United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Medway vs Portsmouth
Medway (South East, England · ~279k people) · Portsmouth (South East, England · ~215k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Medway leads on 5, Portsmouth on 1, 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
Medway
£40,212/yr
Better than 58% of UK LAs
Portsmouth
£36,457/yr
Worse than 79% of UK LAs
Medway: 10% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Medway
£310,000
Worse than 58% of UK LAs
Portsmouth
£260,000
Better than 57% of UK LAs
Portsmouth: 19% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Medway
£1,241/mo
Worse than 68% of UK LAs
Portsmouth
£1,357/mo
Worse than 76% of UK LAs
Medway: 9% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Medway
£2,329/yr
Better than 74% of UK LAs
Portsmouth
£2,292/yr
Better than 82% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Medway
0.3/1k
Better than 99% of UK LAs
Portsmouth
112.9/1k
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Medway: 37533% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Medway
23.9
Worse than 70% of UK LAs
Portsmouth
26.9
Worse than 81% of UK LAs
Medway: lower average deprivation score (23.9 vs 26.9).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Medway
94.7%
Better than 67% of UK LAs
Portsmouth
91.8%
Worse than 72% of UK LAs
Medway: 2.9 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.
Medway
Rent takes 37% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 7.7× median annual pay
Portsmouth
Rent takes 45% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 7.1× median annual pay
Full Medway profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Portsmouth profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.