United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Cornwall vs Dorset Council
Cornwall (South West, England · ~573k people) · Dorset Council (South West, England · ~380k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Cornwall leads on 4, Dorset Council on 3. 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
Cornwall
£35,298/yr
Worse than 90% of UK LAs
Dorset Council
£38,329/yr
Worse than 58% of UK LAs
Dorset Council: 9% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Cornwall
£290,000
Around UK average
Dorset Council
£349,000
Worse than 68% of UK LAs
Cornwall: 20% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Cornwall
£1,004/mo
Around UK average
Dorset Council
£1,037/mo
Worse than 55% of UK LAs
Cornwall: 3% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Cornwall
£2,591/yr
Worse than 86% of UK LAs
Dorset Council
£2,765/yr
Worse than 100% of UK LAs
Cornwall: £174 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Cornwall
62.2/1k
Better than 66% of UK LAs
Dorset Council
45.0/1k
Better than 93% of UK LAs
Dorset Council: 38% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Cornwall
23.1
Worse than 67% of UK LAs
Dorset Council
15.7
Better than 64% of UK LAs
Dorset Council: lower average deprivation score (15.7 vs 23.1).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Cornwall
92.9%
Around UK average
Dorset Council
84.7%
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
Cornwall: 8.2 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.
Cornwall
Rent takes 34% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 8.2× median annual pay
Dorset Council
Rent takes 32% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 9.1× median annual pay
Full Cornwall 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.