Official statistics · 15 of 16 measures compare directly
Bolton and Sandwell 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.
Bolton
E08000001 · Greater Manchester Police
Sandwell
E08000028 · West Midlands Police
Getting better or worse
−2
Civometry calculation on Home Office, ONS, HM Land Registry and MHCLG figures
1 more in Sandwell
−1
Civometry calculation on Home Office, ONS, HM Land Registry and MHCLG figures
Population
309,732
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
43,186 more in Sandwell
352,918
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
Median annual pay, full-time employees
£34,186
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
£1,157 more in Bolton
£33,029
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
Average house price
£202,770
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
£2,973 more in Sandwell
£205,743
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
All private rents
£884
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
£63 more in Sandwell
£947
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
All claimants
5.2%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
1.5 percentage points higher in Sandwell
6.7%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
Net international migration
+1,465
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
1,154 more in Sandwell
+2,619
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
Band D council tax
£2,400
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
£155 more in Bolton
£2,244
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
IMD average score
31.4
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
2.4 more in Sandwell
33.8
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
Income-deprived residents
32.9%
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
4.5 percentage points higher in Sandwell
37.4%
MHCLG: English Indices of Deprivation: local authority district summaries
Recorded crime
No published figure
Home Office: data.police.uk street-level crime, cumulative monthly archive
No published figure for Bolton.
101.7
Home Office: data.police.uk street-level crime, cumulative monthly archive
House price to pay ratio
5.9 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
0.3 years more in Sandwell
6.2 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
Annual rent as a share of pay
31.0%
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
3.4 percentage points higher in Sandwell
34.4%
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
Band D council tax as a share of pay
7.02%
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
0.22 percentage points higher in Bolton
6.80%
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
Mean domestic gas use per meter
11,596
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
149 more in Bolton
11,447
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
Mean domestic electricity use per meter
3,091
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
32 more in Sandwell
3,122
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
In one sentence
In the latest published figures, population was 309,732 in Bolton and 352,918 in Sandwell (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £34,186 in Bolton and £33,029 in Sandwell (2025); and average house price was £202,770 in Bolton and £205,743 in Sandwell (June 2026). (Civometry, from official statistics; each figure is the publisher's own.)
In the latest published figures, population was 309,732 in Bolton and 352,918 in Sandwell (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £34,186 in Bolton and £33,029 in Sandwell (2025); and average house price was £202,770 in Bolton and £205,743 in Sandwell (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 (299,591 and 352,918 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.