United Kingdom · East of England · Local Authority
Braintree
Non-metropolitan district · East of England, England · population ~153k · 63 state-funded schools
Affordable to rent, but a stretch to buy. Braintree's median monthly rent takes a manageable 34.3% of gross weekly pay, and council tax is below the regional median at £2,280. However, buying a home here is a significant commitment, with prices at 8 times median annual earnings, a multiple that ranks in the bottom half of the East of England. Crime is lower than the regional average at 53.6 per 1,000. This option suits those prioritising lower monthly housing costs and decent schools over home ownership aspirations.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-08 data.
The signature
How Braintree ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£42,926/yr
High
Better than 73% of UK LAs
House price
£345,000
Expensive
Worse than 67% of UK LAs
Rent
£1,227/mo
Expensive
Worse than 66% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,280/yr
Cheapest
Better than 84% of UK LAs
Crime
53.6/1k
Safest
Better than 83% of UK LAs
Deprivation
14.7
Low
Better than 68% of UK LAs
Schools
93.7%
Mid
Better 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
63 state-funded schools · Ofsted Feb 2026
59 of 63 (93.7%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. How we count →
The map
63 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 63 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Braintree →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.