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.

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.