#13.8×
Hartlepool
North East England
- Average house price
- £130,271
- Median annual pay
- £34,663
Updated from official house-price and earnings data
10 most affordable places to buy a house in England, August 2026 release
Hartlepool has the lowest house price-to-income ratio in this 294-area screen. Places are ranked by house price relative to local salary, not price alone.
The three most affordable places at a glance
Only 0.2× separates the first and third-ranked places. The order is calculated from unrounded ratios before values are displayed to one decimal place.
August 2026 ranking: all 294 matched places
The first 10 are shown. Expand in groups of 10 to explore the full ranking. Month, quarter and year changes appear only when genuine archived publications exist.
| Rank | Movement | Place | Price-to-income ratio | Ratio change | House price | Median pay | Previous rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Up 1 | HartlepoolNorth East England | 3.8×Previous 3.8× | 0.03× lower | £130,271 | £34,663 | 2 |
| 2 | Down 1 | BurnleyNorth West England | 3.9×Previous 3.7× | 0.14× higher | £134,515 | £34,840 | 1 |
| 3 | No change | HyndburnNorth West England | 3.9×Previous 3.9× | 0.01× higher | £138,818 | £35,272 | 3 |
| 4 | No change | MiddlesbroughNorth East England | 3.9×Previous 4.0× | 0.01× lower | £137,773 | £34,892 | 4 |
| 5 | Up 1 | Kingston upon HullYorkshire and the Humber | 4.0×Previous 4.0× | 0.02× higher | £134,304 | £33,545 | 6 |
| 6 | Down 1 | BlackpoolNorth West England | 4.0×Previous 4.0× | 0.03× higher | £134,923 | £33,691 | 5 |
| 7 | No change | County DurhamNorth East England | 4.0×Previous 4.0× | 0.03× higher | £138,148 | £34,388 | 7 |
| 8 | No change | CumberlandNorth West England | 4.1×Previous 4.2× | 0.03× lower | £172,036 | £41,574 | 8 |
| 9 | Up 1 | Redcar and ClevelandNorth East England | 4.2×Previous 4.2× | 0.04× lower | £153,205 | £36,577 | 10 |
| 10 | New to top 10 | SunderlandNorth East England | 4.2×Previous 4.3× | 0.08× lower | £143,216 | £34,076 | 11 |
#1Up 1
HartlepoolNorth East England
- Price-to-income ratio
- 3.8×
- Month change
- 0.03× lower
- Average house price
- £130,271
- Median annual pay
- £34,663
- Previous ratio
- 3.8×
- Previous rank
- 2
#2Down 1
BurnleyNorth West England
- Price-to-income ratio
- 3.9×
- Month change
- 0.14× higher
- Average house price
- £134,515
- Median annual pay
- £34,840
- Previous ratio
- 3.7×
- Previous rank
- 1
#3No change
HyndburnNorth West England
- Price-to-income ratio
- 3.9×
- Month change
- 0.01× higher
- Average house price
- £138,818
- Median annual pay
- £35,272
- Previous ratio
- 3.9×
- Previous rank
- 3
#4No change
MiddlesbroughNorth East England
- Price-to-income ratio
- 3.9×
- Month change
- 0.01× lower
- Average house price
- £137,773
- Median annual pay
- £34,892
- Previous ratio
- 4.0×
- Previous rank
- 4
#5Up 1
Kingston upon HullYorkshire and the Humber
- Price-to-income ratio
- 4.0×
- Month change
- 0.02× higher
- Average house price
- £134,304
- Median annual pay
- £33,545
- Previous ratio
- 4.0×
- Previous rank
- 6
#6Down 1
BlackpoolNorth West England
- Price-to-income ratio
- 4.0×
- Month change
- 0.03× higher
- Average house price
- £134,923
- Median annual pay
- £33,691
- Previous ratio
- 4.0×
- Previous rank
- 5
#7No change
County DurhamNorth East England
- Price-to-income ratio
- 4.0×
- Month change
- 0.03× higher
- Average house price
- £138,148
- Median annual pay
- £34,388
- Previous ratio
- 4.0×
- Previous rank
- 7
#8No change
CumberlandNorth West England
- Price-to-income ratio
- 4.1×
- Month change
- 0.03× lower
- Average house price
- £172,036
- Median annual pay
- £41,574
- Previous ratio
- 4.2×
- Previous rank
- 8
#9Up 1
Redcar and ClevelandNorth East England
- Price-to-income ratio
- 4.2×
- Month change
- 0.04× lower
- Average house price
- £153,205
- Median annual pay
- £36,577
- Previous ratio
- 4.2×
- Previous rank
- 10
#10New to top 10
SunderlandNorth East England
- Price-to-income ratio
- 4.2×
- Month change
- 0.08× lower
- Average house price
- £143,216
- Median annual pay
- £34,076
- Previous ratio
- 4.3×
- Previous rank
- 11
Showing 10 of 294 matched places.
