Official statistics · 15 of 16 measures compare directly
Bury and Preston 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.
Bury
E08000002 · Greater Manchester Police
Preston
E07000123 · Lancashire Constabulary
Getting better or worse
−2
Civometry calculation on Home Office, ONS, HM Land Registry and MHCLG figures
1 more in Preston
−1
Civometry calculation on Home Office, ONS, HM Land Registry and MHCLG figures
Population
199,271
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
34,773 more in Bury
164,498
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
Median annual pay, full-time employees
£35,767
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
£1,447 more in Preston
£37,214
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
Average house price
£238,446
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
£50,737 more in Bury
£187,709
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
All private rents
£969
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
£181 more in Bury
£788
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
All claimants
4.3%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
0.3 percentage points higher in Preston
4.6%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
Net international migration
+665
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
687 more in Preston
+1,352
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
Band D council tax
£2,555
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
£21 more in Preston
£2,576
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
IMD average score
24.0
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
4.8 more in Preston
28.8
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
Income-deprived residents
25.2%
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
2.7 percentage points higher in Preston
27.9%
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
Recorded crime
No published figure
Home Office: data.police.uk street-level crime, cumulative monthly archive
No published figure for Bury.
128.9
Home Office: data.police.uk street-level crime, cumulative monthly archive
House price to pay ratio
6.7 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
1.7 years more in Bury
5.0 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
Annual rent as a share of pay
32.5%
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
7.1 percentage points higher in Bury
25.4%
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
Band D council tax as a share of pay
7.14%
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
0.22 percentage points higher in Bury
6.92%
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
Mean domestic gas use per meter
11,905
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
776 more in Bury
11,129
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
Mean domestic electricity use per meter
3,152
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
1 more in Preston
3,153
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
In one sentence
In the latest published figures, population was 199,271 in Bury and 164,498 in Preston (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £35,767 in Bury and £37,214 in Preston (2025); and average house price was £238,446 in Bury and £187,709 in Preston (June 2026). (Civometry, from official statistics; each figure is the publisher's own.)
In the latest published figures, population was 199,271 in Bury and 164,498 in Preston (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £35,767 in Bury and £37,214 in Preston (2025); and average house price was £238,446 in Bury and £187,709 in Preston (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 (194,740 and 164,498 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.