United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Manchester vs Sheffield
Manchester (North West, England · ~556k people) · Sheffield (Yorkshire and The Humber, England · ~589k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Manchester leads on 1, Sheffield on 6. 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
Manchester
£37,211/yr
Worse than 73% of UK LAs
Sheffield
£38,116/yr
Worse than 61% of UK LAs
Sheffield: 2% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Manchester
£247,500
Better than 61% of UK LAs
Sheffield
£218,000
Better than 74% of UK LAs
Sheffield: 14% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Manchester
£1,347/mo
Worse than 75% of UK LAs
Sheffield
£920/mo
Better than 59% of UK LAs
Sheffield: 46% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Manchester
£2,312/yr
Better than 77% of UK LAs
Sheffield
£2,510/yr
Worse than 71% of UK LAs
Manchester: £198 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Manchester
143.2/1k
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
Sheffield
97.4/1k
Worse than 83% of UK LAs
Sheffield: 47% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Manchester
40.0
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
Sheffield
27.1
Worse than 81% of UK LAs
Sheffield: lower average deprivation score (27.1 vs 40.0).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Manchester
90.3%
Worse than 76% of UK LAs
Sheffield
94.6%
Better than 67% of UK LAs
Sheffield: 4.3 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.
Manchester
Rent takes 43% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 6.7× median annual pay
Sheffield
Rent takes 29% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 5.7× median annual pay
Full Manchester 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.