Comparison

London vs Bristol

Renting in London costs £218/month more than Bristol.

London figures shown here are averages across all 33 London boroughs. Costs vary significantly between boroughs. To compare a specific borough, try our comparison tool - for example, Camden, Hackney, or Tower Hamlets.

London, England  vs  South West, England

Average rent
London
£2,106/mo
Bristol
£1,888/mo
Lower
£218 difference
Average earnings
London
£40,350/yr
Higher
Bristol
£34,051/yr
£6,299 difference
Average house price
London
£570,010
Bristol
£351,000
£219,010 (62%)

Rent comparison

Bedrooms
London
Overall
£2,106/mo
£1,888/mo
1 Bed
£1,620/mo
£1,227/mo
2 Bed
£2,030/mo
£1,546/mo
3 Bed
£2,372/mo
£1,759/mo
4+ Bed
£3,224/mo
£2,565/mo

Overall, renting in Bristol is £218/month cheaper than London - that's £2,616/year.

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR)

Earnings comparison

London - average
£40,350/yr
Bristol - average
£34,051/yr

Residents of London earn £6,299/year more than those in Bristol.

Affordability insight
London
63%
of gross earnings on rent
Bristol
67%
of gross earnings on rent

Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings

House prices comparison

Property type
London
Average
£570,010
£351,000
Detached
£1,583,113
£535,000
Semi-detached
£1,154,877
£372,000
Terraced
£838,370
£382,000
Flat
£449,482
£265,250

House prices in London are £219,010 (62%) higher than in Bristol.

Over the last 10 years, house prices in London have risen by 24.8%, compared to 68.8% in Bristol.

Source: ONS / HM Land Registry

Council tax comparison

London - Band D
£2,090/yr
Bristol - Band D
£2,714/yr

You would pay £624/year more in council tax (Band D) living in Bristol than in London.

Band
London
Band A
£1,393
£1,809
Band B
£1,626
£2,111
Band C
£1,858
£2,412
Band D
Benchmark
£2,090
£2,714
Band E
£2,555
£3,317
Band F
£3,019
£3,920
Band G
£3,483
£4,523
Band H
£4,180
£5,427

Source: MHCLG / Scottish Government / Welsh Government

Band D is used as the standard benchmark for comparing council tax across areas. Other bands are set as fixed proportions of the Band D amount.

Energy comparison

London
Annual
£1,641
£1,641
Monthly
£137
£137
Energy region
London
South West

Energy estimates are based on the Ofgem price cap, which is set nationally. Regional variation is small; we show the same headline figure across regions for transparency.

Source: Ofgem Energy Price Cap, Q2 2026

Water comparison

London
Annual
£666
£813
Monthly
£56
£68
Water company
Thames Water
South West Water

Water in Bristol costs about £147/year more than in London.

Source: Water UK / Discover Water, 2026-27

Water company boundaries don't always align cleanly with local authority boundaries; the company shown here is the most common provider in each area.

Crime comparison

London
Data not available
Bristol
1,303/10k
#294 of 303
Crime type
London
Overall crime rate
N/A
1,303 /10k
Violence & sexual
N/A
521 /10k
Burglary
N/A
56 /10k
Theft
N/A
400 /10k
Criminal damage
N/A
106 /10k
Drug offences
N/A
35 /10k
Public order
N/A
156 /10k

Crime data is not available for London.

Source: Home Office / Scottish Government recorded crime

Recording practices vary between police forces. Crime rates reflect reported and recorded crime only.

Compare different areas

Learn more about each area

Data on this page is sourced from: ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR), Scottish Government Private Sector Rent Statistics, ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, ONS / HM Land Registry House Price Statistics, MHCLG / Scottish Government / Welsh Government council tax data, Ofgem Energy Price Cap, and Water UK / Discover Water. All official data is published under the Open Government Licence.