Council tax bands in Bristol

Bristol has the second-largest share of homes in band B (35.7%) of the 296 councils in England. It also has the joint fifth-smallest share of homes built from 1983 to 1999 (5.5%) of the 318 councils in England and Wales. Among the 27 councils in the South West, it has the smallest share of detached houses (3.9%), the smallest share of bungalows (2.0%) and the smallest share of homes with four or more bedrooms (9.8%).

Most homes are in the two lowest bands

Bands A and B hold 62.6% of the homes in Bristol. The share in the middle bands, C to E, 33.6%, is 14.0 points below the figure for England as a whole. Across the South West it is 49.9%. Within the South West, the band mix closest to this one is that of Gloucester. Ranked by number of homes, the bands run B, A, C, D, E, F, G and H. Band H, the top band, holds 360 homes.

Edwardian homes lead

The biggest building periods here were from 1900 to 1918 (20.5%), between the wars (20.0%) and from 1945 to 1964 (14.6%). Some 17,190 homes were built from 2016 to 2026. The middle home built from 2016 to 2026 is in band B, the same as the middle home built before 2016. Bands A and B take 62.0% of these newer homes and 62.6% of the older ones. Over the year to March 2026 the list grew by a net 1,720 homes (+0.81%). Homes from the three largest building periods share the same middle band, band B. The busiest single year was 2021, with 2,840 homes recorded as built.

Flats and maisonettes are the largest group

The largest group of homes in Bristol is flats and maisonettes at 39.2%, followed in turn by terraced houses (34.2%), semi-detached houses (20.1%), detached houses and bungalows. The widest gap to the rest of the South West is in flats and maisonettes: 18.9 points above the share there (20.3%). The typical home of each type sits in band E for detached houses, band C for bungalows, band C for semi-detached houses, band B for terraced houses and band A for flats and maisonettes. The nearest property-type mix elsewhere belongs to Slough, followed by Enfield and Manchester.

Three bedrooms is the usual size

Three-bedroom homes (43.6%) are the most common size, then two-bedroom (26.4%) and one-bedroom (20.2%). Band climbs with size: the middle home is in band A with one bedroom, band B with two, band B with three, band D with four and band E with five. Homes here average 2.47 bedrooms, fewer than the 2.66 for England. A detached house here has 3.7 bedrooms on average, a flat 1.6.

Councils with a similar band mix

By band-mix distance (0 means identical), the councils closest to Bristol are Tamworth (7.6), Ipswich (11.2) and Portsmouth (13.2); the furthest within the South West is the Isles of Scilly (137.5).

Compare side by side

Placed in the South West

On the share of homes in band F or above, Bristol comes 25th of the 27 councils in the South West, just behind Torridge and just ahead of Plymouth. All South West councils.