United Kingdom · North West · Local Authority
Bolton
Metropolitan district · North West, England · population ~288k · 127 state-funded schools
Affordable housing prices are offset by low local wages and high crime rates in Bolton. A median house costs 5.8 times annual gross pay, which sits below the regional median, yet residents face a financial squeeze as rent consumes 30% of median gross earnings. Weekly pay of £674.50 remains significantly below the North West median of £726.70. While the cost of living is tempered by a Band D council tax of £2,400, the area struggles with social indicators, as the deprivation score is higher than 89% of England authorities and recorded crime is higher than 83%. This location suits those prioritising lower property entry costs over local earning potential or low crime rates.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-10 data.
The signature
How Bolton ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£35,074/yr
Very low
Worse than 92% of UK LAs
House price
£205,000
Affordable
Better than 78% of UK LAs
Rent
£878/mo
Affordable
Better than 63% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,400/yr
Mid
Better than 59% of UK LAs
Crime
98.4/1k
Highest
Worse than 84% of UK LAs
Deprivation
30.7
Most deprived
Worse than 89% of UK LAs
Schools
96.9%
Very strong
Better than 81% 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
152 state-funded schools · Ofsted Sep 2026
123 of 127 (96.9%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 25 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
127 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 127 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Bolton →Places with similar signatures
Nearest by quintile position across pay · housing · tax · crime · IMD · schools
Bolton 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.