United Kingdom · South East · Local Authority
New Forest
Non-metropolitan district · South East, England · population ~180k · 67 state-funded schools
Expensive to live in, and hard to earn in. The New Forest’s median house price is 10 times median annual pay, and rent takes a high 38.9% of median weekly earnings of £732.90. Recorded crime is lower than the South East median at 54.5 per 1,000, and deprivation is also below the regional average. However, pupils in Good or Outstanding schools are slightly below the South East median at 92.9%. This location suits those prioritising a lower crime rate and manageable, if high, housing costs over higher earning potential.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-08 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
67 state-funded schools · Ofsted Feb 2026
66 of 67 (98.5%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. How we count →
The map
67 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 67 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.