Rents vs Wages

This chart compares UK private rents with average weekly earnings using official ONS data.

Rents vs Wages

This chart compares UK private rents with average weekly earnings using official ONS data.

What this chart shows

This chart shows how private rents and average weekly earnings have moved over time. Both series are rebased to a common starting point (=100) so you can see whether rents have risen faster or slower than wages.

What this cannot prove

This chart shows movements over time, but it does not prove a single cause for changes in rents or earnings, and it does not measure rental affordability for any individual household. Rebasing changes the visual scale, not the underlying data.

This chart is rebased: each series is set to 100 at a common starting point so their relative growth can be compared on one axis. Rebasing changes the display scale only — the underlying source values are unchanged.

Sources & update schedule

Data from Office for National Statistics.

Private Rents Index

Source: Office for National Statistics

Unit: Index

Updated monthly

Average Weekly Earnings

Source: Office for National Statistics

Unit: Index, 2015=100

Updated monthly