United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Bradford vs Wakefield
Bradford (Yorkshire and The Humber, England · ~542k people) · Wakefield (Yorkshire and The Humber, England · ~352k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Bradford leads on 2, Wakefield on 4, 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
Bradford
£34,876/yr
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Wakefield
£35,833/yr
Worse than 86% of UK LAs
Wakefield: 3% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Bradford
£182,000
Better than 87% of UK LAs
Wakefield
£200,000
Better than 80% of UK LAs
Bradford: 10% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Bradford
£737/mo
Better than 83% of UK LAs
Wakefield
£787/mo
Better than 76% of UK LAs
Bradford: 7% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Bradford
£2,361/yr
Better than 66% of UK LAs
Wakefield
£2,297/yr
Better than 80% of UK LAs
Wakefield: £64 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
Wakefield
108.4/1k
Worse than 90% of UK LAs
Wakefield: 10% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Bradford
34.7
Worse than 96% of UK LAs
Wakefield
27.3
Worse than 82% of UK LAs
Wakefield: 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
Wakefield
91.5%
Worse than 73% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
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
Wakefield
Rent takes 26% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 5.6× median annual pay
Full Bradford profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Wakefield profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.