,000 £315,000 -21% in Vale of White Horse
Flat £220,000 £213,500 -3% in Vale of White Horse

Renting, by property type

Type (average rent a month) Slough Vale of White Horse Difference
Semi-detached £1,766 £1,436 -19% in Vale of White Horse
Terraced £1,572 £1,355 -14% in Vale of White Horse
Flat £1,255 £1,140 -9% in Vale of White Horse

Crime

Police recorded 88.3 crimes per 1,000 residents in Slough and 46.4 in Vale of White Horse, so recorded crime per resident is 47% lower in Vale of White Horse.

Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents Slough Vale of White Horse Difference
All recorded crime (excluding fraud) 88.3 46.4 -47% in Vale of White Horse
Violence against the person 34.1 19.2 -44% in Vale of White Horse
Sexual offences 3.1 2.3 -26% in Vale of White Horse
Robbery 1.6 0.3 -83% in Vale of White Horse
Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) 7.1 3.4 -52% in Vale of White Horse
Vehicle offences 9.7 1.7 -82% in Vale of White Horse
Theft from the person 1.1 0.3 -70% in Vale of White Horse
Criminal damage and arson 7.0 4.4 -37% in Vale of White Horse

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.

Slough: 197Vale of White Horse: 189
House prices in Slough and Vale of White Horse since 2005, indexed so that 2005 is 100Prices indexed to 2005 = 100. Slough now 197, Vale of White Horse now 189.7510012515017520020052010201520202025House prices in Slough and Vale of White Horse since 2005, indexed so that 2005 is 100Prices indexed to 2005 = 100. Slough now 197, Vale of White Horse now 189.7510012515017520020102020
Show the figures
YearSloughVale of White Horse
2005100100
2006105105
2007114116
2008111115
2009100103
2010107113
2011106113
2012108116
2013115119
2014126131
2015145140
2016172150
2017177152
2018181156
2019175157
2020174158
2021182161
2022192174
2023194176
2024196175
2025199184
12 months to July 2026197189

In 2005 the average home cost £173,605 in Slough and £216,019 in Vale of White Horse. Now it is £341,484 and £409,253: Slough is up 97% and Vale of White Horse is up 89%. Prices have risen faster in Slough, 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.

Slough: 9.0 years of payVale of White Horse: 9.0 years of pay
Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Slough and Vale of White HorseSlough now 9.0, Vale of White Horse now 9.0 years of pay.0×2.5×5×7.5×10×20052010201520202025Years of median pay needed to buy the average home in Slough and Vale of White HorseSlough now 9.0, Vale of White Horse now 9.0 years of pay.0×2.5×5×7.5×10×20052010201520202025
Show the figures
YearSloughVale of White Horse
20057.6 years of pay8.0 years of pay
20107.0 years of pay7.8 years of pay
20158.8 years of pay9.4 years of pay
20209.2 years of pay9.0 years of pay
20259.0 years of pay9.0 years of pay

In 2005 a home cost 7.6 years of pay in Slough and 8.0 years in Vale of White Horse. In 2025 it was 9.0 years and 9.0 years.

How rents have changed in each area

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

Slough: 163Vale of White Horse: 145
Rents in Slough and Vale of White Horse since 2015, indexed so that 2015 is 100Rents indexed to 2015 = 100. Slough now 163, Vale of White Horse now 145.100120140160180201620182020202220242026Rents in Slough and Vale of White Horse since 2015, indexed so that 2015 is 100Rents indexed to 2015 = 100. Slough now 163, Vale of White Horse now 145.100120140160180201520202025
Show the figures
YearSloughVale of White Horse
2015100100
2016106104
2017110103
2018112103
2019115105
2020116108
2021118114
2022122119
2023129124
2024142133
2025159141
August 2026163145

In 2015 the average rent was £958 a month in Slough and £931 in Vale of White Horse. Now it is £1,565 and £1,352: up 63% in Slough and up 45% in Vale of White Horse. Rents have risen faster in Slough.

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 Slough to Vale of White Horse

Earning in Slough Equivalent to buy in Vale of White Horse Equivalent to rent in Vale of White Horse
£30,000 £23,500 £26,000
£40,000 £31,500 £34,500
£50,000 £39,500 £43,000
£60,000 £47,500 £51,500

Moving from Vale of White Horse to Slough

Earning in Vale of White Horse Equivalent to buy in Slough Equivalent to rent in Slough
£30,000 £38,000 £35,000
£40,000 £51,000 £46,500
£50,000 £63,500 £58,000
£60,000 £76,000 £69,500
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 Slough figures · All Vale of White Horse figures