Where on the UK
Avg rent
£1,345/mo+3.5%
Median across council areas
Median salary
£35,317
Annual, residence-based
Council tax
Band H
Most common band across the region
Population
9,642,942
Sum across local areas
council areas
64
5,571 sub-areas
Stations
300
National Rail
Liveability
46/100
Composite (median council area)
Safety
77/100
Higher is safer
Transport
60/100
Transit + walk
Good schools
33%
Within 2 km, Ofsted Good+
Gigabit
100%
Premises gigabit-capable
Greenspace
317m
Median distance to park
Compare
Cities in South East
Tap any row or map polygon to drill into that city — hovering on desktop will preview the link before you click. Switch the tab strip above the table to focus on Affordability, Schools, Transport, Safety or Wealth — the columns swap and the default sort follows.
300 National Rail stations in region
Avg rent, scores and YoY change at a glance.
| RegionSouth East | £1,345 | +3.5% | 46 | 77 |
| Isle of Wight | £940 | +8.2% | 72 | 74 |
| Dover | £962 | +5.4% | 64 | 76 |
| Hastings | £1,008 | +2.5% | 52 | 43 |
| Swale | £1,104 | +3.4% | 42 | 52 |
| Thanet | £1,107 | +6.7% | 67 | 48 |
| Havant | £1,127 | +2.0% | 60 | 65 |
| Folkestone and Hythe | £1,132 | +7.9% | 56 | 75 |
| Gosport | £1,150 | +7.5% | 69 | 62 |
| Eastbourne | £1,160 | +1.0% | 44 | 58 |
| Rother | £1,162 | +1.1% | 29 | 75 |
| Test Valley | £1,203 | +7.3% | 59 | 80 |
| Eastleigh | £1,205 | +4.0% | 74 | 78 |
| Fareham | £1,206 | +4.5% | 75 | 81 |
| Arun | £1,217 | +3.6% | 60 | 73 |
| New Forest | £1,234 | +2.4% | 44 | 82 |
| Ashford | £1,239 | +5.0% | 56 | 74 |
| Medway | £1,241 | +5.1% | 48 | 59 |
| Southampton | £1,246 | +3.5% | 78 | 39 |
| East Hampshire | £1,252 | +2.1% | 33 | 86 |
| Wealden | £1,259 | +2.0% | 38 | 84 |
| Canterbury | £1,260 | +5.3% | 50 | 62 |
| West Oxfordshire | £1,270 | -1.1% | 37 | 85 |
| West Berkshire | £1,273 | +2.6% | 45 | 79 |
| Maidstone | £1,282 | +4.1% | 61 | 69 |
| Cherwell | £1,289 | +4.0% | 56 | 80 |
| Worthing | £1,310 | +3.1% | 79 | 74 |
| Gravesham | £1,319 | +6.7% | 31 | 65 |
| Chichester | £1,319 | +3.3% | 28 | 80 |
| Lewes | £1,320 | +6.4% | 42 | 74 |
| Basingstoke and Deane | £1,324 | +5.6% | 48 | 77 |
Showing 1–30 of 64
Source: ONS, MHCLG, DfT, DESNZ and Defra — sub-area data combined into city-level medians. Rail stations from Network Rail.
Quick rankings
Find a place to live in South East
One-click pages ranked by the metric most people search for. Each one carries the same map and table — just pre-sorted and pre-tabbed.
FAQ
Frequently asked about South East
Short answers to the questions we get most often. Each one is anchored in the data above.
- What is the average rent in South East?
- The median monthly rent across South East is £1,332, drawn from the ONS Index of Private Housing Rental Prices. Individual cities and neighbourhoods vary substantially — see the city table above for the spread.
- What is the average salary in South East?
- Median resident annual salary in South East is £35,317 (ONS ASHE 2025). This is salary for residents of South East, not for people who commute in to work there.
- Is South East a safe place to live?
- South East has an average safety score of 77/100 across its constituent neighbourhoods. The score is based on police-recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, normalised against England + Wales as a whole. Higher = safer.
- What's the best place to live in South East?
- It depends on what you weight. By our composite liveability score (which blends safety, transport, schools and rent affordability), the highest-ranked cities in South East are listed in the city table above. For ranked shortlists by single criteria, see the Quick rankings section.
- How many cities are in South East?
- South East contains 64 council areas (cities and districts) covering 5,571 sub-areas. Browse the full list in the table above.
- Is gigabit broadband available across South East?
- 100% of premises in South East are gigabit-capable per Ofcom Connected Nations 2025. Coverage is patchier in older terraces and rural fringes — check your specific postcode for service availability.
- Where can I see how South East compares to other UK regions?
- The country-level overview at /gb sorts every region by rent, salary and safety. From there you can drill into any other region for the same view of cities, neighbourhoods and shortlists.