United Kingdom · South East · Local Authority
New Forest
Non-metropolitan district · South East, England · population ~180k · 66 state-funded schools
Expensive to buy into relative to local wages, the New Forest demands a significant financial commitment for those reliant on local employment. A median house costs 10 times the median annual gross pay, a substantial hurdle for residents when weekly earnings of £732.90 sit below the South East median. Renting is also a heavy lift, consuming 38.9% of gross median earnings. While these costs are high, the area offers a safer environment than most of the region, with a recorded crime rate of 54.5 per 1,000 people. It is a location that suits those with established capital or high-earning remote roles who prioritise lower crime rates and manageable deprivation levels over local salary growth.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-10 data.
The signature
How New Forest ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£38,111/yr
Low
Worse than 61% of UK LAs
House price
£380,000
Expensive
Worse than 76% of UK LAs
Rent
£1,234/mo
Expensive
Worse than 67% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,420/yr
Mid
Around UK average
Crime
54.5/1k
Safest
Better than 82% of UK LAs
Deprivation
13.0
Low
Better than 77% of UK LAs
Schools
98.5%
Very strong
Better than 90% 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
75 state-funded schools · Ofsted Sep 2026
65 of 66 (98.5%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 9 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
66 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 66 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in New Forest →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.