Dorset vs Manchester: buying or renting a home
A typical terraced house costs £9,000 (4%) more in Dorset than in Manchester. Measured against local pay, buying is about equally hard in both.
At a glance
| Dorset | Manchester | |
|---|---|---|
| Buying a home | Expensive | Fairly affordable |
| Renting a home | Expensive | Very expensive |
| Recorded crime | Low | High |
Buying rates the typical price of all homes against median pay; renting rates a year of average rent against median pay; crime rates recorded crime per resident against the England and Wales average.
What the numbers say
Median full-time pay in Manchester (£36,278) is 3% lower than in Dorset (£37,462), while a typical terraced house costs 3% less (£256,000 against £265,000).
Buying a terraced house takes 7.1× annual pay in Dorset and 7.1× in Manchester. Renting one takes 33% of pay in Dorset and 46% in Manchester. Renting is harder in Manchester; buying is about the same.
Across all property types and measured against pay, Dorset is the 87th most expensive of 316 areas to buy in, and Manchester is around the middle of 316 areas (188th most expensive). For renting against pay, Dorset is around the middle of 316 areas (148th most expensive) and Manchester is the 46th most expensive of 316 areas.
Someone on £40,000 in Dorset would need about £38,500 in Manchester to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £54,000 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Manchester would leave you better placed to buy. These figures compare housing costs only; they ignore other living costs and the pay you could earn in a new job.
Police recorded 44.5 crimes per 1,000 residents in Dorset and 142.7 in Manchester, so recorded crime per resident in Manchester is 3.2 times the rate in Dorset. The biggest difference is in vehicle offences: 2.1 per 1,000 in Dorset against 7.9 in Manchester.
Can a typical earner buy?
| Terraced house | Dorset | Manchester |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time pay | £37,462 | £36,278 |
| House price ÷ pay | 7.1× | 7.1× |
| Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy | 71% | 71% |
| Rent a year as a share of median pay | 33% | 46% |
Buying, by property type
| Type | Dorset | Manchester | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £475,000 | £400,000 | -16% in Manchester |
| Semi-detached | £332,000 | £310,000 | -7% in Manchester |
| Terraced | £265,000 | £256,000 | -3% in Manchester |
| Flat | £177,750 | £210,000 | +18% in Manchester |
Renting, by property type
| Type (average rent a month) | Dorset | Manchester | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,442 | £1,878 | +30% in Manchester |
| Semi-detached | £1,151 | £1,496 | +30% in Manchester |
| Terraced | £1,045 | £1,405 | +34% in Manchester |
| Flat | £841 | £1,147 | +36% in Manchester |
Crime
Police recorded 44.5 crimes per 1,000 residents in Dorset and 142.7 in Manchester, so recorded crime per resident in Manchester is 3.2 times the rate in Dorset.
| Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents | Dorset | Manchester | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime (excluding fraud) | 44.5 | 142.7 | +221% in Manchester |
| Violence against the person | 18.9 | 51.9 | +175% in Manchester |
| Sexual offences | 2.3 | 5.6 | +150% in Manchester |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 2.7 | +907% in Manchester |
| Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) | 3.3 | 9.3 | +178% in Manchester |
| Vehicle offences | 2.1 | 7.9 | +278% in Manchester |
| Theft from the person | 0.2 | 3.9 | +1974% in Manchester |
| Criminal damage and arson | 4.8 | 10.0 | +107% in Manchester |
Rates use resident population, so city centres and student areas show higher crime per resident than residents experience. Recorded crime also depends on reporting and police recording practice.
How prices have changed in each area
Average house price for all property types, indexed so that 2005 is 100. A line at 200 means prices have doubled.
Show the figures
| Year | Dorset | Manchester |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 100 | 100 |
| 2006 | 105 | 117 |
| 2007 | 116 | 129 |
| 2008 | 112 | 125 |
| 2009 | 101 | 112 |
| 2010 | 110 | 115 |
| 2011 | 108 | 114 |
| 2012 | 109 | 115 |
| 2013 | 111 | 115 |
| 2014 | 117 | 125 |
| 2015 | 123 | 133 |
| 2016 | 130 | 145 |
| 2017 | 138 | 158 |
| 2018 | 141 | 167 |
| 2019 | 140 | 173 |
| 2020 | 143 | 178 |
| 2021 | 153 | 209 |
| 2022 | 172 | 231 |
| 2023 | 172 | 233 |
| 2024 | 167 | 241 |
| 2025 | 167 | 247 |
| 12 months to July 2026 | 167 | 251 |
In 2005 the average home cost £196,167 in Dorset and £100,202 in Manchester. Now it is £327,915 and £251,205: Dorset is up 67% and Manchester is up 151%. Prices have risen faster in Manchester, so the gap between the two has narrowed.
How rents have changed in each area
Average monthly rent for all property types, indexed so that 2015 is 100.
Show the figures
| Year | Dorset | Manchester |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 100 | 100 |
| 2016 | 103 | 101 |
| 2017 | 106 | 106 |
| 2018 | 109 | 112 |
| 2019 | 112 | 114 |
| 2020 | 114 | 117 |
| 2021 | 116 | 120 |
| 2022 | 124 | 127 |
| 2023 | 129 | 139 |
| 2024 | 136 | 156 |
| 2025 | 141 | 167 |
| August 2026 | 148 | 174 |
In 2015 the average rent was £714 a month in Dorset and £790 in Manchester. Now it is £1,056 and £1,373: up 48% in Dorset and up 74% in Manchester. Rents have risen faster in Manchester.
What your salary is worth in each area
Salary needed to afford the same kind of home (terraced), going by median prices and average rents.
Moving from Dorset to Manchester
| Earning in Dorset | Equivalent to buy in Manchester | Equivalent to rent in Manchester |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £29,000 | £40,500 |
| £40,000 | £38,500 | £54,000 |
| £50,000 | £48,500 | £67,000 |
| £60,000 | £58,000 | £80,500 |
Moving from Manchester to Dorset
| Earning in Manchester | Equivalent to buy in Dorset | Equivalent to rent in Dorset |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £31,000 | £22,500 |
| £40,000 | £41,500 | £30,000 |
| £50,000 | £52,000 | £37,000 |
| £60,000 | £62,000 | £44,500 |