United Kingdom · East Midlands · Local Authority
West Northamptonshire
Unitary authority · East Midlands, England · population ~407k · 187 state-funded schools
Expensive to rent and difficult to buy into, West Northamptonshire offers high-performing schools at the cost of significant housing pressure. A median house costs 7.9 times annual earnings, while monthly rent consumes 33.9% of gross pay, the latter being the highest in the East Midlands. These housing costs sit well above the regional median, and residents also face crime rates higher than 83% of England authorities. On the positive side, the area provides excellent educational access, with 95.2% of pupils attending Good or Outstanding schools. This balance suits families prioritising high-quality schooling and proximity to regional employment hubs, provided they are prepared to navigate a challenging local housing market and elevated crime figures.
Written from the indicators on this page, 2026-10 data.
The signature
How West Northamptonshire ranks across 361 UK Local Authorities
Pay
£37,872/yr
Low
Worse than 64% of UK LAs
House price
£300,000
Mid-range
Worse than 55% of UK LAs
Rent
£1,070/mo
Mid-range
Worse than 56% of UK LAs
Council tax
£2,487/yr
Expensive
Worse than 66% of UK LAs
Crime
97.5/1k
Highest
Worse than 83% of UK LAs
Deprivation
14.7
Low
Better than 67% of UK LAs
Schools
94.0%
Strong
Better than 61% 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
209 state-funded schools · Ofsted Sep 2026
172 of 183 (94%) rated Good or Outstanding under Ofsted's legacy framework. 26 schools are on the post-2024 report-card framework and don't roll up into the legacy total. How we count →
The map
187 schools · pins coloured by Ofsted grade
Grades, phase and pupil numbers for all 187 schools, sortable and filterable.
Schools in West Northamptonshire →Places with similar signatures
Nearest by quintile position across pay · housing · tax · crime · IMD · schools
West Northamptonshire 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.