# Helsinki vs Manchester

> On balanced weights, Helsinki comes out ahead: 53 against 51 out of 100, mostly on sunshine and clean air. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/helsinki-fi-vs-manchester-gb/

Scores out of 100: Helsinki 53, Manchester 51. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=helsinki-fi,manchester-gb

## Line by line

| Line | Helsinki | Manchester |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €849 a month (Rents of dwellings (Statistics Finland table 15fc); World Development Indicators) | €976 a month (Price Index of Private Rents; World Development Indicators) |
| Cost of living | €2,683 a month (Rents of dwellings (Statistics Finland table 15fc); World Development Indicators) | €2,973 a month (Price Index of Private Rents; World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 23 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 11 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 5 h 49 min | 7 h 28 min |
| Sunshine | 1,890 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) | 1,412 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) |
| Dry days | 143 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 188 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 5.4 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 8.8 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 1.0 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 1.1 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 82.3 years (World Development Indicators) | 81.4 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €58 a month (World Development Indicators) | €64 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 51 weeks (mother 40, father 11) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 12 weeks (mother 12, father 0) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.80 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | 7.45 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 61 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 66 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 17 km (OurAirports airports) | 15 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | 52 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 27 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Rail and metro stations | 81 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 36 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | 35 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | no data |
| Cycle network | 7.00 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 1.38 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 93 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 94 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | 22.0 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 19.1 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Quick way out by bike | 9.2 km, about 37 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 8.7 km, about 35 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 2 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 34 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 300 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 300 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 29.6 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 17.9 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 38 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 52 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 70 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 98 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | 17.5 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 28.6 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Doctors | 3.6 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 3.3 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 9.5 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 4.7 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 49.9 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 52.3 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Developers around | 21.5 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 26.2 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 2.14 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 1.53 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | centre, 5.5 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) | centre, 5.6 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | also on social or economic grounds; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 19 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 19 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 11 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 5 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 19 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 8 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 4 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 3 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 168 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 264 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 3 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 180 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 194 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 38 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 7 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 14 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 6 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Helsinki or Manchester?

For one person renting a one-bedroom home, Helsinki is cheaper: about €2,683 a month against €2,973, rent and everyday spending included. Rent comes from official rent statistics and everyday spending is scaled by each country's World Bank price level.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Helsinki and in Manchester?

About €42,379 a year in Helsinki (Finland 2026 tax rules) and £39,727 in Manchester (United Kingdom 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Where do you keep more money each month, Helsinki or Manchester?

On €60,000 gross, renting a one-bedroom home: €849 a month left in Helsinki and €976 in Manchester, after tax, rent, everyday spending and health care.

### Which is warmer, Helsinki or Manchester?

Manchester is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 14.0 °C against 9.3 °C in Helsinki (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Helsinki or Manchester?

Helsinki has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 5.4 µg/m³ against 8.8 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2024 and 2021).

### Can a citizen of Finland live and work in Manchester without a visa?

No. Citizens of Finland need a visa or permit to live and work in the United Kingdom; free movement there covers Common Travel Area citizens.

## Cite

Borgo, "Helsinki vs Manchester", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/helsinki-fi-vs-manchester-gb/, figures as of 2026-11-05.