United Kingdom · West Midlands · Local Authority
Walsall
Metropolitan district · West Midlands, England · population ~287k · 121 state-funded schools
Affordable housing comes at the cost of high tax and significant social pressure in Walsall. While a median house price of £223,000 remains below the regional median, the financial advantage is offset by a Band D council tax of £2,627, the highest in the West Midlands. Residents face a challenging economic environment, with median weekly earnings of £682.60 falling well short of the regional median. The housing market is relatively accessible, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.3x, yet rent still consumes 30.6% of gross pay. With deprivation scores higher than 92% of England authorities and elevated crime rates, the area is best suited for those prioritising a lower entry price into the property market over local economic prosperity.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-10 data.
The signature
How Walsall ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£35,495/yr
Very low
Worse than 88% of UK LAs
House price
£223,000
Affordable
Better than 71% of UK LAs
Rent
£904/mo
Affordable
Better than 61% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,627/yr
Most expensive
Worse than 94% of UK LAs
Crime
90.5/1k
High
Worse than 74% of UK LAs
Deprivation
31.6
Most deprived
Worse than 92% of UK LAs
Schools
92.6%
Mid
Around UK average
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
143 state-funded schools · Ofsted Sep 2026
112 of 121 (92.6%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 22 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
121 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 121 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Walsall →Places with similar signatures
Nearest by quintile position across pay · housing · tax · crime · IMD · schools
Walsall 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.