United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
County Durham vs Buckinghamshire
County Durham (North East, England · ~533k people) · Buckinghamshire (South East, England · ~547k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: County Durham leads on 2, Buckinghamshire on 4, 1 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
County Durham
£34,388/yr
Worse than 95% of UK LAs
Buckinghamshire
£43,462/yr
Better than 76% of UK LAs
Buckinghamshire: 26% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
County Durham
£143,000
Better than 97% of UK LAs
Buckinghamshire
£455,000
Worse than 86% of UK LAs
County Durham: 218% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
County Durham
£632/mo
Better than 97% of UK LAs
Buckinghamshire
£1,467/mo
Worse than 80% of UK LAs
County Durham: 132% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
County Durham
£2,622/yr
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Buckinghamshire
£2,527/yr
Worse than 75% of UK LAs
Buckinghamshire: £95 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
County Durham
89.4/1k
Worse than 73% of UK LAs
Buckinghamshire
59.2/1k
Better than 73% of UK LAs
Buckinghamshire: 51% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
County Durham
26.8
Worse than 80% of UK LAs
Buckinghamshire
9.6
Better than 93% of UK LAs
Buckinghamshire: lower average deprivation score (9.6 vs 26.8).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
County Durham
92.6%
Worse than 57% of UK LAs
Buckinghamshire
93.5%
Better than 64% of UK LAs
Effectively tied — under 2% apart.
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.
County Durham
Rent takes 22% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 4.2× median annual pay
Buckinghamshire
Rent takes 41% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 10.5× median annual pay
Full County Durham profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Buckinghamshire profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.