Official statistics · 16 of 17 measures compare directly
Cardiff and Medway compared
Every measure Civometry publishes for both areas, side by side. Each figure is its publisher’s own for the period named beside it, and the difference between the two is stated in the middle. Neither area is called better: which direction counts as better depends on what you are asking, and the page does not decide that for you. Where the two figures are not comparable — a different period, or nothing published for one side — the row says so instead of showing a difference.
Cardiff
W06000015 · South Wales Police
Medway
E06000035 · Kent Police
Getting better or worse
0
Civometry calculation on Home Office, ONS, HM Land Registry and MHCLG figures
1 more in Cardiff
−1
Civometry calculation on Home Office, ONS, HM Land Registry and MHCLG figures
Population
381,516
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
88,819 more in Cardiff
292,697
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
Median annual pay, full-time employees
£36,946
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
£2,676 more in Medway
£39,622
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
Average house price
£270,094
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
£26,088 more in Medway
£296,182
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
All private rents
£1,169
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
£67 more in Medway
£1,236
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
All claimants
3.9%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
0.3 percentage points higher in Medway
4.2%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
Net international migration
+1,000
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
307 more in Medway
+1,307
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
Outstanding borrowing
£1,165m
MHCLG: Local authorities borrowing and investments: UK live table
£418m more in Cardiff
£747m
MHCLG: Local authorities borrowing and investments: UK live table
Supported asylum seekers
1,313
Home Office: Immigration system statistics: asylum seekers in receipt of support by local authority (Asy_D11)
967 more in Cardiff
346
Home Office: Immigration system statistics: asylum seekers in receipt of support by local authority (Asy_D11)
Borrowing per resident
£3,053
MHCLG: Local authorities borrowing and investments: UK live table
£503 more in Cardiff
£2,550
MHCLG: Local authorities borrowing and investments: UK live table
Women's pay as a share of men's
89.9%
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence, men and women full-time
11.0 percentage points higher in Cardiff
78.9%
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence, men and women full-time
Recorded crime
108.0
Home Office: data.police.uk street-level crime, cumulative monthly archive
6.1 more in Cardiff
101.9
Home Office: data.police.uk street-level crime, cumulative monthly archive
House price to pay ratio
7.3 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
0.2 years more in Medway
7.5 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
Annual rent as a share of pay
38.0%
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
0.6 percentage points higher in Cardiff
37.4%
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
Band D council tax as a share of pay
No published figure
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
No published figure for Cardiff.
5.88%
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
Mean domestic gas use per meter
10,534
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
111 more in Cardiff
10,423
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
Mean domestic electricity use per meter
3,063
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
193 more in Medway
3,256
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
In one sentence
In the latest published figures, population was 381,516 in Cardiff and 292,697 in Medway (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £36,946 in Cardiff and £39,622 in Medway (2025); and average house price was £270,094 in Cardiff and £296,182 in Medway (June 2026). (Civometry, from official statistics; each figure is the publisher's own.)
In the latest published figures, population was 381,516 in Cardiff and 292,697 in Medway (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £36,946 in Cardiff and £39,622 in Medway (2025); and average house price was £270,094 in Cardiff and £296,182 in Medway (June 2026). (Civometry, from official statistics; each figure is the publisher's own.)
Recorded crime by category
Offences per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to June 2026, from the same archive and the same window for both areas.
| Category | Cardiff per 1,000 | offences | Medway per 1,000 | offences | E&W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime | 108.0 | 41,199 | 101.9 | 29,823 | 97.4 |
| Bicycle theft | 2.1 | 785 | 0.7 | 216 | 0.8 |
| Burglary | 3.2 | 1,238 | 2.3 | 673 | 3.6 |
| Criminal damage and arson | 8.0 | 3,069 | 8.7 | 2,560 | 6.9 |
| Drugs | 3.1 | 1,201 | 3.7 | 1,077 | 3.4 |
| Other crime | 2.2 | 852 | 3.0 | 873 | 2.2 |
| Other theft | 6.0 | 2,280 | 6.8 | 1,981 | 6.5 |
| Possession of weapons | 1.2 | 464 | 1.1 | 321 | 1.0 |
| Public disorder and weapons | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Public order | 11.4 | 4,357 | 4.6 | 1,349 | 6.8 |
| Robbery | 1.5 | 579 | 1.0 | 295 | 1.4 |
| Shoplifting | 12.8 | 4,902 | 7.1 | 2,091 | 8.3 |
| Theft from the person | 0.9 | 346 | 0.5 | 134 | 1.7 |
| Vehicle crime | 8.2 | 3,129 | 4.2 | 1,234 | 5.0 |
| Violence and sexual offences | 34.3 | 13,082 | 37.6 | 11,003 | 34.7 |
| Violent crime | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 |
Police-recorded crime counts offences reported to and recorded by the police. It is affected by whether people report crime and by changes in police recording practice, so it does not measure all crime that happens. The Crime Survey for England and Wales is the better guide to long-term trends in the crimes it covers. Police recorded crime is not designated as National Statistics.
What this comparison rests on
Two figures are only subtracted when they are the same measure over the same period. Populations differ (381,516 and 292,697 residents on the latest estimates used here), so counts are shown alongside rates rather than instead of them. Nothing on this page is weighted, indexed or scored: every difference is one published number minus another, and the rows that cannot be compared say why.