United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Wigan vs Wirral
Wigan (North West, England · ~331k people) · Wirral (North West, England · ~324k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Wigan leads on 5, Wirral on 1, 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
Wigan
£37,794/yr
Worse than 66% of UK LAs
Wirral
£37,866/yr
Worse than 64% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Wigan
£197,500
Better than 81% of UK LAs
Wirral
£217,500
Better than 74% of UK LAs
Wigan: 10% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Wigan
£732/mo
Better than 85% of UK LAs
Wirral
£830/mo
Better than 69% of UK LAs
Wigan: 13% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Wigan
£2,153/yr
Better than 93% of UK LAs
Wirral
£2,501/yr
Worse than 69% of UK LAs
Wigan: £348 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Wigan
92.2/1k
Worse than 78% of UK LAs
Wirral
69.9/1k
Around UK average
Wirral: 32% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Wigan
25.7
Worse than 76% of UK LAs
Wirral
29.6
Worse than 86% of UK LAs
Wigan: lower average deprivation score (25.7 vs 29.6).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Wigan
97.5%
Better than 88% of UK LAs
Wirral
88.0%
Worse than 85% of UK LAs
Wigan: 9.5 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.
Wigan
Rent takes 23% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 5.2× median annual pay
Wirral
Rent takes 26% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 5.7× median annual pay
Full Wigan 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.