United Kingdom · South East · Local Authority
Ashford
Non-metropolitan district · South East, England · population ~131k · 54 state-funded schools
Affordability is the main tension here; Ashford offers housing that is cheaper than the South East average, but at a significant cost to your earnings. While the median house price is £345,000, it still takes a high 8.9 times median annual pay to buy, and rent consumes a substantial 38.5% of gross median earnings. This trade-off is compounded by slightly higher than average crime rates at 66.7 per 1,000 and a deprivation score of 18.55, both worse than the regional median. However, school quality is on par with the South East average at 93.1% of pupils in Good or Outstanding places. This option suits those prioritising access to the South East market over immediate earning potential.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-08 data.
The signature
How Ashford ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£38,641/yr
Mid
Worse than 55% of UK LAs
House price
£345,000
Expensive
Worse than 67% of UK LAs
Rent
£1,239/mo
Expensive
Worse than 67% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,410/yr
Mid
Better than 56% of UK LAs
Crime
66.7/1k
Mid
Better than 59% of UK LAs
Deprivation
18.6
Mid
Around UK average
Schools
98.1%
Very strong
Better than 87% of UK LAs
Colour shows quintile position against 361 UK Local Authorities. Green is the best position for someone moving here; red is the worst. Direction is set per indicator — higher pay, lower rent, less crime, less deprivation are all green.
Schools
53 state-funded schools · Ofsted Feb 2026
52 of 53 (98.1%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. How we count →
The map
54 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 54 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Ashford →Places with similar signatures
Nearest by quintile position across pay · housing · tax · crime · IMD · schools
What we don't know yet
Commute times · GP appointment availability · broadband speeds · air quality at LA level · green-space proximity · public transport coverage. These matter for a relocation decision. We'll add them when the source data is reliable nationally and consistent across LA boundaries.