There are now around two million single parents in the UK and in our eyes, every one of them is a hero!
It’s tough being a mum no matter what, but it can be even tougher on your own, so we’ve taken a look at five factors across the UK’s 35 most populated towns and cities to see which is the best to raise a child (in theory!).
We looked at:
- Ofsted Oustanding Schools (per 10,000 people)
- Housing affordability
- Gender pay gap
- Violent crime (per 10,000 people)
- Average cost of preschool childcare (using crowdsourced data)
You can see the overall rankings below, as well as how the 35 stacked up for each of the factors we looked at.
| Rank | City/Town | Outstanding Ofsted (Points) | Housing Affordability (Points) | Gender Pay Gap (Points) | Violent Crime Rate (Points) | Cost Of Childcare (Points) | Total Points |
| 1 | Plymouth | 27 | 17 | 32 | 20 | 35 | 131 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 18 | 31 | 33 | 17 | 31 | 130 |
| 3 | Middlesbrough | 14 | 31 | 32 | 18 | 25 | 120 |
| 4 | Leicester | 20 | 11 | 35 | 22 | 31 | 119 |
| 5 | Warrington | 28 | 23 | 29 | 30 | 3 | 113 |
| 6 | Coventry | 16 | 24 | 4 | 33 | 34 | 111 |
| 7 | Derby | 17 | 26 | 17 | 29 | 18 | 107 |
| 8 | Sheffield | 15 | 25 | 24 | 31 | 10 | 105 |
| 9= | Wolverhampton | 19 | 18 | 11 | 24 | 32 | 104 |
| 9= | Southend-on-Sea | 21 | 13 | 26 | 21 | 23 | 104 |
| 11 | Nottingham | 29 | 16 | 10 | 35 | 11 | 101 |
| 12 | Blackpool | 23 | 33 | 8 | 2 | 33 | 99 |
| 13= | Birmingham | 8 | 22 | 21 | 28 | 17 | 96 |
| 13= | Sunderland | 11 | 34 | 20 | 3 | 25 | 93 |
| 13= | Cambridge | 35 | 3 | 19 | 26 | 10 | 93 |
| 13= | Oxford | 34 | 2 | 24 | 32 | 1 | 93 |
| 17 | Kingston upon Hull | 26 | 32 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 92 |
| 18= | Bradford | 10 | 35 | 19 | 11 | 15 | 90 |
| 18= | Brighton | 33 | 4 | 32 | 16 | 5 | 90 |
| 20 | Milton Keynes | 32 | 10 | 2 | 27 | 15 | 86 |
| 21= | Bolton | 7 | 29 | 17 | 1 | 31 | 85 |
| 21= | Ipswich | 31 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 23 | 85 |
| 21= | Manchester | 25 | 20 | 29 | 8 | 3 | 85 |
| 24 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 6 | 19 | 26 | 14 | 19 | 84 |
| 25 | Peterborough | 9 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 31 | 83 |
| 26 | Luton | 2 | 12 | 22 | 25 | 21 | 82 |
| 27= | Northampton | 12 | 14 | 8 | 13 | 31 | 78 |
| 27= | Leeds | 13 | 21 | 27 | 10 | 7 | 78 |
| 29 | Southampton | 30 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 26 | 70 |
| 30= | Telford | 5 | 27 | 8 | 6 | 21 | 67 |
| 30= | Stoke-on-Trent | 4 | 28 | 13 | 5 | 17 | 67 |
| 32 | London | 1 | 1 | 34 | 23 | 4 | 63 |
| 33= | York | 3 | 6 | 5 | 34 | 12 | 60 |
| 33= | Bournemouth | 22 | 8 | 1 | 19 | 10 | 60 |
| 35 | Bristol | 24 | 5 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 59 |
Ofsted Outstanding Schools
It’s important to know that there’s great education in your local area so here we took a look at the number of Ofsted outstanding schools within the LEA.
