Comparison

City of London vs Manchester

Renting in City of London costs £1,184/month more than Manchester.

London, England  vs  North West, England

Average rent
City of London
£2,159/mo
Manchester
£975/mo
Lower
£1,184 difference
Average house price
City of London
£790,000
Manchester
£231,000
Lower
£559,000 (242%)

Rent comparison

Bedrooms
City of London
Overall
£2,159/mo
£975/mo
1 Bed
£2,058/mo
£850/mo
2 Bed
£2,700/mo
£1,000/mo
3 Bed
N/A
£1,200/mo
4+ Bed
N/A
£1,800/mo

Overall, renting in Manchester is £1,184/month cheaper than City of London - that's £14,208/year.

Source: ONS Private Rental Market Statistics

Earnings comparison

City of London - average
N/A
Manchester - average
£30,067/yr

Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings

House prices comparison

Property type
City of London
Average
£790,000
£231,000
Detached
N/A
£360,000
Semi-detached
N/A
£275,000
Terraced
N/A
£217,750
Flat
£790,000
£203,000

House prices in City of London are £559,000 (242%) higher than in Manchester.

Source: ONS / HM Land Registry

Council tax comparison

City of London - Band D
£1,330/yr
Manchester - Band D
£2,312/yr

You would pay £982/year more in council tax (Band D) living in Manchester than in City of London.

Band
City of London
Band A
£886
£1,541
Band B
£1,034
£1,798
Band C
£1,182
£2,055
Band D
Benchmark
£1,330
£2,312
Band E
£1,625
£2,826
Band F
£1,920
£3,340
Band G
£2,216
£3,853
Band H
£2,659
£4,624

Source: MHCLG / Scottish Government / Welsh Government

Band D is used as the standard benchmark for comparing council tax across areas. Other bands are set as fixed proportions of the Band D amount.

Energy comparison

City of London
Annual
£1,641
£1,641
Monthly
£137
£137
Energy region
London
North West

Energy estimates are based on the Ofgem price cap, which is set nationally. Regional variation is small; we show the same headline figure across regions for transparency.

Source: Ofgem Energy Price Cap, Q2 2026

Water comparison

City of London
Annual
£666
£627
Monthly
£56
£52
Water company
Thames Water
United Utilities

Water in City of London costs about £39/year more than in Manchester.

Source: Water UK / Discover Water, 2026-27

Water company boundaries don't always align cleanly with local authority boundaries; the company shown here is the most common provider in each area.

Compare different areas

Learn more about each area

Data on this page is sourced from: ONS Private Rental Market Statistics, ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, ONS / HM Land Registry House Price Statistics, MHCLG / Scottish Government / Welsh Government council tax data, Ofgem Energy Price Cap, and Water UK / Discover Water. All official data is published under the Open Government Licence.