Ready for another instalment of ‘living in London is so expensive we keep questioning why we’re doing this to ourselves’?
‘Course you are.
If the recent Northern editions of What I Rent haven’t sufficiently hammered home the despair of high rents in the capital, take a look at this infographic, which shows what percentage of people’s salaries goes on rent in different areas of London.
Using data from gov.uk and ONS, rental site Howsy took a look at the average salary earned by residents of different boroughs of London, then compared this to the average spent on rent in the area.
To be clear, the salary average is based on where people live, not where they work. People in Enfield might be working in Kensington, for example.
But the percentage of salary that goes on rent is a fairly haunting statistic, especially considering the old-school rule of dedicating just 30% of your monthly income to renting a property.
Not one borough in London has an average that meets that 30% recommendation.
The closest are Bromley and Bexley, which both see renters spending an average of 46% of their paycheck on rent. That’s thanks to a combination of a fairly standard monthly salary of £2,729 for residents of Bromley and £2,240 for residents of Bexley, combined with comparatively low rent – £1,250 a month and £1,026, respectively.
The borough where people are paid the least have a higher percentage of their money going on rent, as you’d expect.
The average monthly salary in Barking and Dagenham is £1,834, but the average rent is £1,193, meaning 65% of people’s pay is going straight to renting property.
That budget isn’t as shocking as in Hackney, though, where on average renters are spending 83% of their salary to rent a place in the area.
The highest earning and spending borough is Westminster, earning £4,485 a month and spending £2,709 on rent.
We could really do with knowing where to work to earn the most, we reckon. If we can work there and live in Bexley we’d be able to bring our percentage way down.
Average salary and rent in areas of London:
Bromley
Average monthly salary: £2,729
Average monthly rent: £1,250
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 46%
Bexley
Average monthly salary: £2,240
Average monthly rent: £1,026
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 46%
Croydon
Average monthly salary: £2,265
Average monthly rent: £1,133
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 50%
Sutton
Average monthly salary: £2,202
Average monthly rent: £1,114
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 51%
Kingston upon Thames
Average monthly salary: £2,644
Average monthly rent: £1,355
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 51%
Greenwich
Average monthly salary: £2,667
Average monthly rent: £1,392
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 52%
Havering
Average monthly salary: £2,133
Average monthly rent: £1,135
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 53%
Wandsworth
Average monthly salary: £3,477
Average monthly rent: £1,855
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 53%
Merton
Average monthly salary: £2,865
Average monthly rent: £1,576
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 55%
Lewisham
Average monthly salary: £2,303
Average monthly rent: £1,289
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 56%
Redbridge
Average monthly salary: £2,278
Average monthly rent: £1,267
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 56%
Richmond upon Thames
Average monthly salary: £3,521
Average monthly rent: £2,000
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 57%
Islington
Average monthly salary: £3,289
Average monthly rent: £1,904
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 58%
Harrow
Average monthly salary: £2,318
Average monthly rent: £1,359
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 59%
Camden
Average monthly salary: £3,602
Average monthly rent: £2,117
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 59%
Hounslow
Average monthly salary: £2,146
Average monthly rent: £1,296
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 60%
Westminster
Average monthly salary: £4,485
Average monthly rent: £2,709
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 60%
Tower Hamlets
Average monthly salary: £2,899
Average monthly rent: £1,762
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 61%
Hammersmith and Fulham
Average monthly salary: £3,276
Average monthly rent: £2,005
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 61%
Waltham Forest
Average monthly salary: £2,470
Average monthly rent: £1,532
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 61%
Ealing
Average monthly salary: £2,470
Average monthly rent: £1,532
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 62%
Lambeth
Average monthly salary: £2,689
Average monthly rent: £1,670
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 62%
Hillingdon
Average monthly salary:
Average monthly rent:
Percentage of salary spent on rent:
Barnet
Average monthly salary: £2,436
Average monthly rent: £1,535
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 63%
Enfield
Average monthly salary: £2,110
Average monthly rent: £1,357
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 64%
Barking and Dagenham
Average monthly salary: £1,834
Average monthly rent: £1,193
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 65%
Haringey
Average monthly salary: £2,279
Average monthly rent: £1,520
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 67%
Southwark
Average monthly salary: £2,433
Average monthly rent: £1,705
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 70%
Newham
Average monthly salary: £1,895
Average monthly rent: £1,413
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 75%
Brent
Average monthly salary: £2,059
Average monthly rent: £1,582
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 77%
Hackney
Average monthly salary: £2,225
Average monthly rent: £1,856
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 83%
Kensington and Chelsea
Excluded due to lack of current salary data
City of London
Average monthly salary: £3,345
Average monthly rent: £2,189
Percentage of salary spent on rent: 65%
Source: Read Full Article