United Kingdom · South East · Local Authority
West Berkshire
Unitary authority · South East, England · population ~158k · 80 state-funded schools
High housing costs are the price of excellent schools in West Berkshire. A median house costs 9 times median annual pay, and Band D council tax is £2,505, both above the South East median. However, weekly earnings are slightly higher than the regional average at £860.80, and rents are below the South East median at £1,273, taking 34.1% of gross median pay. The genuine draw here is education, with 97.3% of pupils in Good or Outstanding schools, the best in the South East. Crime is also lower than the regional median. This place suits families prioritising educational outcomes and lower crime over property affordability.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-08 data.
The signature
How West Berkshire ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£44,762/yr
High
Better than 80% of UK LAs
House price
£405,000
Expensive
Worse than 78% of UK LAs
Rent
£1,273/mo
Expensive
Worse than 70% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,505/yr
Expensive
Worse than 71% of UK LAs
Crime
55.8/1k
Low
Better than 78% of UK LAs
Deprivation
9.9
Least deprived
Better than 91% of UK LAs
Schools
95.0%
Strong
Better than 67% 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
80 state-funded schools · Ofsted Feb 2026
76 of 80 (95%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. How we count →
The map
80 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 80 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in West Berkshire →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.