Area guide

Living in OL2, Oldham

What the open data says about house prices, schools, crime and flood risk around OL2 in Oldham. Built from the same sources as every property report on this site, not opinion or marketing copy.

Figures gathered 16 October 2026, each from the source named in its section.

House prices

Average price in Oldham: £217,171, up 4.7% on a year ago (July 2026). The wider North West average is £221,445.

Check sold prices for a specific address in OL2 →
See where OL2 ranks across North West →

Council tax at Band D in Oldham: £2,602 a year (2026-27). Running costs by postcode: council tax, energy, tenure, and the estate charge no listing shows →

Compare OL2 with another district

Sold prices, the price trend, schools, flood zone, Band D council tax and crime for OL2 against any other district, each from the source the section below names.

What actually sold around OL2

165 recorded home sales on the streets around central OL2 in the last 2 years, with a median of £250,000 and a range from £60,000 to £606,000. Mostly detached houses.

AddressTypeSold forDate
2 Higham Close, OL2 6TQ Detached £325,000 14 Aug 2026
76 Oldham Road, OL2 8SA Terraced £60,000 31 Jul 2026
60 Cornish Way, OL2 6JY Semi-detached £210,000 24 Jul 2026
7 Kings Road, OL2 7BJ Semi-detached £270,000 17 Jul 2026
11 Bickerstaffe Close, OL2 7DF Semi-detached £270,000 17 Jul 2026
1 Martindale Close, OL2 6PR Semi-detached £325,000 26 Jun 2026
How to read this

Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data. Every sale of a registered property in England and Wales appears here once it completes, so the most recent weeks are always still filling in.

Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data

Schools nearby

85 schools within 3 miles , of which 81% are rated Outstanding or Good by Ofsted.

Nearest well-rated schoolsStageOfstedDistanceAdmitted from
The Blue Coat CofE School Secondary Outstanding 1.8 mi away no figure
Westwood Academy Primary Outstanding 2.1 mi away 0.74 mi 2025/26
Crompton Primary School Primary Good 0.3 mi away no figure
St Joseph's RC Junior, Infant and Nursery School, A Voluntary Academy Primary Good 0.4 mi away no figure
The Crompton House Church of England Academy Secondary Good 0.7 mi away no figure
Beal Vale Primary School Primary Good 0.8 mi away 1.23 mi 2025/26

Schools in OL2 with a published admission distance

How far away the last child offered a place lived, as the council published it. Tightest first; each name opens the school's page and its postcode checker.

SchoolStageAdmitted fromRound
Buckstones Primary School Primary 0.69 mi 2025/26
Beal Vale Primary School Primary 1.23 mi 2025/26
Fir Bank Primary School Primary 1.27 mi 2025/26
St Mary's CofE Primary School High Crompton Primary 1.46 mi 2025/26

Will an address here get a place? How far Oldham schools admitted from, school by school →

59 state primary and 11 state secondary schools within range, plus 8 fee-paying schools.

See the full school breakdown for OL2 →

Private schools

8 fee-paying schools within 3 miles: Darul Hadis Latifiah Northwest, Ellen House Secondary, Farrowdale House School, Hulme Grammar School, Sapience Girls Academy, The Chadderton Preparatory School and others.

All 8 fee-paying schools near OL2, with ages and admissions →

Fee-paying schools are inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, not Ofsted, and the ISI publishes no open data feed. That is why they carry no rating here. A missing grade means we cannot see one, not that the school was judged poorly.

What people here do for work

The most common occupations among working residents, from the 2021 Census. This is occupation rather than industry: it says what people do, not which industries employ them.

Occupation groupShare of workers
Professional occupations19.8%
Associate professional and technical13.8%
Administrative and secretarial13.0%
Skilled trades12.0%
Managers, directors and senior officials11.3%

Source: ONS Census 2021, table TS063, for this district's small area.

How OL2 has changed since 2011

The biggest move: degree-level adults, up 5.6 points since 2011, with England's change beside each line.

How to read this

The census neighbourhood at the centre of OL2 (E01005403, 1,736 residents in 2021, up 3.4% on 2011) on the 2011 and 2021 censuses, with England's own change over the same decade for scale. Each line is a share of the neighbourhood's households or residents, so a growing area and a shrinking one compare fairly. The biggest move here: degree-level adults, up 5.6 points.

Measure20112021ChangeEngland
Households that own their home 80.1% 78.8% -1.3 pts -2.0 pts
Households renting privately 9.9% 12.1% +2.2 pts +3.7 pts
Households renting socially 8.4% 8.2% -0.2 pts -0.6 pts
Residents under 15 20.6% 20.3% -0.3 pts -0.3 pts
Residents 65 and over 10.4% 13.9% +3.5 pts +2.1 pts
Adults with a degree or equivalent 24.8% 30.4% +5.6 pts +6.5 pts
Residents born outside the UK 3.6% 4.3% +0.7 pts +3.6 pts
Residents in good or very good health 85.3% 85.0% -0.3 pts +0.8 pts
Residents in a white ethnic group 94.4% 89.7% -4.7 pts -4.4 pts

Office for National Statistics, Census 2011 and Census 2021, Open Government Licence. A district holds many neighbourhoods; the full report for an address shows the one it sits in.

