North West, England

Cost of living in Oldham

Data last updated: 8 October 2026
Page last reviewed: 8 October 2026
£1,361 estimated monthly cost
Rent £702
Council tax £163
Groceries £220
Transport £80
Energy £144
Water £52

Single: 1-bed home. Couple: 2-bed home. Family: 3-bed home with one child. Estimates use average local rent, Band D council tax, and standard figures for groceries, transport and childcare.

£942/mo
Average rent
£29,124/yr
Average earnings
£212,500
Average house price
£2,602/yr
Council tax (Band D)
£196/mo
Est. energy & water

Rent in Oldham

The average monthly rent in Oldham is £942.

1 Bed
£702
2 Bed
£879
3 Bed
£1,067
4+ Bed
£1,452

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR)

Earnings in Oldham

The average annual salary for residents of Oldham is £29,124.

Average salary
£29,124
per year
Mean salary (pulled up by top earners)
£31,608
per year

The average salary is the middle value: half of residents earn more and half earn less. The mean salary adds up everyone's pay and divides it by the number of people, so a few very high earners pull it up. We use the middle value as the average throughout this site.

Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)

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Average house prices in Oldham

The average house price in Oldham was £212,500.

Detached
£390,000
Semi-detached
£238,000
Terraced
£170,100
Flat
£145,000

How house prices have changed in Oldham

Average house prices over time, based on quarterly rolling-year averages from Land Registry data.

£0£60k£120k£180k£240k£300k19952000200520102015202020252026

Source: ONS / HM Land Registry. Historical trend based on quarterly rolling-year average prices.

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Climate and weather in Oldham

Summer daytime highs in Oldham typically reach 19.0°C in July, dropping to around 5.8°C in January. Oldham is wetter than average for the UK, with rain falling on about 3.4 days a week. It gets around 14% more rainfall than the UK average. The area gets a typical amount of sunshine for the UK, averaging around 5.2 hours per day in summer. Expect frost on around 91 days per year, mostly between November and April.

Month Daytime high Rainfall Rain days Sunshine Frost days
Jan 5.8°C 123mm 17 37h 16
Feb 6.3°C 110mm 14 64h 15
Mar 8.3°C 94mm 14 96h 14
Apr 11.2°C 82mm 12 146h 9
May 14.5°C 82mm 12 179h 4
Jun 17.2°C 95mm 13 159h 1
Jul 19.0°C 109mm 14 166h 0
Aug 18.6°C 110mm 15 150h 0
Sep 16.0°C 109mm 14 117h 1
Oct 12.3°C 130mm 16 84h 5
Nov 8.5°C 132mm 18 50h 10
Dec 6.2°C 148mm 18 40h 15

Swipe sideways to see every column

How this is calculated

Climate data is based on Met Office 30-year averages (1991-2020), calculated from 5 observation grid points covering the Oldham local authority area.

Source: Met Office HadUK-Grid , 1991-2020 averages. Crown copyright. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Council tax in Oldham

Band D council tax in Oldham is £2,602 per year.

Band A
£1,735
Band B
£2,024
Band C
£2,313
Band D Benchmark
£2,602
Band E
£3,181
Band F
£3,759
Band G
£4,337
Band H
£5,204

Source: MHCLG / Scottish Government / Welsh Government

Energy costs in Oldham

A typical household in Oldham pays approximately £1,723/year (£144/month) for gas and electricity.

Annual
£1,723
per year
Monthly
£144
per month

Energy region: North West

This estimate is based on the Ofgem price cap for a typical dual-fuel household using 2,700 kWh of electricity and 11,500 kWh of gas per year, paying by Direct Debit. Your actual costs will depend on your usage, tariff, and whether you're on a fixed deal.

Source: Ofgem Energy Price Cap, Q4 2026

Water costs in Oldham

The average annual water and sewerage bill for United Utilities customers is £627/year (£52/month).

Annual
£627
per year
Monthly
£52
per month

Water company: United Utilities

Water bills vary based on whether you have a meter and your household's water usage. This figure is the company average for unmetered customers.

Source: Water UK / Discover Water, 2026-27

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Broadband in Oldham

Oldham has 93.8% full fibre coverage and 97.6% gigabit-capable coverage across residential premises.

Gigabit-capable
97.6%
of premises
Full fibre (FTTP)
93.8%
of premises
Superfast (30+ Mbit/s)
99.6%
of premises
No decent broadband
0%
of premises

Full fibre take-up: 42% of premises with full fibre available have taken it up.

"Gigabit-capable" means a connection of 1 Gbit/s or faster is available at the premises (full fibre or upgraded cable). "Full fibre" is fibre-to-the-premises specifically. "No decent broadband" counts premises below the 10 Mbit/s down / 1 Mbit/s up Universal Service Obligation.

See all UK areas ranked by broadband coverage →

Source: Ofcom Connected Nations 2025, July 2025

Schools in Oldham

Oldham has 107 schools, with 77.1% rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.

Outstanding
2
schools (4.2%)
Good
35
schools (72.9%)
Requires Improvement
11
schools (22.9%)
Inadequate
0
schools (0.0%)

86 primary schools, 14 secondary schools, 7 special / nursery / alternative provision. Approximately 46,177 pupils across all schools.

3 schools have been inspected under Ofsted's renewed framework (November 2025 onwards) and are not included in the percentage above.

Ofsted grades reflect the school's most recent inspection: Outstanding means the school is exceptional across the evaluation areas, Good means it is effective, Requires Improvement means it is not yet good enough, and Inadequate means serious concerns were found.

See all areas ranked by school ratings →

Source: Ofsted, most recent inspections as at March 2026. England only; Scotland (Education Scotland) and Wales (Estyn) use separate frameworks.

Crime in Oldham

There were 1,065 recorded crimes per 10,000 people in Oldham, which is above the England and Wales average of 837. Oldham ranks #266 out of 303 areas for lowest crime rate.

Violence & sexual offences
525 /10k
(13,234 offences)
Burglary
34 /10k
(865 offences)
Theft
203 /10k
(5,115 offences)
Criminal damage
87 /10k
(2,204 offences)
Drug offences
52 /10k
(1,320 offences)
Public order
110 /10k
(2,783 offences)
Other
52 /10k
(1,306 offences)

Recorded crime statistics reflect crimes reported to and recorded by police. They may not capture the full picture of crime in an area, and recording practices vary between forces.

Source: Home Office police recorded crime, Year ending March 2026

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