How does population impact rental prices? The best sized cities for tenant affordability.
Research by leading room share platform, ideal flatmate, has looked at the impact population size has on rental prices in major cities and towns across England and Wales.
Using government data on private rents and population figures, ideal flatmate looked at the average rental price across cities within certain population brackets, starting at 50,000 to 100,000 people and climbing.
The highest average rental cost is found in the nation’s most major cities with a population above 500,000 people which is perhaps to be expected as these cities traditional attract the greatest level of tenant demand while house prices see many priced out of buying. Bradford, Birmingham, London, Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester are home to an average rental cost of £865 with rents ranging between £530 and £1,727, the highest of all population brackets.
But it isn’t as straight forward as the larger the population the higher the rental price. In fact, towns and cities with smaller population sizes are actually home to some of the next highest average rents.
The smallest towns and cities where the population sits between 50,000 to 100,000 are home to an average rental cost of £732, climbing to £807 in towns and cities with a population of between 100,000 and 150,000, and increasing further still to £830 per month for a population between 150,000 and 200,000.
However, at this point the average cost of renting drops notable with towns with a population of between 200,000 and 250,000 home to an average rent of just £688. The average rent then drops again to £670 for towns and cities with a population between 250,000 to 300,000.
But even better value for tenants are towns and cities with a population between 300,000 and 500,000, with the average rental cost at just £628 per month, with the highest average rent marginally over £1,000 and the lowest just below £500. This means that cities such as Liverpool, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry and Nottingham offer some of the best value for tenants without sacrificing the city life that many leave home in search for.
Co-founder of ideal flatmate, Tom Gatzen, commented:
“For many, moving away from home to a major city can be their first experience of the rental sector and all too often it can be a negative one due to the high costs of living.
While population size can be a driving factor behind demand for rental properties the data shows that more people doesn’t necessarily mean higher rents.
Although a supply-demand imbalance can push rents up, it would seem that there is a sweet spot where rental costs remain pretty tenant friendly without the need to ditch the big city lifestyle.”
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Population categories – by average rental prices
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Population Bracket
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Average Population
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Average Monthly Rent
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Highest Monthly Rent
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Lowest Monthly Rent
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50,000 to 100,000
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83,807
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£732
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£1,288
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£458
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100,000 to 150,000
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124,200
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£807
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£1,413
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£457
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150,000 to 200,000
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173,389
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£830
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£1,366
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£533
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200,000 to 250,000
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221,233
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£688
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£1,034
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£486
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250,000 to 300,000
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269,973
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£670
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£1,302
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£427
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300,000 to 500,000
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364,520
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£628
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£1,070
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£471
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500,000 +
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2,075,467
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£865
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£1,727
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£530
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City population and average renal price by population category
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Population Bracket
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Cities and Towns
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Population Estimates (thousands)
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Average Rent (per month)
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500k
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London
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8869.1
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£1,727
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Birmingham
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1137.8
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£715
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Leeds
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786.2
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£760
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Sheffield
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578.1
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£618
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Manchester
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547.7
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£839
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Bradford
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533.9
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£530
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300k-500k
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Liverpool
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491.6
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£499
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Bristol, city of
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461.2
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£1,070
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Cardiff
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362.8
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£733
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Coventry
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359.9
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£637
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Leicester
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353.1
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£600
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Wakefield
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338.9
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£546
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Nottingham
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327.2
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£647
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Wigan
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324.4
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£509
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Dudley
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318.2
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£571
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Doncaster
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307.9
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£471
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250k-300k
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Newcastle upon Tyne
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295.6
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£717
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Stockport
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291.0
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£727
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Brighton and Hove
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289.6
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£1,302
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Bolton
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284.7
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£583
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Walsall
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280.5
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£564
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Sunderland
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277.5
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£528
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Milton Keynes
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269.1
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£976
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Plymouth
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263.3
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£569
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Rotherham
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262.9
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£507
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Kingston upon Hull, city of
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260.6
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£427
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Wolverhampton
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259.5
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£555
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Derby
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257.6
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£578
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Stoke-on-Trent
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254.6
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£481
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Southampton
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252.4
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£793
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Salford
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250.7
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£747
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200k-250k
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Swansea
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246.5
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£552
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Barnsley
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243.7
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£486
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Oldham
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233.7
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£562
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Northampton
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226.6
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£718
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Swindon
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220.1
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£698
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Luton
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218.0
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£816
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Rochdale
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217.2
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£515
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Portsmouth
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214.6
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£812
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Solihull
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213.1
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£898
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Warrington
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210.0
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£633
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York
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208.2
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£1,034
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Gateshead
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203.1
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£536
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150k-200k
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Peterborough
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198.7
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£649
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Stockton-on-Tees
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196.8
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£559
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Bournemouth
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195.4
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£848
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Colchester
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190.2
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£813
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Bury
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189.0
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£624
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Basildon
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185.4
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£985
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Southend-on-Sea
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181.8
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£830
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St. Helens
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179.0
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£533
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Chelmsford
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175.3
