United Kingdom · West Midlands · Local Authority
Birmingham
Metropolitan district · West Midlands, England · population ~1141k · 440 state-funded schools
Accessible housing costs come at the price of significant social challenges in Birmingham. A median house costs 6.4 times annual earnings, which sits below the regional median, yet high rental demand means residents spend 35.4% of their gross pay on rent. While the local economy offers lower wages than the regional median, the city faces the highest deprivation and crime rates in the West Midlands. These figures are stark, with the crime rate higher than 93% of England authorities and deprivation higher than 98%. Education remains a relative strength, with 94.7% of pupils attending Good or Outstanding schools. This location suits those who prioritise school access and lower entry-level property prices, provided they can navigate the significant pressures on local living standards.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-10 data.
The signature
How Birmingham ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£36,811/yr
Low
Worse than 77% of UK LAs
House price
£235,000
Affordable
Better than 66% of UK LAs
Rent
£1,086/mo
Mid-range
Worse than 57% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,363/yr
Cheap
Better than 66% of UK LAs
Crime
114.1/1k
Highest
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Deprivation
38.1
Most deprived
Worse than 98% of UK LAs
Schools
92.5%
Mid
Around UK average
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
498 state-funded schools · Ofsted Sep 2026
405 of 438 (92.5%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 60 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
440 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 440 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Birmingham →Places with similar signatures
Nearest by quintile position across pay · housing · tax · crime · IMD · schools
Birmingham head-to-heads
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.