United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Bolton vs Wigan
Bolton (North West, England · ~288k people) · Wigan (North West, England · ~331k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Wigan on 7. 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
Wigan
£37,794/yr
Worse than 66% of UK LAs
Wigan: 8% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Bolton
£205,000
Better than 78% of UK LAs
Wigan
£197,500
Better than 81% of UK LAs
Wigan: 4% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Bolton
£878/mo
Better than 63% of UK LAs
Wigan
£732/mo
Better than 85% of UK LAs
Wigan: 20% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Bolton
£2,400/yr
Better than 59% of UK LAs
Wigan
£2,153/yr
Better than 93% of UK LAs
Wigan: £247 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
Wigan
92.2/1k
Worse than 78% of UK LAs
Wigan: 7% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Bolton
30.7
Worse than 89% of UK LAs
Wigan
25.7
Worse than 76% of UK LAs
Wigan: lower average deprivation score (25.7 vs 30.7).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Bolton
91.2%
Worse than 75% of UK LAs
Wigan
97.5%
Better than 88% of UK LAs
Wigan: 6.3 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
Wigan
Rent takes 23% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 5.2× median annual pay
Full Bolton profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Wigan profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.