Estimated salary needed for the average UK house price using a 4.5x income multiple.
House Price to Income Ratio
Compare official UK house prices with local earnings to see where homes cost the most, or least, relative to salaries.
UK headline affordability metrics
These figures are calculated from the latest public data available in the Bellsoph refresh pipeline.
Average UK house price
£270,080
UK HPI April 2026
Median annual pay
£39,863
Jan 2025-Dec 2025 / ASHE 2025
House price to income ratio
6.8x
Average price divided by annual pay
Salary needed at 4.5x
£60,018
£20,155 above median pay
Rent as share of earnings
42%
Average rent divided by monthly pay
Salary needed to buy the average home
This is a simple estimate using average house price divided by a 4.5x income multiple. It is useful for comparison, but it is not a lender affordability decision.
Compares the indicative salary with the latest median resident annual pay used on this page.
Deposit size is a separate cash barrier and actual mortgage access still depends on lender checks and rates.
Most and least affordable areas
Rankings include live areas where both official house price and resident earnings data are available.
Most affordable by income ratio
- BurnleyNorth West England3.7x
- HartlepoolNorth East England3.7x
- HyndburnNorth West England4.0x
- MiddlesbroughNorth East England4.0x
- BlackpoolNorth West England4.0x
- Kingston upon HullYorkshire and the Humber4.0x
- County DurhamNorth East England4.0x
- CumberlandNorth West England4.1x
- Redcar and ClevelandNorth East England4.2x
- North East LincolnshireYorkshire and the Humber4.3x
Least affordable by income ratio
- TraffordNorth West England8.4x
- YorkYorkshire and the Humber7.7x
- StockportNorth West England7.7x
- North YorkshireYorkshire and the Humber7.1x
- Cheshire EastNorth West England7.0x
- ManchesterNorth West England6.6x
- LeedsYorkshire and the Humber6.6x
- Ribble ValleyNorth West England6.5x
- SalfordNorth West England6.5x
- Cheshire West and ChesterNorth West England6.4x
Lowest and highest indicative salaries
Salary estimates use average house price divided by 4.5. Use them to compare areas, not as a mortgage approval figure.
Lowest salary needed
- HartlepoolNorth East England£28,695
- BurnleyNorth West England£28,790
- BlackpoolNorth West England£29,940
- Kingston upon HullYorkshire and the Humber£30,011
- County DurhamNorth East England£30,837
- MiddlesbroughNorth East England£30,890
- HyndburnNorth West England£31,067
- North East LincolnshireYorkshire and the Humber£33,314
- PendleNorth West England£33,497
- Redcar and ClevelandNorth East England£34,316
Highest salary needed
- TraffordNorth West England£84,678
- StockportNorth West England£69,179
- YorkYorkshire and the Humber£68,620
- Cheshire EastNorth West England£65,798
- Ribble ValleyNorth West England£62,437
- North YorkshireYorkshire and the Humber£60,186
- Cheshire West and ChesterNorth West England£58,826
- WarringtonNorth West England£56,271
- ManchesterNorth West England£54,965
- LeedsYorkshire and the Humber£54,863
Compare house prices and incomes by area
58 areas currently have both house price and earnings data. Lower ratios suggest prices are closer to local earnings.
