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How many years of salary to buy a house in Bristol?

Buying an average home in Bristol (South West) takes about 9.0 years of full-time salary: the average house price of £353,662 (HM Land Registry UKHPI, April 2026) divided by median full-time earnings of £39,441 a year (ONS ASHE 2024). That is less affordable than the UK average ratio of 7.2.

Price-to-earnings ratio
9.0×
years of gross salary
Average house price
£353,662
UKHPI
Median full-time salary
£39,441
ASHE 2024
10% deposit
£35,366
15% deposit
£53,049
Loan multiple (10% down)
8.1×
lenders cap ~4.5×

How this is measured. This ratio divides the UKHPI average (mean) house price by ASHE full-time median individual earnings. The ONS official “Housing affordability” statistic uses median price ÷ median earnings, so the two are close but not identical. All three inputs are official, open-licensed figures — none are estimated.

Similar areas by affordability

See also: rent vs buy in Bristol · full house prices in Bristol

Frequently asked questions

How many years of salary does it take to buy a house in Bristol?
In Bristol the average home costs £353,662 (HM Land Registry UKHPI, April 2026) against full-time median earnings of £39,441 a year (ONS ASHE 2024). That is a house-price-to-earnings ratio of 9.0 — it would take about 9.0 years of gross salary to equal the average house price.
What deposit do you need to buy in Bristol?
A 10% deposit on the £353,662 average Bristol home is £35,366, and a 15% deposit is £53,049 (based on HM Land Registry UKHPI, April 2026).
Is buying in Bristol more or less affordable than the UK average?
Bristol's house-price-to-earnings ratio is 9.0, versus 7.2 for the UK as a whole — so buying here is less affordable than the UK average.
How big a mortgage would you need to buy in Bristol?
After a 10% deposit you would need to borrow £318,296 on the average Bristol home — about 8.1× the £39,441 full-time median salary. Most UK lenders cap mortgages around 4.5× income.

Sources: house price — HM Land Registry — UK House Price Index (UKHPI) (April 2026); earnings — ONS — Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) 2024. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. ASHE and UKHPI are published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.