| City/Town | Oustanding Ofsted Providers in LEA | Points |
| Cambridge | 3.256 | 35 |
| Oxford | 2.694 | 34 |
| Brighton | 2.562 | 33 |
| Milton Keynes | 1.775 | 32 |
| Ipswich | 1.496 | 31 |
| Southampton | 1.396 | 30 |
| Nottingham | 1.373 | 29 |
| Warrington | 1.27 | 28 |
| Plymouth | 1.212 | 27 |
| Kingston upon Hull | 1.162 | 26 |
| Manchester | 1.137 | 25 |
| Bristol | 1.126 | 24 |
| Blackpool | 1.115 | 23 |
| Bournemouth | 1.058 | 22 |
| Southend-on-Sea | 0.987 | 21 |
| Leicester | 0.984 | 20 |
| Wolverhampton | 0.982 | 19 |
| Liverpool | 0.855 | 18 |
| Derby | 0.727 | 17 |
| Coventry | 0.718 | 16 |
| Sheffield | 0.66 | 15 |
| Middlesbrough | 0.613 | 14 |
| Leeds | 0.592 | 13 |
| Northampton | 0.572 | 12 |
| Sunderland | 0.51 | 11 |
| Bradford | 0.476 | 10 |
| Peterborough | 0.441 | 9 |
| Birmingham | 0.431 | 8 |
| Bolton | 0.414 | 7 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 0.39 | 6 |
| Telford | 0.387 | 5 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 0.354 | 4 |
| York | 0.228 | 3 |
| Luton | 0.11 | 2 |
| London | 0.071 | 1 |
Housing Affordability
Affordable housing is one of the most talked about topics amongst single parents, especially given that covering bills on your own can be a little bit of a struggle at times. Here, we’ve looked at the regions where housing is most affordable.
| City/Town | Average House Price | Median Salary | Years Of Salary It Would Take To Buy | Points |
| Bradford | £126,442.00 | £24,245.00 | 5.22 | 35 |
| Sunderland | £136,266.00 | £25,202.00 | 5.41 | 34 |
| Blackpool | £119,579.00 | £21,461.00 | 5.57 | 33 |
| Kingston upon Hull | £132,160.00 | £23,638.00 | 5.59 | 32 |
| Liverpool | £154,092.00 | £25,964.00 | 5.93 | 31 |
| Middlesbrough | £148,441.00 | £25,029.00 | 5.93 | 31 |
| Bolton | £148,123.00 | £24,848.00 | 5.96 | 29 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | £138,678.00 | £22,826.00 | 6.08 | 28 |
| Telford | £163,439.00 | £25,509.00 | 6.41 | 27 |
| Derby | £185,322.00 | £28,645.00 | 6.47 | 26 |
| Sheffield | £178,750.00 | £26,907.00 | 6.64 | 25 |
| Coventry | £188,649.00 | £28,043.00 | 6.73 | 24 |
| Warrington | £189,481.00 | £28,091.00 | 6.75 | 23 |
| Birmingham | £176,897.00 | £25,996.00 | 6.80 | 22 |
| Leeds | £192,061.00 | £27,861.00 | 6.89 | 21 |
| Manchester | £168,338.00 | £24,137.00 | 6.97 | 20 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | £193,386.00 | £26,552.00 | 7.28 | 19 |
| Wolverhampton | £174,192.00 | £23,001.00 | 7.57 | 18 |
| Plymouth | £190,930.00 | £25,026.00 | 7.63 | 17 |
| Nottingham | £181,388.00 | £23,346.00 | 7.77 | 16 |
| Peterborough | £203,183.00 | £24,765.00 | 8.20 | 15 |
| Northampton | £229,690.00 | £26,758.00 | 8.58 | 14 |
| Southend-on-Sea | £256,233.00 | £29,484.00 | 8.69 | 13 |
| Luton | £235,399.00 | £26,894.00 | 8.75 | 12 |
| Leicester | £201,359.00 | £22,199.00 | 9.07 | 11 |
| Milton Keynes | £282,636.00 | £29,179.00 | 9.69 | 10 |
| Ipswich | £262,680.00 | £26,785.00 | 9.81 | 9 |
| Bournemouth | £265,004.00 | £26,897.00 | 9.85 | 8 |
| Southampton | £261,469.00 | £26,425.00 | 9.89 | 7 |
| York | £259,614.00 | £26,133.00 | 9.93 | 6 |
| Bristol | £292,468.00 | £27,519.00 | 10.63 | 5 |
| Brighton | £380,256.00 | £30,314.00 | 12.54 | 4 |
| Cambridge | £429,167.00 | £30,855.00 | 13.91 | 3 |
| Oxford | £492,678.00 | £29,811.00 | 16.53 | 2 |
| London | £604,825.00 | £33,776.00 | 17.91 | 1 |
Gender Pay Gap
As a single mum, we know for sure that you’re working hard and certainly shouldn’t be discriminated when it comes to pay. Here, we’ve looked at the gender pay gap in each of the 35 areas.
