United Kingdom · West Midlands · Local Authority
Dudley
Metropolitan district · West Midlands, England · population ~322k · 107 state-funded schools
Affordable to live in, but constrained by lower earnings and social challenges. Dudley offers a financial trade-off where the median house price sits at 6.5 times annual pay, a figure lower than the regional median. Monthly rent is also relatively accessible, consuming 27.6% of gross median earnings. While the area benefits from the lowest Band D council tax in the West Midlands at £2,145, this must be weighed against a deprivation score of 24.1, which is higher than 71% of England authorities. Furthermore, only 89.1% of pupils attend Good or Outstanding schools, trailing the regional median. This location suits those prioritising lower housing costs and tax bills over local economic performance or top-tier educational outcomes.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-10 data.
The signature
How Dudley ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£36,769/yr
Low
Worse than 77% of UK LAs
House price
£240,000
Affordable
Better than 64% of UK LAs
Rent
£846/mo
Affordable
Better than 67% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,145/yr
Cheapest
Better than 93% of UK LAs
Crime
74.8/1k
Mid
Around UK average
Deprivation
24.1
High
Worse than 71% of UK LAs
Schools
86.9%
Concerning
Worse than 87% 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
126 state-funded schools · Ofsted Sep 2026
93 of 107 (86.9%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 19 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
107 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 107 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Dudley →Places with similar signatures
Nearest by quintile position across pay · housing · tax · crime · IMD · schools
Dudley 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.