Ashton-in-Makerfield East
Wigan 035 · 5 sub-areas · 7,974 residents
Wigan 035 is a largely owner-occupied residential area within Wigan, home to around 7,974 people. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £686 a month — well under half the UK average for a two-bed and noticeably cheaper than most other parts of Greater Manchester. The crime rate here is remarkably low, and nearly three quarters of households own their home.
Ashton-in-Makerfield East is a commuter neighbourhood within Wigan — train into Manchester runs in around 50 minutes, and the rhythm of weekday mornings is shaped by it. Most homes are owner-occupied, so turnover is low and many residents have been here a long time.
Overview
What's it like to live in Ashton-in-Makerfield East?
4 parks and 2 playgrounds are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; rents are below the national norm, with a typical home letting at around £732 a month; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 5 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Ashton-in-Makerfield East in Wigan
Living in Ashton-in-Makerfield East
This part of Wigan sits firmly at the affordable end of the northern housing market. The feel is residential and settled — streets of owned homes, older residents mixed with families, and relatively little of the transient renter churn you'd find closer to Manchester city centre. With over three quarters of households owner-occupied, it has the character of an established suburb rather than a rental neighbourhood.
Rents here are genuinely low by any measure. A two-bedroom home runs around £686 a month, which is roughly half what you'd expect to pay in central Manchester and a fraction of southern city prices. Even buying is within reach for people on average local wages — at a median house price of around £195,000, you'd need just over three years of saving to reach a typical deposit, one of the more accessible ratios in the North West.
The population skews slightly older than you might expect. Around one in five residents is over 65, and the 50–64 age band is the single largest working-age cohort. Families with children make up roughly a fifth of households. The area is ethnically homogeneous — over 96% of residents were born in the UK — and well established in its community character.
Practically speaking, most residents drive: nearly two thirds commute by car, and public transport use is low at around 3%. The nearest rail station is roughly 2 km away — about a 25-minute walk, or a short drive. Manchester is around 49 minutes by public transport, which is manageable for commuters who don't need to go daily. Working from home is more common here than in many comparable areas, with nearly a quarter of residents doing so.
See the streets and sub-areas below for more detail on specific parts of the neighbourhood.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Wigan 035 a nice place to live?
- It's a quiet, settled residential area with very low crime, good greenspace access, and genuinely affordable housing. It suits people who want stability and value over proximity to city buzz. Most residents own their homes, the area skews older, and the day-to-day feel is suburban rather than urban.
- What is the rent in Wigan 035?
- A one-bedroom home runs around £531 a month, a two-bed around £686, and a three-bed around £821. These are estimates scaled from council-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose about 7% in the past year, but the base remains well below the national average.
- Is Wigan 035 safe?
- Very. The recorded crime rate is around 0.6 incidents per 1,000 residents annually — a fraction of the UK national rate of roughly 80 per 1,000. It's one of the lower crime areas in Greater Manchester and a genuine selling point for families and older residents.
- What's the commute from Wigan 035 to Manchester?
- By public transport, Manchester takes around 49 minutes. Most residents drive rather than use public transport — about 65% commute by car, and only 3% use public transport. The nearest rail station is roughly 2 km away, about a 25-minute walk or a short drive.
- Who lives in Wigan 035?
- Predominantly older, settled owner-occupiers — over 40% of residents are aged 50 or above, and nearly 78% own their home. Families with children make up around a fifth of households. It's a stable, homogeneous community with relatively low turnover compared to more urban parts of Wigan.
- What schools are near Wigan 035?
- There are 44 schools within typical catchment distance. Around 45% are rated Good or Outstanding — below the national share of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding school is approximately 1.7 km away. Check the Ofsted website and Wigan Council admissions pages for current ratings and catchment details.
- How affordable is buying a home in Wigan 035?
- More accessible than most of Greater Manchester. The median house price is around £195,000, and at typical local savings rates you'd reach a deposit in just over three years. That's one of the shorter deposit timelines in the North West.