Official statistics · 15 of 16 measures compare directly
Blackburn with Darwen and Bolton 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.
Blackburn with Darwen
E06000008 · Lancashire Constabulary
Bolton
E08000001 · Greater Manchester Police
Getting better or worse
−1
Civometry calculation on Home Office, ONS, HM Land Registry and MHCLG figures
1 more in Blackburn with Darwen
−2
Civometry calculation on Home Office, ONS, HM Land Registry and MHCLG figures
Population
163,801
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
145,931 more in Bolton
309,732
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
Median annual pay, full-time employees
£33,076
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
£1,110 more in Bolton
£34,186
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
Average house price
£165,882
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
£36,888 more in Bolton
£202,770
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
All private rents
£713
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
£171 more in Bolton
£884
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
All claimants
5.6%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
0.4 percentage points higher in Blackburn with Darwen
5.2%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
Net international migration
+1,281
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
184 more in Bolton
+1,465
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
Band D council tax
£2,455
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
£56 more in Blackburn with Darwen
£2,400
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
IMD average score
36.9
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
5.5 more in Blackburn with Darwen
31.4
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
Income-deprived residents
37.2%
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
4.3 percentage points higher in Blackburn with Darwen
32.9%
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
Recorded crime
111.1
Home Office: data.police.uk street-level crime, cumulative monthly archive
No published figure for Bolton.
No published figure
Home Office: data.police.uk street-level crime, cumulative monthly archive
House price to pay ratio
5.0 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
0.9 years more in Bolton
5.9 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
Annual rent as a share of pay
25.9%
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
5.1 percentage points higher in Bolton
31.0%
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
Band D council tax as a share of pay
7.42%
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
0.40 percentage points higher in Blackburn with Darwen
7.02%
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
Mean domestic gas use per meter
12,184
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
588 more in Blackburn with Darwen
11,596
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
Mean domestic electricity use per meter
3,066
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
24 more in Bolton
3,091
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
In one sentence
In the latest published figures, population was 163,801 in Blackburn with Darwen and 309,732 in Bolton (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £33,076 in Blackburn with Darwen and £34,186 in Bolton (2025); and average house price was £165,882 in Blackburn with Darwen and £202,770 in Bolton (June 2026). (Civometry, from official statistics; each figure is the publisher's own.)
In the latest published figures, population was 163,801 in Blackburn with Darwen and 309,732 in Bolton (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £33,076 in Blackburn with Darwen and £34,186 in Bolton (2025); and average house price was £165,882 in Blackburn with Darwen and £202,770 in Bolton (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 (163,801 and 299,591 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.