United Kingdom · South West · Local Authority
Dorset Council
Unitary authority · South West, England · population ~380k · 158 state-funded schools
High cost of living, low crime. Dorset Council's median house price is 9.1 times median annual pay, and rent takes 32.5% of gross earnings, both higher than the South West median. This is compounded by the highest council tax in the region, at £2,765. However, recorded crime is low, with 45 incidents per 1,000 people, significantly below the South West median of 66.1. Deprivation is also slightly below the regional median. This area suits those prioritising a lower crime rate and a quieter environment over affordability and school quality, as just 84.7% of pupils are in Good or Outstanding schools, below the South West median of 92.9%.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-08 data.
The signature
How Dorset Council ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£38,329/yr
Mid
Worse than 58% of UK LAs
House price
£349,000
Expensive
Worse than 68% of UK LAs
Rent
£1,037/mo
Mid-range
Worse than 55% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,765/yr
Most expensive
Worse than 100% of UK LAs
Crime
45.0/1k
Safest
Better than 93% of UK LAs
Deprivation
15.7
Low
Better than 64% of UK LAs
Schools
87.3%
Concerning
Worse than 85% 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
158 state-funded schools · Ofsted Feb 2026
137 of 157 (87.3%) 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
158 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 158 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Dorset Council →Places with similar signatures
Nearest by quintile position across pay · housing · tax · crime · IMD · schools
Dorset Council 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.