| Area | Region | House price | Median pay | Salary needed | Ratio | Rent share | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burnley | North West England | £129,556 | £34,840 | £28,790 | 3.7x | 21% | More affordable |
| Hartlepool | North East England | £129,129 | £34,663 | £28,695 | 3.7x | 19% | More affordable |
| Hyndburn | North West England | £139,800 | £35,272 | £31,067 | 4.0x | 22% | More affordable |
| Middlesbrough | North East England | £139,005 | £34,892 | £30,890 | 4.0x | 24% | More affordable |
| Blackpool | North West England | £134,732 | £33,691 | £29,940 | 4.0x | 25% | More affordable |
| Kingston upon Hull | Yorkshire and the Humber | £135,051 | £33,545 | £30,011 | 4.0x | 25% | More affordable |
| County Durham | North East England | £138,767 | £34,388 | £30,837 | 4.0x | 22% | More affordable |
| Cumberland | North West England | £172,186 | £41,574 | £38,264 | 4.1x | 19% | More affordable |
| Redcar and Cleveland | North East England | £154,422 | £36,577 | £34,316 | 4.2x | 21% | More affordable |
| North East Lincolnshire | Yorkshire and the Humber | £149,911 | £35,251 | £33,314 | 4.3x | 21% | More affordable |
| Darlington | North East England | £156,880 | £36,670 | £34,862 | 4.3x | 22% | More affordable |
| South Tyneside | North East England | £156,931 | £35,906 | £34,874 | 4.4x | 24% | More affordable |
| Barnsley | Yorkshire and the Humber | £173,100 | £38,558 | £38,467 | 4.5x | 21% | More affordable |
| Gateshead | North East England | £158,885 | £35,090 | £35,308 | 4.5x | 27% | More affordable |
| Pendle | North West England | £150,737 | £32,235 | £33,497 | 4.7x | 24% | More affordable |
| St Helens | North West England | £184,470 | £38,886 | £40,993 | 4.7x | 24% | More affordable |
| Doncaster | Yorkshire and the Humber | £173,624 | £36,249 | £38,583 | 4.8x | 23% | More affordable |
| North Lincolnshire | Yorkshire and the Humber | £179,553 | £37,216 | £39,901 | 4.8x | 21% | More affordable |
| Rossendale | North West England | £189,086 | £37,752 | £42,019 | 5.0x | 26% | Stretched |
| Wigan | North West England | £190,802 | £37,794 | £42,400 | 5.0x | 24% | Stretched |
| Knowsley | North West England | £192,756 | £38,090 | £42,835 | 5.1x | 26% | Stretched |
| Wyre | North West England | £186,869 | £36,873 | £41,526 | 5.1x | 24% | Stretched |
| Preston | North West England | £190,442 | £37,565 | £42,320 | 5.1x | 25% | Stretched |
| Fylde | North West England | £221,288 | £43,628 | £49,175 | 5.1x | 24% | Stretched |
| Calderdale | Yorkshire and the Humber | £190,555 | £37,279 | £42,346 | 5.1x | 24% | Stretched |
| North Tyneside | North East England | £197,229 | £37,814 | £43,829 | 5.2x | 27% | Stretched |
| Westmorland and Furness | North West England | £223,414 | £42,208 | £49,648 | 5.3x | 23% | Stretched |
| Halton | North West England | £193,435 | £36,286 | £42,986 | 5.3x | 24% | Stretched |
| Chorley | North West England | £213,492 | £39,770 | £47,443 | 5.4x | 24% | Stretched |
| Northumberland | North East England | £204,603 | £38,090 | £45,467 | 5.4x | 21% | Stretched |
| Bradford | Yorkshire and the Humber | £188,505 | £34,876 | £41,890 | 5.4x | 26% | Stretched |
| Lancaster | North West England | £193,299 | £35,708 | £42,955 | 5.4x | 27% | Stretched |
| Rotherham | Yorkshire and the Humber | £190,256 | £34,892 | £42,279 | 5.5x | 23% | Stretched |
| South Ribble | North West England | £206,485 | £37,840 | £45,886 | 5.5x | 25% | Stretched |
| Wakefield | Yorkshire and the Humber | £196,895 | £35,833 | £43,754 | 5.5x | 27% | Stretched |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | Yorkshire and the Humber | £219,544 | £39,307 | £48,788 | 5.6x | 22% | Stretched |
| Sefton | North West England | £218,893 | £38,901 | £48,643 | 5.6x | 29% | Stretched |
| Kirklees | Yorkshire and the Humber | £205,741 | £36,421 | £45,720 | 5.6x | 26% | Stretched |
| Bolton | North West England | £199,946 | £35,074 | £44,432 | 5.7x | 30% | Stretched |
| Wirral | North West England | £216,862 | £37,866 | £48,192 | 5.7x | 27% | Stretched |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | North East England | £209,071 | £36,000 | £46,460 | 5.8x | 40% | Stretched |
| Sheffield | Yorkshire and the Humber | £222,080 | £38,116 | £49,351 | 5.8x | 29% | Stretched |
| Tameside | North West England | £212,609 | £36,140 | £47,246 | 5.9x | 31% | Stretched |
