United Kingdom · East of England · Local Authority
Watford
Non-metropolitan district · East of England, England · population ~97k · 38 state-funded schools
Strong earnings potential meets a punishing cost of living in Watford. While median weekly pay of £872 sits above the regional median, residents face a steep affordability hurdle where a median house costs 9.4 times annual pay. Rent is particularly demanding, consuming 48% of gross median earnings, a figure higher than 91% of England authorities. This financial pressure is compounded by recorded crime rates that sit well above the regional median. The primary trade-off for these costs is educational access, as the area achieves the highest share of pupils in Good or Outstanding schools in the region at 96.5%. This location suits high-earning professionals who prioritise school quality and proximity to work over immediate housing affordability.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-10 data.
The signature
How Watford ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£45,344/yr
Very high
Better than 84% of UK LAs
House price
£425,000
Very expensive
Worse than 81% of UK LAs
Rent
£1,813/mo
Very expensive
Worse than 93% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,447/yr
Mid
Around UK average
Crime
87.1/1k
High
Worse than 71% of UK LAs
Deprivation
15.4
Low
Better than 65% of UK LAs
Schools
92.1%
Mid
Worse than 57% 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
44 state-funded schools · Ofsted Sep 2026
35 of 38 (92.1%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 6 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
38 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 38 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in Watford →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.