Nation
Area reports for England
Reports for English postcodes, towns, cities and local authorities.
In short
An English area report scores any postcode, town, city or local authority from 0 to 100 across twelve categories, using police.uk, ONS, Land Registry and Met Office open data. Our index currently holds 449 scored areas in England, with a median overall score of 66 out of 100. Of the largest English cities in the index, Manchester scores highest at 72 out of 100.
- Score range observed across England: 35 to 77 out of 100.
- Search a full postcode for point-level weather, crime, amenities and air quality.
- Search a council for the area-wide statistics on cost, housing, employment and schools.
- Best scoring major city in England: Manchester on 72 out of 100.
| Detail | Answer |
|---|---|
| Covers | Every English postcode, outcode, town, city and council area |
| Categories scored | Twelve, weighted and combined into one overall score out of 100 |
| Crime source | police.uk recorded crime within about a mile of the point, latest published month, per 10,000 residents where the catchment population is known |
| Education measure | DfE Attainment 8, by local authority |
| Weather source | Met Office HadUK-Grid, multi-year averages for each 1 km square |
| Cost | Free, no sign-up |
| Areas indexed in England | 449 |
| Median overall score | 66 / 100 |
Highest scoring areas in England
| # | Area | Where | Overall | Cost of living | Safety | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Darlington | Darlington, North East, England | 77 | 89 | 41 | 78 |
| =1 | Chorley | Chorley, North West, England | 77 | 83 | 49 | — |
| =3 | Sunderland | Sunderland, North East, England | 76 | 88 | 41 | 78 |
| =3 | Lancaster | Lancaster, North West, England | 76 | 82 | 46 | — |
| =3 | Stoke-on-Trent | Stoke-on-Trent, West Midlands, England | 76 | 88 | 41 | — |
Live from the index and rebuilt daily. A dash means that dataset has not loaded for the area yet, in which case it is excluded from the overall score rather than estimated.
Major cities in England, ranked
Of the major cities we score in England, Manchester comes top on 72 out of 100. Lifestyle and broadband are where cities reliably beat the countryside; housing and cost of living are where they lose it, which is why a city rarely tops the national table above.
| # | City | Where | Overall | Band | Cost of living | Housing | Amenities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester | Manchester, North West, England | 72 | Very good | 50 | 99 | 93 |
| 2 | Sheffield | Sheffield, Yorkshire and The Humber, England | 69 | Good | 75 | 82 | — |
| 3 | Birmingham | Birmingham, West Midlands, England | 67 | Good | 65 | 93 | — |
| 4 | Leeds | Leeds, Yorkshire and The Humber, England | 65 | Good | 63 | 74 | — |
| 5 | London | Westminster, London, England | 41 | Fair | 0 | 0 | 95 |
The 5 largest English cities in the index, ranked against each other rather than against the whole country. 20 major English cities are scored in total, and every one of them is linked in the A to Z further down. Cities on the same score are shown as equal (=). A dash means that dataset has not loaded for the city yet, so it is excluded from the overall score rather than estimated. Open any city for the full report.
How England is scored, and where it differs
England is the largest part of the index and the part with the most granular published data, particularly for crime. Two structural quirks are worth understanding before you read a score.
Street-level crime, month by month
English addresses use police.uk recorded crime within about a mile of the exact point you searched, for the latest published month. That is genuinely local. Where the resident population of that mile is known the count is scored per 10,000 residents; where it is not, the raw count is scored, and the report says which. Either way a city centre records more crime than a suburb partly because more people pass through it than live there. Compare a high street with a high street, not with a village.
Two-tier councils inherit county figures
Large parts of England still have a county council above a district council, and several official datasets, education among them, are published only at county level. Where that is the case a district inherits its county figure, which means neighbouring districts in the same county can share an identical education score. The report says which level each category came from rather than implying a district-level measure that does not exist.
Prices vary more inside England than between nations
The affordability spread within England is wider than the spread between the three nations we cover. A London borough and a former industrial town in the north east can differ by a factor of four on average property price while sharing similar employment scores, which is precisely why affordability is scored against local earnings rather than on the price alone.
Weather across England
English weather scores come from the Met Office 1 km climate grid for the exact square kilometre. The south coast records the most annual sunshine in Britain, while the Pennines and the north west record the most rainfall, so two English towns an hour apart can score very differently on the outdoor categories.
Datasets specific to England
| Source | What it provides |
|---|---|
| police.uk street-level crime | Recorded crime within about a mile of the point, latest published month. |
| Department for Education Attainment 8 | Average score across eight GCSE-level qualifications, by local authority. |
| HM Land Registry UK House Price Index | Average property prices by local authority, published monthly. |
Everything else comes from the UK-wide sources listed on our data sources page. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Towns and cities in England
Show every town and city in England (419 more)
Full area reports, scored from open government data. All 449 indexed English areas, listed A to Z. Any other place, postcode or council in England can be searched above.
Council areas in England
A council report covers the whole local authority rather than a point inside it, which is the right read for the statistics published at that level: house prices, earnings, employment and broadband. A town report answers what it is like to live at one spot; a council report answers what the area as a whole looks like on paper.
Show every council area in England (147 more)
296 English council and unitary areas have a report; the 177 listed here A to Z, and the other 119 in the towns and cities list above. Point-level categories such as weather, amenities and air quality, and crime, are measured from the council's main population centre, and each report says so.
Questions about England area reports
How local is an English area report?
Crime, weather, amenities, healthcare, transport and air quality are measured around the exact point you searched. Cost of living, affordability, housing, employment, broadband and education are local authority statistics, so every postcode in that authority shares them.
Why do two nearby English towns share the same education score?
In two-tier areas, education attainment is published at county level rather than district level. Districts in the same county therefore inherit the same figure. The report states which level each category was measured at so you are never left guessing.
Does a low safety score mean an area is dangerous?
No. The English safety score reflects recorded crime within about a mile over one month, per resident where the population is known and as a raw count where it is not, so busy centres that draw in visitors always record more than quiet residential streets, regardless of how safe they feel to live in. Compare similar kinds of place with each other and read the crime breakdown rather than the headline number alone.
Are London boroughs covered?
Yes. Every London borough resolves as a local authority, and every London postcode and outcode resolves to a point-level report. Because boroughs are dense and varied, a full postcode gives a far more useful picture than the borough name.
How current are the English figures?
Crime refreshes when police.uk publishes each month, usually around two months behind, and the report names the exact month used. House prices follow the monthly Land Registry index. Climate averages are multi-year and change slowly.
What is the best city to live in England?
Of the largest English cities we score, Manchester ranks highest with an overall liveability score of 72 out of 100. The full order is Manchester 72, Sheffield 69, Birmingham 67, Leeds 65, London 41, each out of 100. Scores combine cost of living, affordability, housing, safety, weather, amenities and more from open government data, so the ranking reflects those categories rather than reputation or size.
Which major cities in England does TrackPostcode.UK score?
The largest English cities ranked on this page are Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Leeds and London. Every other town, city, council area and postcode in England can be searched directly, and the full list of indexed places is above.
Does TrackPostcode.UK cover my council in England?
We publish a report for 296 English council and unitary areas, every one linked on this page. A council report reads the statistics published at local-authority level - house prices, earnings, employment - across the whole authority, while point-level categories such as weather, crime and nearby amenities are measured from its main population centre. Any council not listed can still be searched by name, and every postcode inside it has its own report.