United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Sheffield vs Wakefield
Sheffield (Yorkshire and The Humber, England · ~589k people) · Wakefield (Yorkshire and The Humber, England · ~352k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Sheffield leads on 3, Wakefield 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
Sheffield
£38,116/yr
Worse than 61% of UK LAs
Wakefield
£35,833/yr
Worse than 86% of UK LAs
Sheffield: 6% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Sheffield
£218,000
Better than 74% of UK LAs
Wakefield
£200,000
Better than 80% of UK LAs
Wakefield: 9% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Sheffield
£920/mo
Better than 59% of UK LAs
Wakefield
£787/mo
Better than 76% of UK LAs
Wakefield: 17% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Sheffield
£2,510/yr
Worse than 71% of UK LAs
Wakefield
£2,297/yr
Better than 80% of UK LAs
Wakefield: £213 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Sheffield
97.4/1k
Worse than 83% of UK LAs
Wakefield
108.4/1k
Worse than 90% of UK LAs
Sheffield: 11% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Sheffield
27.1
Worse than 81% of UK LAs
Wakefield
27.3
Worse than 82% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Sheffield
94.6%
Better than 67% of UK LAs
Wakefield
91.5%
Worse than 73% of UK LAs
Sheffield: 3.1 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.
Sheffield
Rent takes 29% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 5.7× median annual pay
Wakefield
Rent takes 26% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 5.6× median annual pay
Full Sheffield profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Wakefield profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.