Metropolitan: 36 councils compared
Ranked against other metropolitan boroughs only, which removes some of the structural differences between London and the metropolitan areas.
Separate leagues. England, Scotland and Wales are measured differently, so a rank in one is not comparable with another. Why. England is stable; Scotland and Wales are provisional.
Data period: Oldest figures 2024-25 (DEFRA and DHSC); newest as at 2026-11 (CQC). Published by CQC, DEFRA, DHSC, DfE, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, MHCLG and Ofsted.
Data last updated: · Last checked: . Sources publish on their own schedules, so figures can be older than the last check.
Which are the best metropolitan boroughs in England?
Wigan ranks first of the 36 metropolitan boroughs we rank, on official data for service quality (60%), value for money (20%) and financial health (20%). It is 5th on service quality, 3rd on value for money and 7th on financial health. Rotherham and Sunderland are second and third. Close positions depend on how the measures are weighted, so treat councils a few places apart as similar. See Wigan's figures or how the ranking works.
| RankOverall | Council | BandOverall | Band Dcouncil element | Band Dtotal bill | Control | Service qualityrank, 1 = best | Value for moneyrank, 1 = best | Financial healthrank, 1 = best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wigan | Top quarter | £1,712.29 | £2,152.68 | Labour majority | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| 2 | Rotherham | Top quarter | £1,944.52 | £2,381.53 | Labour majority | 1 | 26 | 22 |
| 3 | Sunderland | Top quarter | £1,876.80 | £2,197.14 | Reform UK majority | 2 | 14 | 19 |
| 4 | Wakefield | Top quarter | £1,891.63 | £2,296.89 | Reform UK majority | 4 | 11 | 10 |
| 5 | Barnsley | Top quarter | £1,942.29 | £2,325.96 | Reform UK majority | 6 | 12 | 13 |
| 6 | Coventry | Top quarter | £2,186.40 | £2,516.72 | Labour minority | 12 | 7 | 3 |
| 7 | Bolton | Top quarter | £1,953.08 | £2,399.74 | Labour minority | 16 | 6 | 1 |
| 8 | Salford | Top quarter | £2,155.20 | £2,594.45 | Labour mayor | 26 | 1 | 8 |
| 9 | Doncaster | Top quarter | £1,749.86 | £2,167.75 | Labour mayor | 10 | 10 | 18 |
| 10 | Calderdale | Upper middle | £2,034.19 | £2,420.15 | Reform UK majority | 3 | 30 | 24 |
| 11 | Oldham | Upper middle | £2,156.22 | £2,602.23 | NOC | 23 | 4 | 6 |
| 12 | St. Helens | Upper middle | £1,975.65 | £2,403.38 | Reform UK majority | 8 | 33 | 4 |
| 13 | Gateshead | Upper middle | £2,396.07 | £2,715.81 | Reform UK majority | 9 | 27 | 12 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton | Upper middle | £2,209.30 | £2,538.99 | Labour majority | 22 | 2 | 17 |
| 15 | Walsall | Upper middle | £2,297.79 | £2,627.48 | Reform UK majority | 14 | 24 | 14 |
| 16 | Manchester | Upper middle | £1,872.79 | £2,312.04 | Labour majority | 13 | 23 | 21 |
| 17 | Dudley * | Upper middle | £1,815.15 | £2,144.84 | Conservative minority | 19 | – | – |
| 18 | Bury | Upper middle | £2,115.90 | £2,555.15 | Labour majority | 20 | 19 | 15 |
| 19 | Bradford | Lower middle | £1,965.28 | £2,360.73 | Reform UK minority | 15 | 5 | 29 |
| 20 | Sandwell * | Lower middle | £1,914.77 | £2,244.46 | Reform UK majority | 21 | – | – |
| 21 | Sefton | Lower middle | £2,145.51 | £2,583.22 | Labour majority | 7 | 28 | 34 |
| 22 | Rochdale | Lower middle | £2,161.58 | £2,600.83 | Labour majority | 27 | 13 | 9 |
| 23 | Solihull | Lower middle | £1,843.27 | £2,197.26 | Conservative minority | 11 | 20 | 32 |
| 24 | North Tyneside | Lower middle | £2,142.32 | £2,461.77 | Labour mayor | 25 | 16 | 20 |
| 25 | Leeds | Lower middle | £1,903.74 | £2,283.73 | Labour minority | 24 | 17 | 25 |
| 26 | Stockport | Lower middle | £2,179.65 | £2,618.90 | Lib Dem majority | 18 | 22 | 27 |