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£968
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Telford
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174.9
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£593
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Bedford
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170.8
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£802
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Maidstone
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167.4
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£867
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Wokingham
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164.5
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£1,220
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Canterbury
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164.1
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£873
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Reading
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164.1
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£1,010
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Harrogate
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160.5
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£847
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Oxford
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155.3
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£1,366
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Braintree
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151.9
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£814
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Newport
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151.5
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£539
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Poole
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151.2
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£872
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100k-150k
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Huddersfield
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149.0
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£540
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Slough
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148.8
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£994
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Guildford
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148.2
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£1,413
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St Albans
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147.8
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£1,310
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Blackburn
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146.5
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£492
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Lancaster
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142.1
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£585
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Thanet
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142.0
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£685
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Norwich
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141.1
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£787
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Preston
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141.0
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£547
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Middlesbrough
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140.6
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£457
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Warwick
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139.8
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£834
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Blackpool
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139.5
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£521
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Horsham
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139.5
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£1,052
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Ipswich
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139.3
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£643
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Stafford
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134.1
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£618
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Eastleigh
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130.2
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£856
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Gloucester
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129.6
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£661
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Exeter
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129.0
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£976
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Newcastle-under-Lyme
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128.8
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£581
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High Wycombe
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125.3
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£1,093
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Cambridge
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124.5
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£1,225
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Havant
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124.4
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£846
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Winchester
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124.1
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£1,165
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Chichester
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120.1
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£966
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Sevenoaks
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119.6
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£1,386
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Bracknell
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119.4
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£1,021
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Stroud
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118.2
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£739
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Cheltenham
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117.6
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£808
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Fareham
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116.4
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£891
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Chorley
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115.4
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£582
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Dover
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115.1
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£673
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Basingstoke
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113.8
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£933
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Crawley
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112.2
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£990
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Worthing
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110.0
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£807
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Carlisle
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108.5
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£478
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Mansfield
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108.4
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£502
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Scarborough
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108.1
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£516
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Darlington
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106.3
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£484
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Rugby
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106.0
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£706
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Chesterfield
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104.6
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£533
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Eastbourne
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103.7
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£772
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Lichfield
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103.0
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£727
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Worcester
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102.5
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£633
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Lewes
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102.4
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£1,004
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Woking
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101.6
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£1,289
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50k-100k
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Kettering
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99.8
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£664
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Great Yarmouth
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99.2
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£557
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Lincoln
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97.7
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£569
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Watford
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97.6
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£1,059
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Bromsgrove
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97.3
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£739
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Bath
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95.0
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£1,288
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Hastings
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93.4
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£648
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Hartlepool
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92.9
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£470
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Tewkesbury
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89.6
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£744
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Stevenage
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87.8
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£882
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Burnley
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87.5
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£458
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Selby
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87.5
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£608
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Harlow
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86.5
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£934
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Rochford
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86.1
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£965
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Gosport
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85.8
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£745
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Redditch
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85.1
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£674
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Scunthorpe
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82.5
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£475
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Daventry
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81.5
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£809
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Wellingborough
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78.9
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£704
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Bolsover
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78.6
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£484
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Brentwood
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77.2
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£1,139
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Tamworth
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76.9
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£660
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Corby
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69.5
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£560
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Boston
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68.1
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£609
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Barrow-in-Furness
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67.2
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£522
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Maldon
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63.7
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£864
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Christchurch
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50.0
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£924
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Sources
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Population data for cities and towns
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Cities and Towns information
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Private Rent
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