United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Hillingdon vs Tower Hamlets
Hillingdon (London, England · ~309k people) · Tower Hamlets (London, England · ~332k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Hillingdon leads on 3, Tower Hamlets on 4. 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
Hillingdon
£41,954/yr
Better than 68% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets
£51,823/yr
Better than 98% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets: 24% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Hillingdon
£510,000
Worse than 91% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets
£500,000
Worse than 91% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets: 2% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Hillingdon
£1,549/mo
Worse than 84% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets
£2,396/mo
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
Hillingdon: 55% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Hillingdon
£2,045/yr
Better than 97% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets
£1,838/yr
Better than 98% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets: £207 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Hillingdon
91.7/1k
Worse than 76% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets
106.4/1k
Worse than 88% of UK LAs
Hillingdon: 16% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Hillingdon
18.2
Around UK average
Tower Hamlets
27.9
Worse than 84% of UK LAs
Hillingdon: lower average deprivation score (18.2 vs 27.9).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Hillingdon
95.0%
Better than 71% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets
98.1%
Better than 91% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets: 3.1 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.
Hillingdon
Rent takes 44% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 12.2× median annual pay
Tower Hamlets
Rent takes 55% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 9.6× median annual pay
Full Hillingdon 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.