City

Manchester area guide

Who lives in Manchester, how they live, and how it compares on crime, schools and transport.

Council: Manchester
Region: North West
Population: 506,526 (2024)

ManchesterCity

At a glance

What Manchester is like

Manchester is a city in the North West. It is home to about 506,526 people across 180,737 households. 36.4% of households own their home, 35.4% rent privately and 27.3% are in social housing. The largest age group is 20–24, and 49.5% of adults are in work. On deprivation, it sits near the middle of the scale for England. Higher-harm crime is well above the England and Wales average.

Scores

How Manchester compares

Headline figures for Manchester, set against England as a whole.

AffluenceMore

3.1/ 10

Around the middle. Scored from 1 (most deprived in England) to 10 (least deprived).

CrimeMore

10/ 10

Higher than most: 50.8 higher-harm crimes per 1,000 people a year vs 31.3 nationally.

TransportMore

10.0/ 10

Excellent: 8 stations within a mile, 40 bus stops within 800m.

SchoolsMore

91%

Rated good or better across 152 inspected schools in Manchester.

Household incomeMore

£44,561

Average annual income before tax, higher than 26% of neighbourhoods in England and Wales.

What stands out

Worth knowing before you invest

Where Manchester differs most from the national average.

01
A big private rental marketPositive
35.4% of households rent privately, against 20.5% across England. Tenant demand is established here.
02
A student area
19.8% of adults are full-time students, against 7.9% across England. Expect HMO demand and term-time turnover.
03
Higher crime than mostLook closer
50.8 higher-harm crimes per 1,000 people a year, against 31.3 across England and Wales.
04
A young populationPositive
30.9% of residents are aged 20 to 34 (the peak renting age), against 19.6% across England.
05
A lot of social housingLook closer
27.3% of homes are social housing, against 17.1% across England.

Questions

Manchester FAQs

Is Manchester a good place to live?

Deprivation, crime, schools and transport at a glance.

It scores 3.1 out of 10 on the English Indices of Deprivation 2025, where 10 is the least deprived in England. Higher-harm crime runs at 50.8 per 1,000 people a year, band 10 of 10 nationally. 91% of the inspected schools nearby are rated good or better. Transport connectivity scores 10.0 out of 10 (excellent).

Is Manchester safe?

How recorded crime here compares with the national average.

Higher-harm crime (violence, robbery, burglary, vehicle crime and weapons offences) runs at 50.8 offences per 1,000 people a year around Manchester, well above the 31.3 average across England and Wales, band 10 of 10.

Who lives in Manchester?

Age, home ownership and housing from the census.

The largest age group is 20–24, at 12.2% of residents. 36.4% of households own their home. The most common property type is semi-detached (30.6%).

How well connected is Manchester?

Connectivity scores 10.0 out of 10.

There are 40 bus stops within 800m and 8 stations and tram stops within a mile, scoring 10.0 out of 10 (excellent). The nearest station is Ardwick Rail Station, 0.2 miles away.

Sources: Census 2021 (ONS); ONS mid-year population estimates; police recorded crime; the English, Welsh and Scottish indices of deprivation; ONS small area income estimates; ONS private rents; DfE, Welsh and Scottish school registers and Ofsted; DfT NaPTAN; ORR estimates of station usage. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right.

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