United Kingdom · East of England · Local Authority
Bedford
Unitary authority · East of England, England · population ~175k · 74 state-funded schools
The signature
How Bedford ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£40,550/yr
Mid
Better than 60% of UK LAs
House price
£345,000
Expensive
Worse than 67% of UK LAs
Rent
£1,163/mo
Expensive
Worse than 63% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,472/yr
Expensive
Worse than 62% of UK LAs
Crime
77.7/1k
Mid
Worse than 58% of UK LAs
Deprivation
18.9
Mid
Around UK average
Schools
98.5%
Very strong
Better than 90% 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
72 state-funded schools · Ofsted Feb 2026
67 of 68 (98.5%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 4 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
74 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Showing 20 of 74 schools.
| New framework | Links | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sharnbrook Academy | Secondary | 1,685 | Good2025 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Bedford Academy | Secondary | 1,375 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Biddenham International School and Sports College | Secondary | 1,357 | Good2019 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Mark Rutherford School | Secondary | 1,180 | Requires Improvement2023 | OfstedWebsite | |
Goldington Academy | Secondary | 942 | Good2022 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Wixams Academy | Secondary | 933 | Requires Improvement2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Lincroft Academy | Secondary | 931 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
St Thomas More Catholic School | Secondary | 929 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
King's Oak Primary School | Primary | 868 | Good2022 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Wootton Upper School | Secondary | 867 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Kempston Academy | Secondary | 824 | Good2018 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Castle Newnham School | Secondary | 750 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Great Denham Primary School | Primary | 677 | Outstanding2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Wootton Primary School | Primary | 626 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Castle Newnham School | Primary | 622 | Outstanding2013 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Goldington Green Academy | Primary | 581 | Good2025 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Marston Vale Middle School | Secondary | 571 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Daubeney Academy | Secondary | 561 | Good2025 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Wixams Tree Primary Academy | Primary | 529 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Bedford Free School | Secondary | 525 | Outstanding2020 | — | OfstedWebsite |
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.