Oldham vs Tameside: buying or renting a home
A typical terraced house costs £14,050 (8%) more in Tameside than in Oldham. Measured against local pay, buying is harder in Tameside: it takes 5.6× median annual pay, against 5.1× in Oldham.
At a glance
| Oldham | Tameside | |
|---|---|---|
| Buying a home | Fairly affordable | Fairly affordable |
| Renting a home | Expensive | Fairly affordable |
| Recorded crime | Above average | Above average |
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 Tameside (£33,949) is the same than in Oldham (£34,042), while a typical terraced house costs 8% more (£189,000 against £174,950). Set against local pay, Oldham is the easier of the two for a typical earner to buy in.
Buying a terraced house takes 5.1× annual pay in Oldham and 5.6× in Tameside. Renting one takes 33% of pay in Oldham and 33% in Tameside. Buying is harder in Tameside; renting is about the same.
Across all property types and measured against pay, Oldham is the 81st least expensive of 316 areas to buy in, and Tameside is the 84th least expensive of 316 areas. For renting against pay, Oldham is around the middle of 316 areas (156th most expensive) and Tameside is around the middle of 316 areas (159th most expensive).
Someone on £40,000 in Oldham would need about £43,000 in Tameside to be equally placed to buy a terraced house, and about £40,000 to be equally placed to rent one. Keeping the same pay after a move to Tameside would leave you worse 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 106.6 crimes per 1,000 residents in Oldham and 96.5 in Tameside, so recorded crime per resident is 10% lower in Tameside. The biggest difference is in sexual offences: 5.0 per 1,000 in Oldham against 3.9 in Tameside.
Can a typical earner buy?
| Terraced house | Oldham | Tameside |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time pay | £34,042 | £33,949 |
| House price ÷ pay | 5.1× | 5.6× |
| Median pay as a share of income typically needed to buy | 97% | 90% |
| Rent a year as a share of median pay | 33% | 33% |
Buying, by property type
| Type | Oldham | Tameside | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £370,000 | £360,000 | -3% in Tameside |
| Semi-detached | £240,000 | £245,000 | +2% in Tameside |
| Terraced | £174,950 | £189,000 | +8% in Tameside |
Renting, by property type
| Type (average rent a month) | Oldham | Tameside | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,354 | £1,234 | -9% in Tameside |
| Semi-detached | £1,044 | £1,057 | +1% in Tameside |
| Terraced | £923 | £926 | +0% in Tameside |
Crime
Police recorded 106.6 crimes per 1,000 residents in Oldham and 96.5 in Tameside, so recorded crime per resident is 10% lower in Tameside.
| Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents | Oldham | Tameside | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime (excluding fraud) | 106.6 | 96.5 | -10% in Tameside |
| Violence against the person | 47.6 | 41.6 | -13% in Tameside |
| Sexual offences | 5.0 | 3.9 | -22% in Tameside |
| Robbery | 1.5 | 1.3 | -17% in Tameside |
| Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) | 7.1 | 7.4 | +5% in Tameside |
| Vehicle offences | 6.0 | 4.7 | -21% in Tameside |
| Theft from the person | 0.4 | 0.3 | -15% in Tameside |
| Criminal damage and arson | 8.8 | 7.8 | -10% in Tameside |
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 | Oldham | Tameside |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 100 | 100 |
| 2006 | 115 | 108 |
| 2007 | 127 | 117 |
| 2008 | 125 | 113 |
| 2009 | 112 | 99 |
| 2010 | 115 | 99 |
| 2011 | 110 | 97 |
| 2012 | 108 | 95 |
| 2013 | 108 | 96 |
| 2014 | 113 | 101 |
| 2015 | 115 | 106 |
| 2016 | 121 | 113 |
| 2017 | 128 | 121 |
| 2018 | 133 | 127 |
| 2019 | 139 | 133 |
| 2020 | 148 | 139 |
| 2021 | 170 | 158 |
| 2022 | 189 | 178 |
| 2023 | 195 | 183 |
| 2024 | 201 | 187 |
| 2025 | 221 | 196 |
| 12 months to July 2026 | 226 | 199 |
In 2005 the average home cost £94,286 in Oldham and £106,455 in Tameside. Now it is £212,890 and £212,235: Oldham is up 126% and Tameside is up 99%. Prices have risen faster in Oldham, so the gap between the two has narrowed.
Buying a home against local pay, over time
Average house price divided by median full-time pay. Higher means harder to afford.
Show the figures
| Year | Oldham | Tameside |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 4.9 years of pay | 5.2 years of pay |
| 2010 | 5.1 years of pay | 4.8 years of pay |
| 2015 | 4.7 years of pay | 4.8 years of pay |
| 2020 | 5.4 years of pay | 5.7 years of pay |
| 2025 | 6.1 years of pay | 6.1 years of pay |
In 2005 a home cost 4.9 years of pay in Oldham and 5.2 years in Tameside. In 2025 it was 6.1 years and 6.1 years.
How rents have changed in each area
Average monthly rent for all property types, indexed so that 2015 is 100.
Show the figures
| Year | Oldham | Tameside |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 100 | 100 |
| 2016 | 102 | 102 |
| 2017 | 104 | 104 |
| 2018 | 107 | 106 |
| 2019 | 109 | 108 |
| 2020 | 111 | 111 |
| 2021 | 116 | 117 |
| 2022 | 124 | 129 |
| 2023 | 135 | 139 |
| 2024 | 152 | 155 |
| 2025 | 162 | 172 |
| August 2026 | 184 | 183 |
In 2015 the average rent was £513 a month in Oldham and £508 in Tameside. Now it is £942 and £931: up 84% in Oldham and up 83% in Tameside.
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 Oldham to Tameside
| Earning in Oldham | Equivalent to buy in Tameside | Equivalent to rent in Tameside |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £32,500 | £30,000 |
| £40,000 | £43,000 | £40,000 |
| £50,000 | £54,000 | £50,000 |
| £60,000 | £65,000 | £60,000 |
Moving from Tameside to Oldham
| Earning in Tameside | Equivalent to buy in Oldham | Equivalent to rent in Oldham |
|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £28,000 | £30,000 |
| £40,000 | £37,000 | £40,000 |
| £50,000 | £46,500 | £50,000 |
| £60,000 | £55,500 | £60,000 |