United Kingdom · Local Authorities · Compare
Sandwell vs Shropshire
Sandwell (West Midlands, England · ~329k people) · Shropshire (West Midlands, England · ~325k people)
Of 7 strictly-comparable measures: Sandwell leads on 3, Shropshire on 4. 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
Sandwell
£34,882/yr
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Shropshire
£37,804/yr
Worse than 66% of UK LAs
Shropshire: 8% higher median pay.
House price
ONS HPSSA-9 median · Year ending Sep 2025
Sandwell
£217,000
Better than 74% of UK LAs
Shropshire
£275,000
Around UK average
Sandwell: 27% lower median price.
Monthly rent
ONS PIPR (newly-signed lets) · 2026-03
Sandwell
£938/mo
Better than 57% of UK LAs
Shropshire
£803/mo
Better than 72% of UK LAs
Shropshire: 17% lower median rent.
Council tax (Band D)
MHCLG · 2026-27
Sandwell
£2,244/yr
Better than 88% of UK LAs
Shropshire
£2,528/yr
Worse than 75% of UK LAs
Sandwell: £284 less per year at Band D.
Recorded crime
ONS PFA Table C4 · Year ending Dec 2025
Sandwell
95.2/1k
Worse than 80% of UK LAs
Shropshire
48.2/1k
Better than 91% of UK LAs
Shropshire: 98% lower recorded-crime rate.
Deprivation (IMD)
MHCLG Indices of Deprivation · 2019
Sandwell
34.9
Worse than 96% of UK LAs
Shropshire
17.1
Better than 56% of UK LAs
Shropshire: lower average deprivation score (17.1 vs 34.9).
Schools (Ofsted)
Ofsted MI · Feb 2026 snapshot
Sandwell
95.2%
Better than 73% of UK LAs
Shropshire
85.9%
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Sandwell: 9.3 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.
Sandwell
Rent takes 32% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 6.2× median annual pay
Shropshire
Rent takes 25% of median gross monthly pay
A median home costs 7.3× median annual pay
Full Sandwell profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.
Full Shropshire profile →
Every indicator, all state-funded schools with Ofsted grades, and similar areas.