United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
City of Bristol vs Manchester
City of Bristol (South West, England · ~466k people) · Manchester (North West, England · ~556k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: City of Bristol leads on 3, Manchester on 4. 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
City of Bristol
£40,586/yr
Better than 60% of UK LAs
Manchester
£37,211/yr
Worse than 73% of UK LAs
City of Bristol: 9% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
City of Bristol
£351,000
Worse than 70% of UK LAs
Manchester
£247,500
Better than 61% of UK LAs
Manchester: 42% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
City of Bristol
£1,888/mo
Worse than 94% of UK LAs
Manchester
£1,347/mo
Worse than 75% of UK LAs
Manchester: 40% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
City of Bristol
£2,714/yr
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
Manchester
£2,312/yr
Better than 77% of UK LAs
Manchester: £402 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
City of Bristol
130.3/1k
Worse than 97% of UK LAs
Manchester
143.2/1k
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
City of Bristol: 10% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
City of Bristol
26.4
Worse than 79% of UK LAs
Manchester
40.0
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
City of Bristol: lower average deprivation score (26.4 vs 40.0).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
City of Bristol
88.5%
Worse than 84% of UK LAs
Manchester
90.3%
Worse than 76% of UK LAs
Manchester: 1.8 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.
City of Bristol
Rent takes 56% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 8.6× median annual pay
Manchester
Rent takes 43% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 6.7× median annual pay
Full City of Bristol profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Manchester profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.