Blackburn (Blackburn with Darwen) vs Cottam (Preston)

Buyers will find Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen) more wallet-friendly, where the average price is £228,340 versus £285,843 in Cottam (preston). The most affordable entry point in Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen) is a flat at £101,069, while in Cottam (preston) it is a flat at £99,130.

Crime is lower in Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen) (84.2 per 1,000) compared to Cottam (preston) (96.8 per 1,000), a 15% difference. The most common crime category in Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen) is violent-crime, while in Cottam (preston) it is violent-crime.

Crime Rate by Category (per 1,000 residents)

→Both towns share the same top crime category: violent crime.

School quality favours Cottam (preston): 100% of its schools are in the top two inspection bands, compared with 97.7% in Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen).

Broadband & Connectivity

Internet users in Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen) enjoy 398.1 Mbps on average, while Cottam (preston) lags behind at 326.0 Mbps. Superfast coverage (30 Mbps+) reaches 95.5% of premises in Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen) and 91.4% in Cottam (preston). Gigabit availability stands at 76.3% in Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen) and 58.7% in Cottam (preston).

→Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen) is the faster of the two by 22% on average download speed (398 vs 326 Mbps).

Energy Efficiency & Running Costs

The average EPC rating in Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen) is band C (score 71.8), ahead of Cottam (preston)'s band C (score 71.8). Estimated annual energy costs average £1,178 in Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen) and £1,166 in Cottam (preston). 65.9% of homes in Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen) have an EPC rating of C or above, compared to 65.9% in Cottam (preston).

→Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen) has more energy-efficient housing — 65.9% reach band C or above, vs 65.9% in the other.

Demographics & Economy

Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen) has a population of 124,958 while Cottam (preston) has 5,507. Median household income is £31,406.2 in Cottam (preston) and £30,947.2 in Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen). The median age is 44 in Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen) and 45.6 in Cottam (preston). Employment rates stand at 57.9% in Blackburn (blackburn With Darwen) and 55.4% in Cottam (preston).

Location