United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Medway vs Southampton
Medway (South East, England · ~279k people) · Southampton (South East, England · ~253k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Medway leads on 5, Southampton 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
Southampton
£37,669/yr
Worse than 69% of UK LAs
Medway: 7% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Medway
£310,000
Worse than 58% of UK LAs
Southampton
£260,000
Better than 57% of UK LAs
Southampton: 19% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Medway
£1,241/mo
Worse than 68% of UK LAs
Southampton
£1,246/mo
Worse than 68% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Medway
£2,329/yr
Better than 74% of UK LAs
Southampton
£2,381/yr
Better than 62% of UK LAs
Medway: £52 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Medway
0.3/1k
Better than 99% of UK LAs
Southampton
120.3/1k
Worse than 96% of UK LAs
Medway: 40000% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Medway
23.9
Worse than 70% of UK LAs
Southampton
26.9
Worse than 80% 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
Southampton
88.8%
Worse than 83% of UK LAs
Medway: 5.9 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
Southampton
Rent takes 40% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 6.9× median annual pay
Full Medway profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Southampton profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.