Comparison
London vs Manchester
Renting in London costs £759/month more than Manchester.
London figures shown here are averages across all 33 London boroughs. Costs vary significantly between boroughs. To compare a specific borough, try our comparison tool - for example, Camden, Hackney, or Tower Hamlets.
London, England vs North West, England
Rent comparison
Overall, renting in Manchester is £759/month cheaper than London - that's £9,108/year.
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR)
Earnings comparison
Residents of London earn £10,283/year more than those in Manchester.
Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings
House prices comparison
House prices in London are £322,510 (130%) higher than in Manchester.
Over the last 10 years, house prices in London have risen by 24.8%, compared to 76.8% in Manchester.
Source: ONS / HM Land Registry
Council tax comparison
You would pay £222/year more in council tax (Band D) living in Manchester than in London.
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
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
Water in 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 Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR), Scottish Government Private Sector Rent 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.