United Kingdom · North West · Local Authority
Manchester
Metropolitan district · North West, England · population ~556k · 187 state-funded schools
High housing costs and significant social challenges define the experience of living in Manchester. While council tax is among the lowest in the North West at £2,312, the financial burden of accommodation is steep, with rent consuming 43.4% of median gross pay. Buying is equally demanding, as a median house costs 6.7 times annual earnings. These figures are compounded by a crime rate higher than 98% of England authorities and a high deprivation score. Despite these pressures, the city offers better educational access than the regional median, with 90.8% of pupils in Good or Outstanding schools. This location suits those who prioritise proximity to urban employment and school performance over low living costs or personal safety.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-10 data.
The signature
How Manchester ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£37,211/yr
Low
Worse than 73% of UK LAs
House price
£247,500
Affordable
Better than 61% of UK LAs
Rent
£1,347/mo
Expensive
Worse than 75% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,312/yr
Cheap
Better than 77% of UK LAs
Crime
143.2/1k
Highest
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
Deprivation
40.0
Most deprived
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
Schools
86.9%
Concerning
Worse than 87% of UK LAs
Colour shows quintile position against 361 UK Local Authorities. Green is the best position for someone moving here; red is the worst. Direction is set per indicator — higher pay, lower rent, less crime, less deprivation are all green.
Schools
208 state-funded schools · Ofsted Sep 2026
159 of 183 (86.9%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 25 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
187 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 187 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Manchester →Places with similar signatures
Nearest by quintile position across pay · housing · tax · crime · IMD · schools
Manchester head-to-heads
What we don't know yet
Commute times · GP appointment availability · broadband speeds · air quality at LA level · green-space proximity · public transport coverage. These matter for a relocation decision. We'll add them when the source data is reliable nationally and consistent across LA boundaries.