United Kingdom · North West · Local Authority
Rochdale
Metropolitan district · North West, England · population ~224k · 90 state-funded schools
Affordable to purchase but expensive to maintain, Rochdale presents a challenging fiscal profile. While a median house price of 5.7 times annual pay is below the North West median, the financial benefit is eroded by a Band D council tax of £2,601, a figure higher than 89% of authorities in England. Renting is also a strain, consuming 27.6% of median gross earnings. Beyond the household budget, the data highlights significant social pressures, with a deprivation score higher than 95% of English authorities and a crime rate of 105.5 per 1,000 residents. With school performance also trailing regional benchmarks, this location is best suited for those specifically seeking a lower barrier to home ownership who are prepared to navigate these wider local challenges.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-10 data.
The signature
How Rochdale ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£35,854/yr
Very low
Worse than 85% of UK LAs
House price
£205,000
Affordable
Better than 78% of UK LAs
Rent
£824/mo
Affordable
Better than 70% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,601/yr
Most expensive
Worse than 90% of UK LAs
Crime
105.5/1k
Highest
Worse than 87% of UK LAs
Deprivation
34.4
Most deprived
Worse than 95% of UK LAs
Schools
87.6%
Concerning
Worse than 84% 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
99 state-funded schools · Ofsted Sep 2026
78 of 89 (87.6%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 10 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
90 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 90 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Rochdale →Places with similar signatures
Nearest by quintile position across pay · housing · tax · crime · IMD · schools
Rochdale head-to-heads
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.