United Kingdom · South East · Local Authority
Isle of Wight
Unitary authority · South East, England · population ~142k · 47 state-funded schools
Affordable housing meets a stagnant local economy on the Isle of Wight. While the median house price is 7.7 times annual pay, the island offers the lowest median monthly rent in the South East at £940. This affordability is necessary, as weekly earnings of £662.10 are the lowest in the region and higher than only 5% of England authorities. Residents face a high cost of living in other ways, with Band D council tax at £2,626, a figure higher than 93% of England authorities. Furthermore, the share of pupils in Good or Outstanding schools is the lowest in the South East at 74.2%. This location suits those seeking a lower property price point who are prepared to accept limited local career prospects and significant trade-offs in public service quality.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-10 data.
The signature
How Isle of Wight ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£34,429/yr
Very low
Worse than 95% of UK LAs
House price
£265,000
Mid-range
Better than 55% of UK LAs
Rent
£940/mo
Mid-range
Better than 56% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,626/yr
Most expensive
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Crime
75.7/1k
Mid
Worse than 55% of UK LAs
Deprivation
23.3
High
Worse than 68% of UK LAs
Schools
83.0%
Concerning
Worse than 98% 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 Sep 2026
39 of 47 (83%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 5 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
47 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 47 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Isle of Wight →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.