United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Barnsley vs Leeds
Barnsley (Yorkshire and The Humber, England · ~248k people) · Leeds (Yorkshire and The Humber, England · ~799k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Barnsley leads on 5, Leeds on 1, 1 effectively tied. Which trade-offs matter is yours to weigh — the rows below show where each one wins.
Head to head
Median pay
ONS ASHE (residence) · 2025
Barnsley
£38,558/yr
Worse than 56% of UK LAs
Leeds
£37,596/yr
Worse than 70% of UK LAs
Barnsley: 3% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Barnsley
£180,000
Better than 88% of UK LAs
Leeds
£245,000
Better than 62% of UK LAs
Barnsley: 36% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Barnsley
£670/mo
Better than 94% of UK LAs
Leeds
£1,130/mo
Worse than 60% of UK LAs
Barnsley: 69% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Barnsley
£2,326/yr
Better than 75% of UK LAs
Leeds
£2,284/yr
Better than 83% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Barnsley
94.9/1k
Worse than 79% of UK LAs
Leeds
116.1/1k
Worse than 94% of UK LAs
Barnsley: 22% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Barnsley
29.9
Worse than 88% of UK LAs
Leeds
27.3
Worse than 82% of UK LAs
Leeds: lower average deprivation score (27.3 vs 29.9).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Barnsley
98.6%
Better than 93% of UK LAs
Leeds
94.2%
Better than 65% of UK LAs
Barnsley: 4.4 percentage points more pupils in Good/Outstanding schools.
What local pay actually covers
Same-place ratios — each area's own median rent and house price against its own median gross pay. A cheap-looking area stops looking cheap when local pay is lower still.
Barnsley
Rent takes 21% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 4.7× median annual pay
Leeds
Rent takes 36% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 6.5× median annual pay
Full Barnsley profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Leeds profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.