United Kingdom · South West · Local Authority
Forest of Dean
Non-metropolitan district · South West, England · population ~87k · 52 state-funded schools
High pay and good schools are on offer, but house prices are a significant hurdle. The Forest of Dean offers the highest median weekly earnings in the South West at £832.60, and 95.1% of pupils attend Good or Outstanding schools, both strong regional performances. However, the median house price is 6.4 times median annual pay, a higher multiple than the South West average. Rent is more manageable, taking 22.7% of gross median earnings, and recorded crime is below the regional median at 48.3 per 1,000. This location suits those prioritising strong earnings and education over the lowest property prices.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-08 data.
The signature
How Forest of Dean ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£43,295/yr
High
Better than 75% of UK LAs
House price
£274,995
Mid-range
Around UK average
Rent
£820/mo
Affordable
Better than 71% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,443/yr
Mid
Around UK average
Crime
48.3/1k
Safest
Better than 90% of UK LAs
Deprivation
18.0
Mid
Around UK average
Schools
86.3%
Concerning
Worse than 89% 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
52 state-funded schools · Ofsted Feb 2026
44 of 51 (86.3%) 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
52 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 52 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Forest of Dean →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.