| 27 | South Tyneside | Lower middle | £2,114.98 | £2,434.43 | Reform UK majority | 17 | 29 | 28 |
| 28 | Newcastle upon Tyne | Bottom quarter | £2,221.21 | £2,542.19 | Lib Dem minority | 31 | 31 | 2 |
| 29 | Kirklees | Bottom quarter | £2,062.42 | £2,441.07 | Reform UK minority | 30 | 8 | 26 |
| 30 | Sheffield | Bottom quarter | £2,130.23 | £2,510.16 | NOC · Labour-led | 33 | 21 | 5 |
| 31 | Trafford | Bottom quarter | £1,850.54 | £2,291.70 | Labour majority | 28 | 18 | 31 |
| 32 | Tameside | Bottom quarter | £2,007.38 | £2,447.21 | Labour minority | 32 | 25 | 16 |
| 33 | Knowsley | Bottom quarter | £2,028.94 | £2,488.25 | Labour majority | 29 | 34 | 23 |
| 34 | Liverpool | Bottom quarter | £2,254.37 | £2,673.59 | Labour majority | 34 | 32 | 11 |
| 35 | Birmingham | Bottom quarter | £2,023.48 | £2,362.90 | NOC · Lib Dem-led | 35 | 9 | 30 |
| 36 | Wirral | Bottom quarter | £2,081.37 | £2,500.59 | Labour minority | 36 | 15 | 33 |
Band D council tax for 2026-27, ranked lowest first on the council's own element (including the adult social care precept, excluding parish precepts). The total bill adds police, fire and, in London and some city regions, mayoral charges, which the council does not set. This is a price, not a score: it is not part of the overall rank, and a lower charge is not the same as better value. Full list.
No council matches that name.
Control shows who runs the council (NOC = no overall control), from Open Council Data UK (context only, not scored). Pillar columns show each council's rank out of 36. Overall weights: service quality 60%, value for money 20%, financial health 20%. Rank positions in the middle of the table are sensitive to weighting, so the bands are the more reliable guide.
* Ranked on the data available: some spending and finance returns have not yet been published for this council.
- Wigan: Top quarter, rank 1
- Rotherham: Top quarter, rank 2
- Sunderland: Top quarter, rank 3
- Wakefield: Top quarter, rank 4
- Barnsley: Top quarter, rank 5
- Coventry: Top quarter, rank 6
- Bolton: Top quarter, rank 7
- Salford: Top quarter, rank 8
- Doncaster: Top quarter, rank 9
- Calderdale: Upper middle, rank 10
- Oldham: Upper middle, rank 11
- St. Helens: Upper middle, rank 12
- Gateshead: Upper middle, rank 13
- Wolverhampton: Upper middle, rank 14
- Walsall: Upper middle, rank 15
- Manchester: Upper middle, rank 16
- Dudley: Upper middle, rank 17
- Bury: Upper middle, rank 18
- Bradford: Lower middle, rank 19
- Sandwell: Lower middle, rank 20
- Sefton: Lower middle, rank 21
- Rochdale: Lower middle, rank 22
- Solihull: Lower middle, rank 23
- North Tyneside: Lower middle, rank 24
- Leeds: Lower middle, rank 25
- Stockport: Lower middle, rank 26
- South Tyneside: Lower middle, rank 27
- Newcastle upon Tyne: Bottom quarter, rank 28
- Kirklees: Bottom quarter, rank 29
- Sheffield: Bottom quarter, rank 30
- Trafford: Bottom quarter, rank 31
- Tameside: Bottom quarter, rank 32
- Knowsley: Bottom quarter, rank 33
- Liverpool: Bottom quarter, rank 34
- Birmingham: Bottom quarter, rank 35
- Wirral: Bottom quarter, rank 36
Approximate council-centre positions, coloured by the band for the selected view. Not to scale for boundaries.
More questions
Which are the biggest metropolitan boroughs by population?
Birmingham (1,176,960), Leeds (840,550) and Manchester (588,256) have the largest populations of the 36 metropolitan boroughs we rank (mid-year estimates). Size is shown for context and is not part of the score. Every council by population
Are metropolitan boroughs single-tier councils?
Yes. Each metropolitan borough runs almost all local services in its area itself, with no county council above it. Some services, such as transport, are shared with other councils through a combined authority. Who is ranked