Official statistics · 15 of 16 measures compare directly
Birmingham and Wigan 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.
Birmingham
E08000025 · West Midlands Police
Wigan
E08000010 · Greater Manchester Police
Getting better or worse
−1
Civometry calculation on Home Office, ONS, HM Land Registry and MHCLG figures
1 more in Birmingham
−2
Civometry calculation on Home Office, ONS, HM Land Registry and MHCLG figures
Population
1,176,960
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
829,871 more in Birmingham
347,089
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
Median annual pay, full-time employees
£35,989
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
£1,388 more in Wigan
£37,377
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
Average house price
£234,150
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
£38,593 more in Birmingham
£195,557
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
All private rents
£1,093
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
£348 more in Birmingham
£745
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
All claimants
10.0%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
6.4 percentage points higher in Birmingham
3.6%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
Net international migration
+9,703
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
9,219 more in Birmingham
+484
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
Band D council tax
£2,363
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
£210 more in Birmingham
£2,153
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
IMD average score
38.1
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
12.9 more in Birmingham
25.2
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
Income-deprived residents
41.7%
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
17.8 percentage points higher in Birmingham
23.9%
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
Recorded crime
124.0
Home Office: data.police.uk street-level crime, cumulative monthly archive
No published figure for Wigan.
No published figure
Home Office: data.police.uk street-level crime, cumulative monthly archive
House price to pay ratio
6.5 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
1.3 years more in Birmingham
5.2 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
Annual rent as a share of pay
36.4%
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
12.5 percentage points higher in Birmingham
23.9%
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
Band D council tax as a share of pay
6.57%
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
0.81 percentage points higher in Birmingham
5.76%
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
Mean domestic gas use per meter
12,711
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
2,642 more in Birmingham
10,069
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
Mean domestic electricity use per meter
3,364
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
425 more in Birmingham
2,939
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
In one sentence
In the latest published figures, population was 1,176,960 in Birmingham and 347,089 in Wigan (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £35,989 in Birmingham and £37,377 in Wigan (2025); and average house price was £234,150 in Birmingham and £195,557 in Wigan (June 2026). (Civometry, from official statistics; each figure is the publisher's own.)
In the latest published figures, population was 1,176,960 in Birmingham and 347,089 in Wigan (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £35,989 in Birmingham and £37,377 in Wigan (2025); and average house price was £234,150 in Birmingham and £195,557 in Wigan (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 (1,176,960 and 334,538 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.