United Kingdom · North West · Local Authority
Blackburn with Darwen
Unitary authority · North West, England · population ~150k · 77 state-funded schools
Low pay and high deprivation, but good schools. Blackburn with Darwen offers housing at a median price that is 5x median annual pay, and rents take 25.1% of gross median earnings, both well below North West medians. However, this affordability is shadowed by low earnings, with weekly pay of £649.60 ranking 33rd of 35 in the region. Deprivation is also a significant concern, with a score of 36.01, higher than 97% of England authorities, and recorded crime is above the regional median. The standout positive is education, with 95.6% of pupils in Good or Outstanding schools, ranking 4th in the region. This is a place for those prioritising school quality and housing affordability over career prospects.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-08 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
92.0%
Mid
Worse than 58% 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
76 state-funded schools · Ofsted Feb 2026
69 of 75 (92%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 1 school is on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
77 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 77 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.