Council tax and house prices, ranked
Every council in this table is ranked against the other 295 we hold a published rate and price for, so a claim like “cheapest council tax in England” below is a real position, not an impression.
Cheapest council tax
Top 20, Band D, per year
| # | Council area | Band D, per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WandsworthLondon | £1,028 |
| 2 | WestminsterLondon | £1,050 |
| 3 | City of LondonLondon | £1,330 |
| 4 | Hammersmith and FulhamLondon | £1,520 |
| 5 | Kensington and ChelseaLondon | £1,667 |
| 6 | Tower HamletsLondon | £1,838 |
| 7 | NewhamLondon | £1,944 |
| 8 | Windsor and MaidenheadSouth East | £1,953 |
| 9 | SouthwarkLondon | £1,967 |
| 10 | HillingdonLondon | £2,045 |
| 11 | LambethLondon | £2,047 |
| 12 | HackneyLondon | £2,060 |
| 13 | GreenwichLondon | £2,108 |
| 14 | IslingtonLondon | £2,108 |
| 15 | BarnetLondon | £2,133 |
| 16 | EalingLondon | £2,139 |
| 17 | BromleyLondon | £2,140 |
| 18 | DudleyWest Midlands | £2,145 |
| 19 | MertonLondon | £2,147 |
| 20 | WiganNorth West | £2,153 |
Most expensive council tax
Top 20, Band D, per year
| # | Council area | Band D, per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DorsetSouth West | £2,765 |
| 2 | LewesSouth East | £2,756 |
| 3 | NottinghamEast Midlands | £2,755 |
| 4 | RutlandEast Midlands | £2,738 |
| 5 | WealdenSouth East | £2,728 |
| 6 | GatesheadNorth East | £2,716 |
| 7 | BristolSouth West | £2,714 |
| 8 | West DevonSouth West | £2,705 |
| 9 | RotherSouth East | £2,701 |
| 10 | Newark and SherwoodEast Midlands | £2,682 |
| 11 | OxfordSouth East | £2,678 |
| 12 | HastingsSouth East | £2,677 |
| 13 | LiverpoolNorth West | £2,674 |
| 14 | Mid DevonSouth West | £2,656 |
| 15 | EastbourneSouth East | £2,654 |
| 16 | BassetlawEast Midlands | £2,645 |
| 17 | TeignbridgeSouth West | £2,643 |
| 18 | RushcliffeEast Midlands | £2,643 |
| 19 | North DevonSouth West | £2,642 |
| 20 | PendleNorth West | £2,640 |
Cheapest to buy a first home
Top 20, average first-time-buyer price
| # | Council area | average first-time-buyer price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HartlepoolNorth East | £113,425 |
| 2 | BurnleyNorth West | £120,850 |
| 3 | County DurhamNorth East | £122,971 |
| 4 | MiddlesbroughNorth East | £123,524 |
| 5 | BlackpoolNorth West | £125,433 |
| 6 | Kingston upon HullYorkshire and The Humber | £126,700 |
| 7 | SunderlandNorth East | £126,993 |
| 8 | HyndburnNorth West | £129,512 |
| 9 | PendleNorth West | £135,799 |
| 10 | North East LincolnshireYorkshire and The Humber | £135,939 |
| 11 | Redcar and ClevelandNorth East | £136,822 |
| 12 | Stoke-on-TrentWest Midlands | £137,891 |
| 13 | DarlingtonNorth East | £139,200 |
| 14 | GatesheadNorth East | £143,169 |
| 15 | South TynesideNorth East | £145,833 |
| 16 | Stockton-on-TeesNorth East | £146,788 |
| 17 | Blackburn with DarwenNorth West | £149,941 |
| 18 | CumberlandNorth West | £152,447 |
| 19 | DoncasterYorkshire and The Humber | £154,563 |
| 20 | BostonEast Midlands | £156,679 |
Most expensive to buy a first home
Top 20, average first-time-buyer price
| # | Council area | average first-time-buyer price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kensington and ChelseaLondon | £1,065,235 |
| 2 | WestminsterLondon | £765,559 |
| 3 | CamdenLondon | £728,951 |
| 4 | City of LondonLondon | £703,049 |
| 5 | Richmond upon ThamesLondon | £651,131 |
| 6 | Hammersmith and FulhamLondon | £619,553 |
| 7 | IslingtonLondon | £594,746 |
| 8 | WandsworthLondon | £574,578 |
| 9 | HackneyLondon | £548,281 |
| 10 | HaringeyLondon | £536,916 |
| 11 | SouthwarkLondon | £509,989 |
| 12 | MertonLondon | £508,515 |
| 13 | ElmbridgeSouth East | £500,171 |
| 14 | EalingLondon | £482,895 |
| 15 | LambethLondon | £481,859 |
| 16 | St AlbansEast of England | £480,293 |
| 17 | Kingston upon ThamesLondon | £476,391 |
| 18 | BarnetLondon | £472,932 |
| 19 | Waltham ForestLondon | £470,568 |
| 20 | BrentLondon | £470,475 |
Last checked 2 September 2026. Council tax is each council’s published 2026/27 Band D charge, including police, fire and any county precepts, and changes only on 1 April. House prices are HM Land Registry’s first-time-buyer average for the area. Full working for a specific council is on its own page; the assumptions behind every figure are on the methodology page.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. House price data © Crown copyright and database right, HM Land Registry. The First Move is independent and is not an official government service.