United Kingdom · West Midlands · Local Authority
Shropshire
Unitary authority · West Midlands, England · population ~325k · 151 state-funded schools
Safe to live in, expensive to tax. Shropshire offers a notably secure environment with the lowest crime rate in the West Midlands at 48.2 recorded incidents per 1,000 people, yet this safety comes with a high Band D council tax of £2,528. While monthly rent is among the most affordable in the region, housing remains a significant commitment, with a median price reaching 7.3 times annual earnings. Rent consumes 25.5% of gross pay, a manageable figure that contrasts with the higher cost of ownership. Prospective residents should note that school performance lags significantly behind the regional median, with only 85.9% of pupils in Good or Outstanding institutions. This location suits those prioritising personal security and lower rental costs over school quality or low council tax bills.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-10 data.
The signature
How Shropshire ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£37,804/yr
Low
Worse than 66% of UK LAs
House price
£275,000
Mid-range
Around UK average
Rent
£803/mo
Affordable
Better than 72% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,528/yr
Expensive
Worse than 75% of UK LAs
Crime
48.2/1k
Safest
Better than 91% of UK LAs
Deprivation
17.1
Mid
Better than 56% of UK LAs
Schools
86.7%
Concerning
Worse than 88% 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
166 state-funded schools · Ofsted Sep 2026
130 of 150 (86.7%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 16 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
151 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 151 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Shropshire →Places with similar signatures
Nearest by quintile position across pay · housing · tax · crime · IMD · schools
Shropshire 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.