United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Oldham vs Wirral
Oldham (North West, England · ~238k people) · Wirral (North West, England · ~324k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Oldham leads on 1, Wirral 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
Oldham
£35,417/yr
Worse than 89% of UK LAs
Wirral
£37,866/yr
Worse than 64% of UK LAs
Wirral: 7% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Oldham
£207,875
Better than 77% of UK LAs
Wirral
£217,500
Better than 74% of UK LAs
Oldham: 5% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Oldham
£910/mo
Better than 60% of UK LAs
Wirral
£830/mo
Better than 69% of UK LAs
Wirral: 10% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Oldham
£2,602/yr
Worse than 90% of UK LAs
Wirral
£2,501/yr
Worse than 69% of UK LAs
Wirral: £101 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Oldham
106.7/1k
Worse than 88% of UK LAs
Wirral
69.9/1k
Around UK average
Wirral: 53% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Oldham
33.2
Worse than 94% of UK LAs
Wirral
29.6
Worse than 86% of UK LAs
Wirral: lower average deprivation score (29.6 vs 33.2).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Oldham
84.5%
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
Wirral
88.0%
Worse than 85% of UK LAs
Wirral: 3.5 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.
Oldham
Rent takes 31% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 5.9× median annual pay
Wirral
Rent takes 26% 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 Wirral profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.