United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Liverpool vs Manchester
Liverpool (North West, England · ~500k people) · Manchester (North West, England · ~556k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Liverpool leads on 3, Manchester 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
Liverpool
£37,788/yr
Worse than 67% of UK LAs
Manchester
£37,211/yr
Worse than 73% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Liverpool
£180,000
Better than 88% of UK LAs
Manchester
£247,500
Better than 61% of UK LAs
Liverpool: 38% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Liverpool
£893/mo
Better than 62% of UK LAs
Manchester
£1,347/mo
Worse than 75% of UK LAs
Liverpool: 51% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Liverpool
£2,674/yr
Worse than 96% of UK LAs
Manchester
£2,312/yr
Better than 77% of UK LAs
Manchester: £362 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Liverpool
123.5/1k
Worse than 97% of UK LAs
Manchester
143.2/1k
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
Liverpool: 16% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Liverpool
42.4
Worse than 99% of UK LAs
Manchester
40.0
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
Manchester: lower average deprivation score (40.0 vs 42.4).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Liverpool
85.6%
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Manchester
90.3%
Worse than 76% of UK LAs
Manchester: 4.7 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.
Liverpool
Rent takes 28% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 4.8× median annual pay
Manchester
Rent takes 43% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 6.7× median annual pay
Full Liverpool 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.