Official statistics · 15 of 16 measures compare directly
Birmingham and Manchester compared
Every measure Civometry publishes for both areas, side by side. Each figure is its publisher’s own for the period named beside it, and the difference between the two is stated in the middle. Neither area is called better: which direction counts as better depends on what you are asking, and the page does not decide that for you. Where the two figures are not comparable — a different period, or nothing published for one side — the row says so instead of showing a difference.
Birmingham
E08000025 · West Midlands Police
Manchester
E08000003 · Greater Manchester Police
Getting better or worse
−1
Civometry calculation on Home Office, ONS, HM Land Registry and MHCLG figures
1 more in Birmingham
−2
Civometry calculation on Home Office, ONS, HM Land Registry and MHCLG figures
Population
1,176,960
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
588,704 more in Birmingham
588,256
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
Median annual pay, full-time employees
£35,989
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
£289 more in Manchester
£36,278
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
Average house price
£234,150
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
£17,100 more in Manchester
£251,250
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
All private rents
£1,093
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
£272 more in Manchester
£1,365
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
All claimants
10.0%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
4.0 percentage points higher in Birmingham
6.0%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
Net international migration
+9,703
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
1,538 more in Birmingham
+8,165
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
Band D council tax
£2,363
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
£51 more in Birmingham
£2,312
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
IMD average score
38.1
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
0.6 more in Manchester
38.7
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
Income-deprived residents
41.7%
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
4.5 percentage points higher in Birmingham
37.2%
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
Recorded crime
124.0
Home Office: data.police.uk street-level crime, cumulative monthly archive
No published figure for Manchester.
No published figure
Home Office: data.police.uk street-level crime, cumulative monthly archive
House price to pay ratio
6.5 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
0.4 years more in Manchester
6.9 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
Annual rent as a share of pay
36.4%
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
8.8 percentage points higher in Manchester
45.2%
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
Band D council tax as a share of pay
6.57%
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
0.20 percentage points higher in Birmingham
6.37%
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
Mean domestic gas use per meter
12,711
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
2,013 more in Birmingham
10,698
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
Mean domestic electricity use per meter
3,364
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
3 more in Manchester
3,367
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
In one sentence
In the latest published figures, population was 1,176,960 in Birmingham and 588,256 in Manchester (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £35,989 in Birmingham and £36,278 in Manchester (2025); and average house price was £234,150 in Birmingham and £251,250 in Manchester (June 2026). (Civometry, from official statistics; each figure is the publisher's own.)
In the latest published figures, population was 1,176,960 in Birmingham and 588,256 in Manchester (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £35,989 in Birmingham and £36,278 in Manchester (2025); and average house price was £234,150 in Birmingham and £251,250 in Manchester (June 2026). (Civometry, from official statistics; each figure is the publisher's own.)
Recorded crime by category
A category-by-category crime comparison needs both areas to have a full, current twelve months in the data.police.uk archive. One of them does not, so it is not shown; the crime rate above, where published, still comes from that archive.
What this comparison rests on
Two figures are only subtracted when they are the same measure over the same period. Populations differ (1,176,960 and 569,260 residents on the latest estimates used here), so counts are shown alongside rates rather than instead of them. Nothing on this page is weighted, indexed or scored: every difference is one published number minus another, and the rows that cannot be compared say why.