Crime

Greater Manchester Police is publishing only a small part of its recorded crime to Police.uk at present, a handful of offences a month where other forces list hundreds. Any count here would make the area look far safer than it is, so none is shown.

Flood risk

Zone 1 (low probability). This is the Environment Agency's flood zone for the area's centre point, an individual property's own risk can differ, especially near a specific watercourse.

Deprivation

This area falls in decile 7 of 10 on the Index of Multiple Deprivation (moderately deprived ), based on Oldham's figures.

Getting around & nearby essentials

5 supermarkets, 8 pharmacies, 35 restaurants and cafés, 34 pubs, 2 hospitals within a mile of central OL2, hospitals within three miles.

Buses from the centre of OL2

Best-served stop: Spring Vale Way, with 4.0 buses an hour on weekday daytimes.

Evenings, Sundays and routes

The best-served stop within 800 m of the centre of OL2 is Spring Vale Way: 4.0 buses an hour on a weekday daytime, 2.2 in the evening and 2.0 on Sunday daytime; first bus 05:00, last 22:39. Routes there: 57, 182, 403, 837. 5 stops with a scheduled service within that distance.

Departures a passenger can board, from the timetables operators publish to the Department for Transport's Bus Open Data Service, for Tuesday 8 Sep 2026 and Sunday 13 Sep 2026. Scheduled, not observed. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two stops. The full report does this for the stops within 500 m of an address.

Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport)

GP practices and A&E

3 GP practices within 3.0 km of the centre of OL2. The nearest, The Royton & Crompton Family Practice, has 20,915 registered patients and 3,079 patients per fully qualified GP, against an England median of 2,186.

PracticeFrom the centrePatientsPer qualified GP
The Royton & Crompton Family Practice0.7 mi20,9153,079
Royton Medical Centre0.8 mi7,0961,760
Oak Gables Medical Practice1.2 mi9,0401,704

Nearest A&E: Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, where 63.0% of type 1 attendances were seen within four hours in July 2026; then Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust at 63.5%.

How to read this

NHS England: patients registered at a GP practice (1 Aug 2026), the general practice workforce (July 2026), and A&E attendances by provider, monthly. Fully qualified GPs exclude trainees. Practices are matched by postcode.

Source: NHS England, monthly releases

Council tax and the council's finances

A Band D household in Oldham pays £2,602 for 2026-27, all precepts included, a rise of 5.8% on the year before against an England median rise of 4.8%. Every band for Oldham, and how it compares.

Band D bill a year at Oldham, all precepts included, from MHCLG. Every year and its rise is in the table below.
YearBand D billRise
2021-22£2,037+3.0%
2022-23£2,128+4.5%
2023-24£2,220+4.3%
2024-25£2,331+5.0%
2025-26£2,459+5.5%
2026-27£2,602+5.8%

No exceptional financial support from government since 2020-21 and no section 114 notice on record for Oldham, as at 7 Sep 2026.

How to read this

A home's own band is on its council tax bill, free to look up at gov.uk/council-tax-bands; the report shows every band's bill at the council beside the home's other checks.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, live council tax tables (Band D, area averages) and the Exceptional Financial Support lists published each year; section 114 notices as published by the councils.

Source: MHCLG live council tax tables and Exceptional Financial Support lists

Common questions about OL2

What is the average house price in OL2?

The average sold price in Oldham is £217,171 as of July 2026, according to the UK House Price Index.

Are house prices rising in OL2?

Prices in Oldham are up 4.7% on a year ago (UK House Price Index).

What do houses actually sell for in OL2?

The median of 165 recorded sales around central OL2 in the last 2 years is £250,000, ranging from £60,000 to £606,000 (HM Land Registry Price Paid Data).

Are the schools good in OL2?

85 schools sit within 3 miles of central OL2, and 81% are rated Outstanding or Good by Ofsted.

Is OL2 at risk of flooding?

Central OL2 sits in Zone 1 (low probability) for river and sea flooding (Environment Agency). Individual addresses vary, so check the full report for a specific property.

Is OL2 a good place to live?

That depends on what you need, so here is what the official data says rather than an opinion: 81% of nearby schools are rated Outstanding or Good by Ofsted; the median home sells for £250,000; the area sits in decile 7 of 10 on the Index of Multiple Deprivation. Every one of those figures names its source on this page.

Is OL2 safe?

Greater Manchester Police is publishing only a small part of its recorded crime to Police.uk at present, a handful of offences a month where other forces list hundreds. Any count here would make the area look far safer than it is, so none is shown.

Neighbouring districts

Want the full picture for a specific property?

This page covers OL2 as a whole. For sold price history, EPC rating, exact-address crime and flood risk, school catchment areas and 30+ other checks on one specific property, search its full postcode.