United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
County Durham vs Sunderland
County Durham (North East, England · ~533k people) · Sunderland (North East, England · ~278k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: County Durham leads on 4, Sunderland on 2, 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
Sunderland
£34,076/yr
Worse than 96% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
County Durham
£143,000
Better than 97% of UK LAs
Sunderland
£152,000
Better than 96% of UK LAs
County Durham: 6% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
County Durham
£632/mo
Better than 97% of UK LAs
Sunderland
£695/mo
Better than 92% of UK LAs
County Durham: 10% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
County Durham
£2,622/yr
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Sunderland
£2,197/yr
Better than 91% of UK LAs
Sunderland: £425 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
Sunderland
94.6/1k
Worse than 79% of UK LAs
County Durham: 6% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
County Durham
26.8
Worse than 80% of UK LAs
Sunderland
30.6
Worse than 89% of UK LAs
County Durham: lower average deprivation score (26.8 vs 30.6).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
County Durham
92.6%
Worse than 57% of UK LAs
Sunderland
96.4%
Better than 79% of UK LAs
Sunderland: 3.8 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.
County Durham
Rent takes 22% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 4.2× median annual pay
Sunderland
Rent takes 24% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 4.5× median annual pay
Full County Durham profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Sunderland profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.