North West, England

Cost of living in Blackburn with Darwen

Data last updated: 8 October 2026
Page last reviewed: 8 October 2026
£1,184 estimated monthly cost
Rent £535
Council tax £153
Groceries £220
Transport £80
Energy £144
Water £52

Single: 1-bed home. Couple: 2-bed home. Family: 3-bed home with one child. Estimates use average local rent, Band D council tax, and standard figures for groceries, transport and childcare.

£714/mo
Average rent
£27,502/yr
Average earnings
£165,000
Average house price
£2,455/yr
Council tax (Band D)
£196/mo
Est. energy & water

Rent in Blackburn with Darwen

The average monthly rent in Blackburn with Darwen is £714.

1 Bed
£535
2 Bed
£662
3 Bed
£782
4+ Bed
£1,113

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR)

Earnings in Blackburn with Darwen

The average annual salary for residents of Blackburn with Darwen is £27,502.

Average salary
£27,502
per year
Mean salary (pulled up by top earners)
£31,055
per year

The average salary is the middle value: half of residents earn more and half earn less. The mean salary adds up everyone's pay and divides it by the number of people, so a few very high earners pull it up. We use the middle value as the average throughout this site.

Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)

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Average house prices in Blackburn with Darwen

The average house price in Blackburn with Darwen was £165,000.

Detached
£307,800
Semi-detached
£189,225
Terraced
£125,000
Flat
£102,750

How house prices have changed in Blackburn with Darwen

Average house prices over time, based on quarterly rolling-year averages from Land Registry data.

£0£50k£100k£150k£200k£250k19952000200520102015202020252026

Source: ONS / HM Land Registry. Historical trend based on quarterly rolling-year average prices.

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Climate and weather in Blackburn with Darwen

Summer daytime highs in Blackburn with Darwen typically reach 18.8°C in July, dropping to around 5.9°C in January. Blackburn with Darwen is wetter than average for the UK, with rain falling on about 3.4 days a week. It gets around 21% more rainfall than the UK average. The area gets a typical amount of sunshine for the UK, averaging around 5.3 hours per day in summer. Expect frost on around 87 days per year, mostly between November and April.

Month Daytime high Rainfall Rain days Sunshine Frost days
Jan 5.9°C 133mm 17 41h 16
Feb 6.4°C 117mm 14 67h 15
Mar 8.5°C 99mm 14 102h 13
Apr 11.7°C 81mm 12 151h 9
May 14.8°C 83mm 12 185h 4
Jun 17.1°C 99mm 13 165h 1
Jul 18.8°C 108mm 14 168h 0
Aug 18.5°C 118mm 15 153h 0
Sep 15.9°C 120mm 14 122h 1
Oct 12.5°C 144mm 16 86h 4
Nov 8.7°C 143mm 18 52h 9
Dec 6.4°C 162mm 18 39h 15

Swipe sideways to see every column

How this is calculated

Climate data is based on Met Office 30-year averages (1991-2020), calculated from 5 observation grid points covering the Blackburn with Darwen local authority area.

Source: Met Office HadUK-Grid , 1991-2020 averages. Crown copyright. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Council tax in Blackburn with Darwen

Band D council tax in Blackburn with Darwen is £2,455 per year.

Band A
£1,637
Band B
£1,910
Band C
£2,182
Band D Benchmark
£2,455
Band E
£3,001
Band F
£3,547
Band G
£4,092
Band H
£4,911

Source: MHCLG / Scottish Government / Welsh Government

Energy costs in Blackburn with Darwen

A typical household in Blackburn with Darwen pays approximately £1,723/year (£144/month) for gas and electricity.

Annual
£1,723
per year
Monthly
£144
per month

Energy region: North West

This estimate is based on the Ofgem price cap for a typical dual-fuel household using 2,700 kWh of electricity and 11,500 kWh of gas per year, paying by Direct Debit. Your actual costs will depend on your usage, tariff, and whether you're on a fixed deal.

Source: Ofgem Energy Price Cap, Q4 2026

Water costs in Blackburn with Darwen

The average annual water and sewerage bill for United Utilities customers is £627/year (£52/month).

Annual
£627
per year
Monthly
£52
per month

Water company: United Utilities

Water bills vary based on whether you have a meter and your household's water usage. This figure is the company average for unmetered customers.

Source: Water UK / Discover Water, 2026-27

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Broadband in Blackburn with Darwen

Blackburn with Darwen has 86.8% full fibre coverage and 91.8% gigabit-capable coverage across residential premises.

Gigabit-capable
91.8%
of premises
Full fibre (FTTP)
86.8%
of premises
Superfast (30+ Mbit/s)
98.6%
of premises
No decent broadband
0%
of premises

Full fibre take-up: 24% of premises with full fibre available have taken it up.

"Gigabit-capable" means a connection of 1 Gbit/s or faster is available at the premises (full fibre or upgraded cable). "Full fibre" is fibre-to-the-premises specifically. "No decent broadband" counts premises below the 10 Mbit/s down / 1 Mbit/s up Universal Service Obligation.

See all UK areas ranked by broadband coverage →

Source: Ofcom Connected Nations 2025, July 2025

Schools in Blackburn with Darwen

Blackburn with Darwen has 77 schools, with 92.9% rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.

Outstanding
4
schools (14.3%)
Good
22
schools (78.6%)
Requires Improvement
2
schools (7.1%)
Inadequate
0
schools (0.0%)

56 primary schools, 12 secondary schools, 9 special / nursery / alternative provision. Approximately 28,284 pupils across all schools.

4 schools have been inspected under Ofsted's renewed framework (November 2025 onwards) and are not included in the percentage above.

Ofsted grades reflect the school's most recent inspection: Outstanding means the school is exceptional across the evaluation areas, Good means it is effective, Requires Improvement means it is not yet good enough, and Inadequate means serious concerns were found.

See all areas ranked by school ratings →

Source: Ofsted, most recent inspections as at March 2026. England only; Scotland (Education Scotland) and Wales (Estyn) use separate frameworks.

Crime in Blackburn with Darwen

There were 835 recorded crimes per 10,000 people in Blackburn with Darwen, which is below the England and Wales average of 837. Blackburn with Darwen ranks #201 out of 303 areas for lowest crime rate.

Violence & sexual offences
396 /10k
(6,494 offences)
Burglary
27 /10k
(450 offences)
Theft
199 /10k
(3,258 offences)
Criminal damage
82 /10k
(1,343 offences)
Drug offences
31 /10k
(515 offences)
Public order
60 /10k
(982 offences)
Other
39 /10k
(640 offences)

Recorded crime statistics reflect crimes reported to and recorded by police. They may not capture the full picture of crime in an area, and recording practices vary between forces.

Source: Home Office police recorded crime, Year ending March 2026

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