United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Oldham vs Rochdale
Oldham (North West, England · ~238k people) · Rochdale (North West, England · ~224k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Oldham leads on 1, Rochdale on 1, 5 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
Oldham
£35,417/yr
Worse than 89% of UK LAs
Rochdale
£35,854/yr
Worse than 85% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Oldham
£207,875
Better than 77% of UK LAs
Rochdale
£205,000
Better than 78% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Oldham
£910/mo
Better than 60% of UK LAs
Rochdale
£824/mo
Better than 70% of UK LAs
Rochdale: 10% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Oldham
£2,602/yr
Worse than 90% of UK LAs
Rochdale
£2,601/yr
Worse than 90% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Oldham
106.7/1k
Worse than 88% of UK LAs
Rochdale
105.5/1k
Worse than 87% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Oldham
33.2
Worse than 94% of UK LAs
Rochdale
34.4
Worse than 95% of UK LAs
Oldham: lower average deprivation score (33.2 vs 34.4).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Oldham
84.5%
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
Rochdale
85.6%
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
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.
Oldham
Rent takes 31% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 5.9× median annual pay
Rochdale
Rent takes 28% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 5.7× median annual pay
Full Oldham profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Rochdale profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.