United Kingdom · North West · Local Authority
Preston
Non-metropolitan district · North West, England · population ~144k · 69 state-funded schools
Affordable housing comes at the cost of higher crime in Preston. While the median house price is 5.1 times median annual pay, below the regional average, weekly earnings are also slightly below the North West median at £722.40. Rent takes a manageable 24.9% of gross median earnings, and school performance matches the regional average at 86.8% of pupils in Good or Outstanding places. However, Preston's recorded crime rate is higher than 82% of England authorities, and its deprivation score is also above the regional median. This location suits those prioritising housing affordability and stable school performance over career prospects and safety.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-08 data.
The signature
How Preston ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£37,565/yr
Low
Worse than 70% of UK LAs
House price
£192,000
Most affordable
Better than 85% of UK LAs
Rent
£778/mo
Affordable
Better than 77% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,576/yr
Most expensive
Worse than 84% of UK LAs
Crime
96.6/1k
Highest
Worse than 82% of UK LAs
Deprivation
29.5
Most deprived
Worse than 85% of UK LAs
Schools
95.5%
Strong
Better than 70% 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
69 state-funded schools · Ofsted Feb 2026
63 of 66 (95.5%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 3 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
69 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 69 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Preston →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.