Council Tax Bands

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Council tax bands in Preston

71,200 homesNorth WestLancashire

Preston has the third-largest share of homes built from 2016 to 2026 (13.7%) of the 35 councils in the North West. Among the twelve councils in Lancashire, it has the smallest share of bungalows (5.8%), the smallest share of caravans, houseboats and mobile homes (0.0%) and the largest share of one-bedroom homes (13.0%). It also has the largest net number of homes added to the list over the year to March 2026 (810 homes).

One street of 100 homes: colour shows the band, shape the typeA43B19C16D11E6F3G2FlatTerracedSemiDetachedBungalowColour shows the band, shape the typeA43B19C16D11E6F3G2FlatTerracedSemiDetachedBungalow

Homes from before 1900 lead

Share of homes by build period; red line: England17%Before19004%1900–191816%1919–193914%1945–196414%1965–198213%1983–19997%2000–201514%2016–2026Share of homes by build period; red line: England17%<19004%190016%191914%194514%196513%19837%200014%2016

The biggest building periods here were before 1900 (17.4%), between the wars (15.9%) and from 1965 to 1982 (14.2%). The middle home built from 2016 to 2026 is in band C, a higher band than the middle home built before 2016 (band B). Bands A and B take 40.2% of these newer homes and 66.5% of the older ones. By build period, the middle home sits in band A for homes built before 1900, band B for homes built between the wars and band B for those built from 1965 to 1982. The busiest single year was 2023, with 1,700 homes recorded as built.

Bands of homes built 2016 to 2026, and beforeBuilt 2016 to 2026ABCDEFBuilt before 2016ABCD

Terraced houses are the largest group

The largest group of homes in Preston is terraced houses at 31.5%, followed in turn by semi-detached houses (25.1%), flats and maisonettes (20.7%), detached houses (16.0%) and bungalows. The typical home of each type sits in band E for detached houses, band C for bungalows, band C for semi-detached houses, band A for flats and maisonettes and band A for terraced houses. The nearest property-type mix elsewhere belongs to Newport, followed by Swindon and North Hertfordshire. The widest gap to the rest of the North West is in semi-detached houses: 3.2 points below the share there (28.3%).

Share of all homes; each type split by bandFlats and maisonettes20.7%ABTerraced houses31.5%ABCSemi-detached houses25.1%ABCDDetached houses16.0%CDEFGBungalows5.8%ABCDE

Three bedrooms is the usual size

Three-bedroom homes (45.2%) are the most common size, then two-bedroom (25.8%) and one-bedroom. Band climbs with size: the middle home is in band A with one bedroom, band A with two, band B with three, band E with four and band F with five. A detached house here has 3.7 bedrooms on average, a flat 1.6. Homes here average 2.68 bedrooms, more than the 2.66 for England. Homes with four or more bedrooms make up 16.0%.

Homes by bedrooms, where recorded1 bedroom13.0%2 bedrooms25.8%3 bedrooms45.2%4 bedrooms12.7%5 bedrooms2.3%6+ bedrooms1.0%

Most homes are in the two lowest bands

Bands A and B hold 62.9% of the homes in Preston, and band A on its own accounts for 43.5%. The share in the middle bands, C to E, 32.3%, is 15.3 points below the figure for England as a whole. Within the North West, the band mix closest to this one is that of Cumberland. Band H, the top band, holds 70 homes. Ranked by number of homes, the bands run A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H.

Share of homes in each bandA43.5%B19.4%C16.1%D10.7%E5.5%F3.1%G1.6%H0.1%PrestonNorth WestEngland

Councils with a similar band mix

By band-mix distance (0 means identical), the councils closest to Preston are Darlington (6.1), Kirklees (6.3) and Calderdale (6.6); the furthest within the North West is Ribble Valley (62.2).

Compare side by side

Placed in the North West

On the share of homes in band F or above, Preston comes 14th of the 35 councils in the North West, just behind Wirral and just ahead of South Ribble. All North West councils.

Share of homes in band F or abovePreston 5%1%17%