Methodology and limitations
A broad area-level comparison using official prices and earnings. It is not a matched-home affordability assessment or mortgage decision.
Formula
Average UK HPI house price divided by annualised median resident full-time pay. Ranking uses the unrounded result; ratios display to one decimal place.
Coverage
294 matched English local-authority-level areas from 295 configured places. Each row needs a valid price and earnings estimate.
Separate source periods
UK HPI June 2026 + ONS ASHE 2026 resident earnings. House prices normally update monthly while ASHE earnings normally update annually, so the two periods are never presented as one shared date.
Official sources
UK HPI provides area-average house prices. Earnings use the ONS ASHE resident full-time weekly median delivered through Nomis and annualised for comparison. These are area averages, not a matched household and property.
What “most affordable” means here
This ranking identifies places where the average home costs the fewest years of local median full-time pay. It is different from a cheapest-place ranking based only on price, and it does not measure the finances of an individual buyer.
What this screen leaves out
Deposit size, mortgage rates, lender income multiples, debts, household spending, property condition, commuting costs and local housing supply can all change real-world affordability. A low ratio alone does not make a place or property a good purchase.
Excluded places
- City of London: No current resident earnings estimate.
Explore the underlying affordability measure
Compare every areaCompare house price-to-income ratios across every area
Open the technical comparison page for UK headline metrics, searchable area data, salary estimates and a detailed explanation of the ratio.
Check personal affordability and local context
Use this ranking as area-level context, then test your own deposit, mortgage assumptions and target location.
Most affordable places FAQ
What is the most affordable place to buy a house in England?
Hartlepool ranks first in the August 2026 screen at 3.8×. This means its average house price is about 3.8× local median full-time annual pay.
What are the 10 most affordable places to buy property in England?
The current top 10 are Hartlepool, Burnley, Hyndburn, Middlesbrough, Kingston upon Hull, Blackpool, County Durham, Cumberland, Redcar and Cleveland, Sunderland. They are ranked by average house price relative to local median full-time pay, not by house price alone.
How is housing affordability calculated?
Divide the UK HPI average house price for an area by its annualised median resident full-time pay from ONS ASHE data. Lower ratios mean average prices are closer to local earnings.
Is the most affordable place also the cheapest place to buy?
Not necessarily. A place can have a higher house price but still be more affordable relative to local pay. A cheapest-place list ranks prices alone; this page compares both prices and earnings.
What is a good house price-to-income ratio?
There is no universal cutoff for every buyer, but a lower ratio generally means prices are closer to local earnings. Deposits, mortgage rates, debts and household costs still determine personal affordability.
How often is this affordability ranking updated?
The ranking refreshes after official house-price or earnings data passes validation. UK HPI normally changes monthly, while ASHE earnings data normally changes annually, so both source periods are shown separately.
Does this ratio show how much mortgage I can afford?
No. It is an area-level comparison, not a lender assessment. Mortgage affordability also depends on deposit, interest rate, income type, debts, spending, credit history and lender criteria.
Does this ranking cover cities, towns or local-authority areas?
It covers matched English local-authority-level areas, including cities and wider areas. The page uses the word places because not every row is legally or commonly described as a city.
This page is general market information, not financial, mortgage or investment advice.
What changed in this update
Deterministic commentary generated from the hpi-2026-06_ashe-2026 publication.
Hartlepool moves into first place at 3.8× annualised resident pay.
Hartlepool is the biggest riser in the current top 10, up 1 place.
Burnley is the biggest faller in the current top 10, down 1 place.
Sunderland is new to the top 10.
North East Lincolnshire has dropped out of the top 10.
Kingston upon Hull and Blackpool are separated by only 0.0010 ratio points on the unrounded data.
Hartlepool's ratio has fallen by 0.03 points from the previous snapshot.
Only 0.2 ratio points separate the top three.