United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
County Durham vs Sheffield
County Durham (North East, England · ~533k people) · Sheffield (Yorkshire and The Humber, England · ~589k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: County Durham leads on 3, Sheffield on 3, 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
County Durham
£34,388/yr
Worse than 95% of UK LAs
Sheffield
£38,116/yr
Worse than 61% of UK LAs
Sheffield: 11% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
County Durham
£143,000
Better than 97% of UK LAs
Sheffield
£218,000
Better than 74% of UK LAs
County Durham: 52% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
County Durham
£632/mo
Better than 97% of UK LAs
Sheffield
£920/mo
Better than 59% of UK LAs
County Durham: 46% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
County Durham
£2,622/yr
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Sheffield
£2,510/yr
Worse than 71% of UK LAs
Sheffield: £112 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
County Durham
89.4/1k
Worse than 73% of UK LAs
Sheffield
97.4/1k
Worse than 83% of UK LAs
County Durham: 9% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
County Durham
26.8
Worse than 80% of UK LAs
Sheffield
27.1
Worse than 81% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
County Durham
92.6%
Worse than 57% of UK LAs
Sheffield
94.6%
Better than 67% of UK LAs
Sheffield: 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.
County Durham
Rent takes 22% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 4.2× median annual pay
Sheffield
Rent takes 29% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 5.7× median annual pay
Full County Durham profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Sheffield profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.