Official statistics · 15 of 16 measures compare directly
Luton 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.
Luton
E06000032 · Bedfordshire 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 Luton
−2
Civometry calculation on Home Office, ONS, HM Land Registry and MHCLG figures
Population
236,380
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
351,876 more in Manchester
588,256
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
Median annual pay, full-time employees
£34,732
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
£1,546 more in Manchester
£36,278
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
Average house price
£289,790
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
£38,540 more in Luton
£251,250
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
All private rents
£1,221
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
£144 more in Manchester
£1,365
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
All claimants
6.5%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
0.5 percentage points higher in Luton
6.0%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
Net international migration
+4,265
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
3,900 more in Manchester
+8,165
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
Band D council tax
£2,440
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
£128 more in Luton
£2,312
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
IMD average score
29.5
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
9.1 more in Manchester
38.7
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
Income-deprived residents
36.5%
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
0.7 percentage points higher in Manchester
37.2%
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
Recorded crime
93.8
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
8.3 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
1.4 years more in Luton
6.9 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
Annual rent as a share of pay
42.2%
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
3.0 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
7.03%
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
0.66 percentage points higher in Luton
6.37%
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
Mean domestic gas use per meter
12,608
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
1,909 more in Luton
10,698
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
Mean domestic electricity use per meter
3,309
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
58 more in Manchester
3,367
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
In one sentence
In the latest published figures, population was 236,380 in Luton and 588,256 in Manchester (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £34,732 in Luton and £36,278 in Manchester (2025); and average house price was £289,790 in Luton 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 236,380 in Luton and 588,256 in Manchester (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £34,732 in Luton and £36,278 in Manchester (2025); and average house price was £289,790 in Luton 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 (236,380 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.