Manchester commuter townsPreston vs Wigan

Preston vs Wigan: which commuter town suits you?

Wigan is 5 minutes closer to Manchester and £21k cheaper on the average sold price.
Preston

#20 of 29

Wigan

#9 of 29

Train to Manchester

47 min
42 min

Average house price

£203k
£182k

Price to local earnings

Years of the local authority's median wage

5.3x
5.4x

Average rent (2 bed)

£731/mo
£700/mo

Rent to local earnings

Share of the local authority's median wage

23%
25%

Crime index

0–100, lower is safer

79
—

Broadband

Average available download speed, from Ofcom

938 Mb
1051 Mb

Life satisfaction

ONS, 0–10

7.4
7.6

Historic landmarks

Protected sites within 3 miles

30
25

Parks and fields

Hectares within 3 miles

430 ha
591 ha

Places to eat and drink

Restaurants, cafes and pubs within 3 miles

479
371

Estimates only. Prices from HM Land Registry (August 2025 to July 2026), crime from police.uk (August 2025 to July 2026); broadband, life satisfaction and train times from Ofcom, ONS and National Rail, reviewed periodically. A tinted figure is the better of the two on that row alone, not an overall verdict.

The full picture on each

Living in Preston

Lancashire · 47 min to Manchester · average sold price £203k.

Read the Preston report

Living in Wigan

Greater Manchester · 42 min to Manchester · average sold price £182k.

Read the Wigan report

Deciding between Preston and Wigan?

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