United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
City of Bristol vs Dorset Council
City of Bristol (South West, England · ~466k people) · Dorset Council (South West, England · ~380k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: City of Bristol leads on 2, Dorset Council on 3, 2 effectively tied. Which trade-offs matter is yours to weigh — the rows below show where each one wins.
Head to head
Median pay
ONS ASHE (residence) · 2025
City of Bristol
£40,586/yr
Better than 60% of UK LAs
Dorset Council
£38,329/yr
Worse than 58% of UK LAs
City of Bristol: 6% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
City of Bristol
£351,000
Worse than 70% of UK LAs
Dorset Council
£349,000
Worse than 68% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
City of Bristol
£1,888/mo
Worse than 94% of UK LAs
Dorset Council
£1,037/mo
Worse than 55% of UK LAs
Dorset Council: 82% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
City of Bristol
£2,714/yr
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
Dorset Council
£2,765/yr
Worse than 100% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
City of Bristol
130.3/1k
Worse than 97% of UK LAs
Dorset Council
45.0/1k
Better than 93% of UK LAs
Dorset Council: 190% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
City of Bristol
26.4
Worse than 79% of UK LAs
Dorset Council
15.7
Better than 64% of UK LAs
Dorset Council: lower average deprivation score (15.7 vs 26.4).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
City of Bristol
88.5%
Worse than 84% of UK LAs
Dorset Council
84.7%
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
City of Bristol: 3.8 percentage points more pupils in Good/Outstanding schools.
What local pay actually covers
Same-place ratios — each area's own median rent and house price against its own median gross pay. A cheap-looking area stops looking cheap when local pay is lower still.
City of Bristol
Rent takes 56% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 8.6× median annual pay
Dorset Council
Rent takes 32% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 9.1× median annual pay
Full City of Bristol profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Dorset Council profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.