United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Croydon vs Tower Hamlets
Croydon (London, England · ~389k people) · Tower Hamlets (London, England · ~332k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Croydon leads on 4, Tower Hamlets on 3. Which trade-offs matter is yours to weigh — the rows below show where each one wins.
Head to head
Median pay
ONS ASHE (residence) · 2025
Croydon
£44,496/yr
Better than 79% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets
£51,823/yr
Better than 98% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets: 16% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Croydon
£425,000
Worse than 81% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets
£500,000
Worse than 91% of UK LAs
Croydon: 18% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Croydon
£1,560/mo
Worse than 85% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets
£2,396/mo
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
Croydon: 54% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Croydon
£2,600/yr
Worse than 89% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets
£1,838/yr
Better than 98% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets: £762 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Croydon
80.6/1k
Worse than 61% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets
106.4/1k
Worse than 88% of UK LAs
Croydon: 32% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Croydon
22.5
Worse than 65% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets
27.9
Worse than 84% of UK LAs
Croydon: lower average deprivation score (22.5 vs 27.9).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Croydon
91.2%
Worse than 75% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets
98.1%
Better than 91% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets: 6.9 percentage points more pupils in Good/Outstanding schools.
What local pay actually covers
Same-place ratios — each area's own median rent and house price against its own median gross pay. A cheap-looking area stops looking cheap when local pay is lower still.
Croydon
Rent takes 42% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 9.6× median annual pay
Tower Hamlets
Rent takes 55% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 9.6× median annual pay
Full Croydon profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Tower Hamlets profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.