| City/Town | Male Pay | Female Pay | Male Increase over Female | Male Increase (%) | Points |
| Leicester | £21,210.00 | £20,641.00 | £569.00 | 2.76 | 35 |
| London | £33,131.00 | £30,979.00 | £2,152.00 | 6.95 | 34 |
| Liverpool | £25,575.00 | £23,382.00 | £2,193.00 | 9.38 | 33 |
| Plymouth | £26,002.00 | £23,241.00 | £2,761.00 | 11.88 | 32 |
| Middlesbrough | £25,775.00 | £22,951.00 | £2,824.00 | 12.30 | 32 |
| Brighton | £30,744.00 | £27,536.00 | £3,208.00 | 11.65 | 32 |
| Warrington | £29,955.00 | £26,395.00 | £3,560.00 | 13.49 | 29 |
| Manchester | £25,303.00 | £22,370.00 | £2,933.00 | 13.11 | 29 |
| Leeds | £28,437.00 | £25,010.00 | £3,427.00 | 13.70 | 27 |
| Southend-on-Sea | £32,453.00 | £28,180.00 | £4,273.00 | 15.16 | 26 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | £28,399.00 | £24,755.00 | £3,644.00 | 14.72 | 26 |
| Sheffield | £27,951.00 | £24,090.00 | £3,861.00 | 16.03 | 24 |
| Oxford | £32,285.00 | £27,734.00 | £4,551.00 | 16.41 | 24 |
| Luton | £28,846.00 | £24,176.00 | £4,670.00 | 19.32 | 22 |
| Birmingham | £27,792.00 | £23,178.00 | £4,614.00 | 19.91 | 21 |
| Sunderland | £26,663.00 | £22,122.00 | £4,541.00 | 20.53 | 20 |
| Cambridge | £32,121.00 | £26,509.00 | £5,612.00 | 21.17 | 19 |
| Bradford | £26,425.00 | £21,864.00 | £4,561.00 | 20.86 | 19 |
| Derby | £30,788.00 | £25,206.00 | £5,582.00 | 22.15 | 17 |
| Bolton | £27,349.00 | £22,449.00 | £4,900.00 | 21.83 | 17 |
| Bristol | £30,021.00 | £24,456.00 | £5,565.00 | 22.76 | 15 |
| Kingston upon Hull | £24,417.00 | £19,530.00 | £4,887.00 | 25.02 | 14 |
| Peterborough | £27,277.00 | £21,755.00 | £5,522.00 | 25.38 | 13 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | £24,296.00 | £19,429.00 | £4,867.00 | 25.05 | 13 |
| Wolverhampton | £25,019.00 | £19,868.00 | £5,151.00 | 25.93 | 11 |
| Nottingham | £25,129.00 | £19,797.00 | £5,332.00 | 26.93 | 10 |
| Ipswich | £27,699.00 | £21,756.00 | £5,943.00 | 27.32 | 10 |
| Blackpool | £23,561.00 | £18,262.00 | £5,299.00 | 29.02 | 8 |
| Northampton | £29,506.00 | £22,789.00 | £6,717.00 | 29.47 | 8 |
| Telford | £28,280.00 | £21,964.00 | £6,316.00 | 28.76 | 8 |
| York | £28,994.00 | £22,113.00 | £6,881.00 | 31.12 | 5 |
| Coventry | £31,177.00 | £23,293.00 | £7,884.00 | 33.85 | 4 |
| Southampton | £28,260.00 | £20,826.00 | £7,434.00 | 35.70 | 3 |
| Milton Keynes | £33,881.00 | £24,020.00 | £9,861.00 | 41.05 | 2 |
| Bournemouth | £31,771.00 | £21,945.00 | £9,826.00 | 44.78 | 1 |
Violent Crime
Both you and your child want to feel safe and here we’ve taken a look at the number of violent crimes per 10,000 people in each area.
