This is the salary you need to buy a house in every London borough

Ever wondered how much you’d need to earn to buy a house in every London borough? (Picture: Getty Images)

Once upon a time, London was a city where buying a home felt remotely possible – even for the average worker.

In 1986, the typical house price in the Big Smoke was £55,000, and as Peter Apps writes in his forthcoming book, Homesick, it was normal for people on a fairly average income, like builders and nurses, to buy their own homes.

Fast forward to 2025, and homes in the capital cost more like £663,168, and 30.1% of properties are comprised of private rentals – the highest percentage since 1971.

It’s safe to say that times have firmly changed, creating a pretty bleak picture for many lifelong Londoners who just want their own four walls to call home.

Now, exclusive data from Zoopla for Metro has shown just how much you’d need to earn to buy a house in each London borough – and it’s pretty much as bleak as you’d think.

Bougie Kensington and Chelsea is the priciest, requiring a gross yearly salary of £199,300. The current average house price here is £1,120,900 – which is, very obviously, out of reach for most Londoners.

Naturally, this towers over the UK average salary (£37,430, according to the Office For National Statistics), marking a staggering difference of £161,870. Ouch.

Things aren’t much better in Westminster, which has the second-highest salary requirements at £166,600, compared with a typical house price of £936,900.

The statistics are based on a deposit amounting of 20% of the property value, plus a mortgage loan amounting to 4.5 times the buyer’s household earnings (which is the average income multiple used by most high street lenders).

These figures can be either joint or individual, so if you were buying alone you’d need to be solely responsible for these earnings. However, if you were buying with a partner (or even a friend), you’d be splitting the costs, with the figures representing what you’d need to earn collectively.

Unsurprisingly, Kensington and Chelsea requires the highest salary (Picture: Getty Images)

But what about the most ‘affordable’ end of the spectrum?

With the lowest necessary salary of all the London boroughs, Barking and Dagenham requires combined earnings of £59,600, considering an average local house price of £335,500.

Depending on which way you look at it, this is relatively good news for those who might be looking to buy in the area for the first time, as in February, it required joint earnings of £63,620 for a slightly lower property average of £336,800.

On the other hand, falling house prices are never ideal for those looking to sell up, or if you want to make a profit in the future.

It’s also worth noting that the salary needed to buy here is relatively in keeping with the ONS figures on the national average – if you’re co-mortgaging with someone else and you both earn at least £37,430 each, that is. Again, it’s a trickier journey for single people.

Croydon is also a promising option (Picture: Getty Images)

There’s also the barrier of saving up for the deposit, which can take years without the help of generational wealth.

Elsewhere, though, Croydon is also a relatively promising option if you’re looking to keep things semi-affordable (in London, at least).

Here, the average house price comes in at £393,300, which necessitates earnings of £69,900 and assumes a 20% deposit totalling £78,700.

Croydon might’ve previously been named the capital’s ‘most depressing area’ (and the 12th most depressing in the UK), but there’s plenty to love about it.

Thornton Heath, which is in the borough of Croydon, is most famous for its proximity to the BRIT School, the performing arts and technology institution that has a list of alumni including Amy Winehouse, Adele, Rizzle Kicks, and RAYE.

And any grime music fan will also know it as the place where Stormzy grew up.

Plus, there’s a frankly huge Ikea, as well as an impressive network of bright green trams and a Boxpark.

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