United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Tower Hamlets vs Waltham Forest
Tower Hamlets (London, England · ~332k people) · Waltham Forest (London, England · ~277k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Tower Hamlets 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
Tower Hamlets
£51,823/yr
Better than 98% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest
£46,842/yr
Better than 89% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets: 11% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Tower Hamlets
£500,000
Worse than 91% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest
£538,010
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets: 8% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Tower Hamlets
£2,396/mo
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest
£1,753/mo
Worse than 90% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest: 37% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Tower Hamlets
£1,838/yr
Better than 98% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest
£2,387/yr
Better than 61% of UK LAs
Tower Hamlets: £549 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Tower Hamlets
106.4/1k
Worse than 88% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest
81.1/1k
Worse than 64% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest: 31% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Tower Hamlets
27.9
Worse than 84% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest
25.2
Worse than 74% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest: lower average deprivation score (25.2 vs 27.9).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Tower Hamlets
98.1%
Better than 91% of UK LAs
Waltham Forest
98.1%
Better than 91% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
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.
Tower Hamlets
Rent takes 55% 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 Tower Hamlets 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.