United Kingdom · East of England · Local Authority
Central Bedfordshire
Unitary authority · East of England, England · population ~294k · 129 state-funded schools
Strong earnings potential comes at the cost of high property prices and steep council tax in Central Bedfordshire. Residents earn £868.70 weekly, which is above the regional median, yet housing remains expensive with a median price reaching 8.1 times annual pay. Rent is equally demanding, consuming 32.9% of gross median earnings. While the financial barrier to entry is significant, the area offers a safer environment than most, with a crime rate of 48.7 per 1,000 residents and a deprivation score that ranks among the lowest in the region. With 94.7% of pupils attending Good or Outstanding schools, it is a practical choice for families prioritising safety and education, provided they can manage the heavy tax and housing burden.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-10 data.
The signature
How Central Bedfordshire ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£45,172/yr
Very high
Better than 83% of UK LAs
House price
£365,000
Expensive
Worse than 73% of UK LAs
Rent
£1,238/mo
Expensive
Worse than 67% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,516/yr
Expensive
Worse than 73% of UK LAs
Crime
48.7/1k
Safest
Better than 90% of UK LAs
Deprivation
12.2
Least deprived
Better than 81% of UK LAs
Schools
93.8%
Mid
Better than 59% 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
147 state-funded schools · Ofsted Sep 2026
121 of 129 (93.8%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 18 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
129 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 129 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Central Bedfordshire →Places with similar signatures
Nearest by quintile position across pay · housing · tax · crime · IMD · schools
Central Bedfordshire 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.