Orrell & Longshaw
Wigan 018 · 7 sub-areas · 12,854 residents
Wigan 018 is a largely owner-occupied corner of Wigan, home to around 12,800 people and noticeably more affordable than most of the North West. A typical two-bedroom home lets for around £686 a month — well below the UK national median — and with a deposit timeline of just 3.5 years, it's one of the more accessible areas for buyers in the region.
Orrell & Longshaw is a commuter neighbourhood within Wigan — train into Liverpool runs in around 45 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 Orrell & Longshaw?
2 parks and 3 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; Public transport is genuinely strong; most errands and a fair share of social life don't need a car; 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 7 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Orrell & Longshaw in Wigan
Living in Orrell & Longshaw
This part of Wigan has the feel of a settled, suburban community rather than a transient rental market. Over four in five homes are owner-occupied, which gives the streets a stable, established character — quieter than you'd find closer to Wigan town centre, and with a noticeably older age profile than the regional average.
Rents here are genuinely low by any national standard. A two-bedroom home runs around £686 a month — roughly half what you'd pay in central Manchester and well under the UK median for the same size. Even the upper end, a three-bedroom, averages around £821 a month. The council tax (Band D) comes in at around £2,153 a year, which is in line with typical Greater Manchester rates.
The population skews older: nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, and the 50–64 bracket adds another 21%. Families with children are well represented too — around one in five households is a couple with children. It's the kind of area where people tend to stay rather than pass through, which the 81% ownership rate reflects.
For getting around, most residents drive — nearly two in three commute by car, and only around 3% use public transport. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1.2 km away, about a 15-minute walk. The public transport commute to Manchester city centre takes just over an hour, so this neighbourhood works best for those with access to a car or who work locally. Broadband coverage is strong — 100% of premises can access gigabit speeds.
See the streets and sub-areas below for more detail on specific pockets within the neighbourhood.
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Frequently asked
- Is Wigan 018 a nice place to live?
- It's a quiet, settled suburban area with very low crime and strong broadband — one of the safest neighbourhoods in the country by recorded crime rate. The trade-off is limited public transport and school quality below the national average, so it suits car-owning households more than commuters reliant on trains.
- What is the rent in Wigan 018?
- A one-bedroom home averages around £531 a month, a two-bedroom around £686, and a three-bedroom around £821. These are estimates scaled from council-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose roughly 7% in the past year, but remain well below the national median.
- Is Wigan 018 safe?
- Very. The recorded crime rate is around 1.4 incidents per 1,000 residents per year — a fraction of the UK national rate of roughly 80 per 1,000. It's one of the lowest-crime neighbourhoods in the region, which reflects both its suburban character and high owner-occupancy.
- What's the commute from Wigan 018 to Manchester city centre?
- By public transport, the journey to Manchester takes around 61 minutes. The nearest mainline rail station is about 1.2 km away — roughly a 15-minute walk. Most residents drive rather than use public transport, and nearly 27% work from home.
- Who lives in Wigan 018?
- Primarily older, settled owner-occupiers — nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, and over 81% own their home. Families with children make up around one in five households. It's not a transient area; people tend to put down roots here.
- What schools are near Wigan 018?
- There are 48 schools within typical catchment distance, though only around 23% are rated Good or Outstanding — below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding school is just under 1.4 km away. Check Ofsted directly for current ratings on specific schools before deciding.
- Is Wigan 018 good for first-time buyers?
- It's one of the more accessible areas in the region. The median sale price is around £224,000 and the average deposit takes just 3.5 years to save — a relatively short timeline compared to most urban areas. The high owner-occupancy rate suggests it's been a popular choice for buyers for some time.