United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Bolton vs Rochdale
Bolton (North West, England · ~288k people) · Rochdale (North West, England · ~224k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Bolton leads on 4, Rochdale on 2, 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
Bolton
£35,074/yr
Worse than 92% of UK LAs
Rochdale
£35,854/yr
Worse than 85% of UK LAs
Rochdale: 2% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Bolton
£205,000
Better than 78% of UK LAs
Rochdale
£205,000
Better than 78% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Bolton
£878/mo
Better than 63% of UK LAs
Rochdale
£824/mo
Better than 70% of UK LAs
Rochdale: 7% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Bolton
£2,400/yr
Better than 59% of UK LAs
Rochdale
£2,601/yr
Worse than 90% of UK LAs
Bolton: £201 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Bolton
98.4/1k
Worse than 84% of UK LAs
Rochdale
105.5/1k
Worse than 87% of UK LAs
Bolton: 7% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Bolton
30.7
Worse than 89% of UK LAs
Rochdale
34.4
Worse than 95% of UK LAs
Bolton: lower average deprivation score (30.7 vs 34.4).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Bolton
91.2%
Worse than 75% of UK LAs
Rochdale
85.6%
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Bolton: 5.6 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.
Bolton
Rent takes 30% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 5.8× median annual pay
Rochdale
Rent takes 28% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 5.7× median annual pay
Full Bolton profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Rochdale profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.