United Kingdom · North West · Local Authority
Blackburn with Darwen
Unitary authority · North West, England · population ~150k · 78 state-funded schools
Affordable to settle in, difficult to earn in. Blackburn with Darwen offers housing that is cheaper than the North West median, with a house price to earnings ratio of 5x and rent consuming 25.1% of gross pay. However, these low costs reflect a local economy where weekly earnings of £649.60 sit well below the regional median. The area faces significant challenges, with a deprivation score higher than 97% of England authorities and crime levels exceeding the regional median. For those who can navigate the labour market, the schools provide a clear advantage, with 95.8% of pupils attending Good or Outstanding institutions. This is a location for buyers prioritising entry-level property costs and school performance over local wage growth.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-10 data.
The signature
How Blackburn with Darwen ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£33,779/yr
Very low
Worse than 97% of UK LAs
House price
£170,000
Most affordable
Better than 91% of UK LAs
Rent
£707/mo
Most affordable
Better than 90% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,455/yr
Mid
Worse than 56% of UK LAs
Crime
84.2/1k
High
Worse than 67% of UK LAs
Deprivation
36.0
Most deprived
Worse than 97% of UK LAs
Schools
92.2%
Mid
Worse than 56% 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
93 state-funded schools · Ofsted Sep 2026
71 of 77 (92.2%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 16 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
78 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 78 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Blackburn with Darwen →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.