United Kingdom · East of England · Local Authority
Dacorum
Non-metropolitan district · East of England, England · population ~155k · 70 state-funded schools
High earnings potential is offset by a significant barrier to entry in Dacorum. A median house price of 9.7 times annual gross pay makes home ownership a substantial commitment, and rent consumes 41% of median gross earnings. While weekly pay at £888.60 sits comfortably above the regional median, the cost of living reflects the area's proximity to London. The trade-off is a high standard of education, with 96.5% of pupils in Good or Outstanding schools, the highest proportion in the region. Crime levels remain close to the regional median, and deprivation scores are lower than most of the East of England. This location suits high-earning professionals who prioritise school quality and lower deprivation over immediate housing affordability.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-10 data.
The signature
How Dacorum ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£46,207/yr
Very high
Better than 86% of UK LAs
House price
£450,000
Very expensive
Worse than 84% of UK LAs
Rent
£1,577/mo
Very expensive
Worse than 86% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,409/yr
Mid
Better than 56% of UK LAs
Crime
68.9/1k
Mid
Better than 56% of UK LAs
Deprivation
13.0
Low
Better than 78% of UK LAs
Schools
94.2%
Strong
Better than 64% 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
79 state-funded schools · Ofsted Sep 2026
65 of 69 (94.2%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 10 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
70 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 70 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Dacorum →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.