Jersey, Channel Islands vs Guernsey: an honest comparison for movers

Guernsey offers tax caps of £160,000 on non-Guernsey income and £320,000 on all income, and has no GST until at least 2028, while Jersey charges 5 per cent. Guernsey's Open Market lets wealthy newcomers buy freely at a premium; Jersey controls housing through residential status. Guernsey GP visits cost roughly double Jersey's.

People lump the Channel Islands together. The islands do not. They are separate jurisdictions with their own governments, tax systems and housing rules, and the choice matters. Here is how they compare on the things that matter when you move.

Size and feel

Jersey is about 45 square miles with roughly 104,500 people (end 2024). Guernsey is about 25 square miles with around 64,000^†. Jersey feels like a small county: a proper town, a real high street, a zoo, a bigger hospital and finance sector, more restaurants. Guernsey feels like a large village with a beautiful capital in St Peter Port and a slower pace. Both have superb beaches and cliff paths. Guernsey's sister islands, Herm, Sark and Alderney, are a genuine bonus.

Tax

Both charge 20 per cent income tax with no higher bands, no capital gains tax and no inheritance tax. The differences are in the detail.

GST. Jersey has had 5 per cent GST since 2008. Guernsey has had none, but in October 2026 its States voted to introduce GST at 3 per cent, rising to 5 per cent over four years, hoped for 2028, with income tax cuts for lower earners. The "no GST" advantage is ending^†.

Social security. Jersey employees pay 6 per cent up to about £72,700 and nothing above. Guernsey employees pay 7.4 per cent up to about £188,600 (2025). On £180,000 that is roughly £13,300 a year in Guernsey against £4,400 in Jersey. Jersey adds a long-term care levy of up to 1.5 per cent.

Tax caps. Guernsey offers caps Jersey does not: £160,000 on non-Guernsey income, £320,000 on all income, and a £60,000 cap for four years for new arrivals buying an Open Market home with at least £50,000 of document duty (roughly £1.4 million). Jersey's only equivalent is the high value residency regime (formerly 2(1)(e)), with a £250,000 minimum contribution and, historically, a house over £3.5 million^†. For worldwide income between about £500,000 and £2 million, Guernsey's caps can be markedly cheaper.

Housing rules

Jersey uses the Control of Housing and Work Law. Most property is Qualified and needs Entitled or Licensed status. Unsponsored newcomers are Standard, limited to Registered property, with full rights after ten years.

Guernsey splits housing into Local Market and Open Market. Open Market is about 7 per cent of homes, and anyone with the right to live in the UK can buy or rent there with no residence qualification. It carries a price premium, but there is no employer sponsorship and no ten-year clock.

Jersey is easier if your employer sponsors you. Guernsey is easier if you are self-funded and can afford Open Market prices.

Property prices

Both are expensive. Jersey's mean three-bed house was £797,000 and a four-bed £1.12 million in Q2 2026. Guernsey Local Market averages a little lower; Open Market homes start around £1 million and the median is well above^†.

Getting on and off

Jersey wins clearly. BA flies to Heathrow and Gatwick, easyJet to nine UK airports, Loganair to Southampton, Exeter, Bristol, East Midlands, Norwich, Dublin and Paris, and DFDS runs car ferries to Poole, Portsmouth and St Malo. Guernsey relies on Aurigny, its States-owned airline, plus Loganair and Brittany Ferries; fares are often higher and the network thinner. Blue Islands' collapse in November 2025 hurt Guernsey more. Fog closes both airports; Guernsey's more often^†.

Schools and healthcare

Jersey has free States schools, two fee-paying States colleges at around £8,700 a year and several private schools. Guernsey's grant-aided colleges charge roughly £13,000 to £17,000^†. Healthcare models are similar: paid GP visits (Guernsey's generally pricier, with no equivalent of Jersey's health card subsidy^†), one general hospital each, UK referrals, private dentistry only.

Work

Jersey's finance sector is larger, with a bigger legal market and growing digital sector. Guernsey is strong in insurance and funds but smaller overall. Jersey has more jobs; Guernsey has less competition for some.

The verdict

Choose Jersey for more choice in jobs, schools, restaurants and flights, or if your employer can sponsor your housing status. If it is Jersey, our step-by-step guide to moving to Jersey, Channel Islands runs from housing status to your first six months.

Choose Guernsey if you are self-funded with income that benefits from a tax cap, want to buy without a residency qualification through the Open Market, or value small-island quiet above everything.

Visit both for a long weekend in February, not July. If you still like it in the rain, you will be fine.

Frequently asked questions

^† Figure still being checked against its source before launch.