United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Bradford vs Leeds
Bradford (Yorkshire and The Humber, England · ~542k people) · Leeds (Yorkshire and The Humber, England · ~799k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Bradford leads on 2, Leeds on 5. 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
Bradford
£34,876/yr
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Leeds
£37,596/yr
Worse than 70% of UK LAs
Leeds: 8% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Bradford
£182,000
Better than 87% of UK LAs
Leeds
£245,000
Better than 62% of UK LAs
Bradford: 35% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Bradford
£737/mo
Better than 83% of UK LAs
Leeds
£1,130/mo
Worse than 60% of UK LAs
Bradford: 53% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Bradford
£2,361/yr
Better than 66% of UK LAs
Leeds
£2,284/yr
Better than 83% of UK LAs
Leeds: £77 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Bradford
119.6/1k
Worse than 96% of UK LAs
Leeds
116.1/1k
Worse than 94% of UK LAs
Leeds: 3% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Bradford
34.7
Worse than 96% of UK LAs
Leeds
27.3
Worse than 82% of UK LAs
Leeds: lower average deprivation score (27.3 vs 34.7).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Bradford
92.2%
Worse than 60% of UK LAs
Leeds
94.2%
Better than 65% of UK LAs
Leeds: 2.0 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.
Bradford
Rent takes 25% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 5.2× median annual pay
Leeds
Rent takes 36% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 6.5× median annual pay
Full Bradford 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.