| Rochdale | North West England | £211,558 | £35,854 | £47,013 | 5.9x | 28% | Stretched |
| West Lancashire | North West England | £241,925 | £40,966 | £53,761 | 5.9x | 23% | Stretched |
| Oldham | North West England | £212,066 | £35,417 | £47,126 | 6.0x | 31% | Stretched |
| Bury | North West England | £233,630 | £37,721 | £51,918 | 6.2x | 31% | Stretched |
| Warrington | North West England | £253,219 | £40,669 | £56,271 | 6.2x | 26% | Stretched |
| Cheshire West and Chester | North West England | £264,715 | £41,517 | £58,826 | 6.4x | 28% | Stretched |
| Salford | North West England | £232,391 | £35,984 | £51,642 | 6.5x | 39% | Stretched |
| Ribble Valley | North West England | £280,965 | £43,316 | £62,437 | 6.5x | 22% | Stretched |
| Leeds | Yorkshire and the Humber | £246,882 | £37,596 | £54,863 | 6.6x | 36% | Stretched |
| Manchester | North West England | £247,344 | £37,211 | £54,965 | 6.6x | 44% | Stretched |
| Cheshire East | North West England | £296,091 | £42,021 | £65,798 | 7.0x | 28% | Stretched |
| North Yorkshire | Yorkshire and the Humber | £270,836 | £37,986 | £60,186 | 7.1x | 26% | Stretched |
| Stockport | North West England | £311,307 | £40,648 | £69,179 | 7.7x | 32% | Stretched |
| York | Yorkshire and the Humber | £308,788 | £39,863 | £68,620 | 7.7x | 36% | Stretched |
| Trafford | North West England | £381,052 | £45,188 | £84,678 | 8.4x | 36% | Expensive |
What the ratio means
The house price to income ratio shows how many years of median annual pay it would take to equal the average house price before mortgage interest, deposit, tax and living costs.
A lower ratio usually means average prices are closer to local salaries. A higher ratio signals more pressure between wages and prices, especially for buyers without large deposits.
Ratio vs mortgage affordability
This is not a mortgage decision by itself. Lenders also consider deposit, income multiple, interest rates, credit commitments, household spending, income type and stress testing.
Use this page as a market comparison, then use mortgage and cash flow tools when you want to test a specific purchase or rental scenario.
Methodology and sources
The page uses official datasets already refreshed for Bellsoph property data.
Average prices come from the UK House Price Index for each area.
Income uses resident median annual pay from ONS ASHE labour data.
Rent share uses ONS private rent data where local rent data is available.
Data updates through the monthly refresh and ONS release-watch workflows.
Related tools and data
Move from affordability context into local market research or purchase calculations.
UK property data
Open the live UK market workspace for prices, rents, regions and local pages.
OpenBuy-to-let mortgage calculatorMove from affordability context into mortgage payment and rent-coverage checks.
OpenMonthly cash-flow calculatorAdd rent, mortgage and running costs to test monthly surplus or shortfall.
OpenRental yield calculatorCompare rental income with purchase price and annual running costs.
OpenHouse price to income ratio FAQs
What is the house price to income ratio?
The house price to income ratio compares an average house price with annual earnings. A 6.8x ratio means the average home costs about 6.8 times median annual pay.
How do you calculate house price to salary ratio?
Divide the average house price by median annual pay. This page uses official UK HPI average prices and resident median annual pay from ONS and ASHE labour data.
What is a good house price to income ratio?
Lower ratios are generally easier to afford. This page labels areas below 5x as more affordable, 5x to 8x as stretched, and above 8x as expensive.
Is house price to income ratio the same as mortgage affordability?
No. The ratio compares prices with earnings. Mortgage affordability also depends on deposit, interest rate, lender criteria, debts, tax, bills and household spending.
How do you estimate the salary needed to buy a house?
A simple estimate is average house price divided by a 4.5x income multiple. This page shows that indicative salary by area, but actual lender decisions depend on deposit, debts, spending, credit profile and mortgage rates.
How often is this data updated?
The page uses the same official data pipeline as Bellsoph UK property data. House price, rent and labour files are refreshed through the monthly data workflow and ONS release-watch process.