United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Croydon vs Waltham Forest
Croydon (London, England · ~389k people) · Waltham Forest (London, England · ~277k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Croydon leads on 3, Waltham Forest on 3, 1 effectively tied. 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
Waltham Forest
£46,842/yr
Better than 89% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest: 5% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Croydon
£425,000
Worse than 81% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest
£538,010
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Croydon: 27% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Croydon
£1,560/mo
Worse than 85% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest
£1,753/mo
Worse than 90% of UK LAs
Croydon: 12% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Croydon
£2,600/yr
Worse than 89% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest
£2,387/yr
Better than 61% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest: £213 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
Waltham Forest
81.1/1k
Worse than 64% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Croydon
22.5
Worse than 65% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest
25.2
Worse than 74% of UK LAs
Croydon: lower average deprivation score (22.5 vs 25.2).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Croydon
91.2%
Worse than 75% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest
98.1%
Better than 91% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest: 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
Waltham Forest
Rent takes 45% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 11.5× median annual pay
Full Croydon profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Waltham Forest profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.