United Kingdom · North East · Local Authority
Sunderland
Metropolitan district · North East, England · population ~278k · 116 state-funded schools
Low pay is the trade-off for affordable housing in Sunderland. While the median house price is a low 4.5 times median annual pay, and the lowest Band D council tax in the North East at £2,197, weekly earnings are the lowest in the region at £655.30. Rent takes a manageable 24.5% of gross median earnings, and recorded crime is below the regional median. However, deprivation is high, ranking 9 of 12 in the North East. This suits those prioritising housing costs and school quality, with 96.4% of pupils in Good or Outstanding places, over higher earning potential.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-08 data.
The signature
How Sunderland ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£34,076/yr
Very low
Worse than 96% of UK LAs
House price
£152,000
Most affordable
Better than 96% of UK LAs
Rent
£695/mo
Most affordable
Better than 92% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,197/yr
Cheapest
Better than 91% of UK LAs
Crime
94.6/1k
High
Worse than 79% of UK LAs
Deprivation
30.6
Most deprived
Worse than 89% of UK LAs
Schools
97.3%
Very strong
Better than 82% 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
116 state-funded schools · Ofsted Feb 2026
110 of 113 (97.3%) 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
116 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 116 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Sunderland →Places with similar signatures
Nearest by quintile position across pay · housing · tax · crime · IMD · schools
Sunderland 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.