Living in Bolton
Homes sell for a median of about £2,293 per m², well below the typical council in England and Wales (£3,342). 19.8% of households rent from the council or a housing association, above the UK average of 17.5%. About 8.1% of homes are in areas where road or rail noise reaches 65 dB, against 6.9% across Great Britain. 64% of homes are within a five-minute walk of a public park (Great Britain: 56%).
Bolton at a glance
| Measure | Bolton | Comparison | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social housing (share of households) | 19.8% | UK 17.5% | 83rd highest of 374 |
| Homes in areas with 65 dB+ road or rail noise | 8.1% | GB 6.9% | 300th quietest of 363 |
| Homes within 400 m of a public park | 64% | GB 56% | 83rd of 363 |
| Homes within 400 m of a play space | 58% | GB 60% | |
| Median house price per m² | £2,293 | E&W council median £3,342 | 264th highest of 314 |
| Schools rated Good or Outstanding | 92% | E&W 87% | |
| Median broadband speed available | 1,000 Mbit/s | Council median 1,000 Mbit/s |
How much crime is there in Bolton?
There is no reliable annual figure for Bolton. Greater Manchester Police does not publish street-level crime data to data.police.uk: the latest archive has no Greater Manchester records. Rather than show a misleadingly low number, this page leaves crime out.
How much social housing is there in Bolton?
Bolton ranks 83rd of 374 UK local authorities by social-housing share. Of its 118,795 households, 23,575 are social homes (19.8%) — renting from the council or a housing association, according to the 2021–22 Census.
How does Bolton compare with the UK average?
At +2.3 percentage points versus the UK average of 17.5%, Bolton sits above the national level.
How noisy is Bolton?
In Bolton, about 8.1% of homes are in areas where modelled road or rail noise reaches 65 dB Lden or more — the level Defra and the WHO treat as high. The Great Britain average is 6.9%, and Bolton is the 300th quietest of 363 councils mapped.
Estimated from the official strategic noise maps: the share of each census area at 65 dB or more, weighted by its households. See noisy roads and railways on the map →
How close are parks in Bolton?
64% of homes in Bolton are within 400 m — about a five-minute walk — of a public park or garden, and 58% are that close to a children's play space. Across Great Britain the figures are 56% and 60%, which puts Bolton 83rd of 363 councils for access to a park.
Straight-line distance from the centre of each census area to the edge of the nearest site in OS Open Greenspace, weighted by households. See parks and play spaces on the map →
Schools, prices and more in Bolton
What the map's other datasets say about Bolton.
Schools
On the Department for Education's register, Bolton has 146 schools — 134 state-funded and 12 independent. That includes 97 primary and 18 secondary schools. Of the 51 with a published Ofsted grade, 92% are Good or Outstanding.
Nurseries
There are 119 nurseries and pre-schools on Ofsted's childcare register in Bolton, offering about 5,658 registered childcare places. Childminders are not counted — Ofsted withholds their addresses.
Deprivation
The median neighbourhood in Bolton sits in decile 3 of 10 on its nation's deprivation index, and 44% of its 177 neighbourhoods fall in the most-deprived national fifth.
House prices
The median neighbourhood price is about £2,293 per m², from Land Registry sold prices matched to EPC floor areas.
Broadband
Median available download speed is about 1,000 Mbit/s — what can be ordered, not what residents have bought (Ofcom Connected Nations).
Explore Bolton on the map
Areas with a similar share of social housing
Sources: 2021–22 Census (social housing); strategic noise maps, Round 4 (noise); OS Open Greenspace (parks) · Page updated 27 September 2026 · Download the data (CSV, all 374 councils).