| City/Town | Violent Crimes Per 10,000 People | Rank |
| Nottingham | 116.24 | 35 |
| York | 130.30 | 34 |
| Coventry | 155.07 | 33 |
| Oxford | 159.92 | 32 |
| Sheffield | 179.50 | 31 |
| Warrington | 179.92 | 30 |
| Derby | 191.15 | 29 |
| Birmingham | 193.55 | 28 |
| Milton Keynes | 201.27 | 27 |
| Cambridge | 202.90 | 26 |
| Luton | 208.48 | 25 |
| Wolverhampton | 213.21 | 24 |
| London | 222.49 | 23 |
| Leicester | 242.88 | 22 |
| Southend-on-Sea | 244.82 | 21 |
| Plymouth | 248.04 | 20 |
| Bournemouth | 253.85 | 19 |
| Middlesbrough | 257.64 | 18 |
| Liverpool | 258.30 | 17 |
| Brighton | 267.59 | 16 |
| Peterborough | 274.28 | 15 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 278.63 | 14 |
| Northampton | 293.66 | 13 |
| Ipswich | 304.08 | 12 |
| Bradford | 307.03 | 11 |
| Leeds | 312.84 | 10 |
| Bristol | 313.33 | 9 |
| Manchester | 329.53 | 8 |
| Kingston upon Hull | 340.69 | 7 |
| Telford | 359.27 | 6 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 375.60 | 5 |
| Southampton | 376.38 | 4 |
| Sunderland | 382.65 | 3 |
| Blackpool | 414.95 | 2 |
| Bolton | 530.67 | 1 |
Average Cost Of Childcare
Especially if you have pre-school children, the cost of childcare is of uttermost importance and, as such, we’ve ranked each region based upon the affordability of this.
| City/Town | Average Monthly Cost of Childcare (Preschool) | Rank |
| Plymouth | £350.00 | 35 |
| Coventry | £400.00 | 34 |
| Blackpool | £480.00 | 33 |
| Wolverhampton | £600.00 | 32 |
| Liverpool | £625.00 | 31 |
| Leicester | £625.00 | 31 |
| Bolton | £625.00 | 31 |
| Peterborough | £625.00 | 31 |
| Northampton | £625.00 | 31 |
| Southampton | £650.00 | 26 |
| Middlesbrough | £700.00 | 25 |
| Sunderland | £700.00 | 25 |
| Southend-on-Sea | £725.00 | 23 |
| Ipswich | £725.00 | 23 |
| Luton | £750.00 | 21 |
| Telford | £750.00 | 21 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | £790.00 | 19 |
| Derby | £800.00 | 18 |
| Birmingham | £833.00 | 17 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | £833.00 | 17 |
| Bradford | £850.00 | 15 |
| Milton Keynes | £850.00 | 15 |
| Kingston upon Hull | £860.00 | 13 |
| York | £870.00 | 12 |
| Nottingham | £890.00 | 11 |
| Sheffield | £900.00 | 10 |
| Cambridge | £900.00 | 10 |
| Bournemouth | £900.00 | 10 |
| Leeds | £992.00 | 7 |
| Bristol | £1,005.00 | 6 |
| Brighton | £1,050.00 | 5 |
| London | £1,082.00 | 4 |
| Warrington | £1,088.00 | 3 |
| Manchester | £1,088.00 | 3 |
| Oxford | £1,100.00 | 1 |