# Share with a degree: highest and lowest councils in North West (2021)

Trafford had the highest degree-level qualifications of North West’s 35 councils in 2021, at 43.0%.

Blackpool had the lowest, at 22.5%. The middle council, Rossendale, had 30.7%.

| Rank | Area | Degree-level qualifications | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Trafford](https://openindex.co.uk/trafford) | 43.0% | – |
| 2 | [Ribble Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/ribble-valley) | 39.7% | – |
| =3 | [Cheshire East](https://openindex.co.uk/cheshire-east) | 37.6% | – |
| =3 | [Manchester](https://openindex.co.uk/manchester) | 37.6% | – |
| =3 | [Stockport](https://openindex.co.uk/stockport) | 37.6% | – |
| 6 | [Cheshire West and Chester](https://openindex.co.uk/cheshire-west-and-chester) | 35.7% | – |
| 7 | [Fylde](https://openindex.co.uk/fylde) | 34.5% | – |
| 8 | [Chorley](https://openindex.co.uk/chorley) | 33.8% | – |
| 9 | [Salford](https://openindex.co.uk/salford) | 33.5% | – |
| 10 | [Westmorland and Furness](https://openindex.co.uk/westmorland-and-furness) | 33.1% | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census output areas in this area, because the census was published on the boundaries before this council changed. |
| 11 | [Warrington](https://openindex.co.uk/warrington) | 33.0% | – |
| =12 | [Bury](https://openindex.co.uk/bury) | 32.3% | – |
| =12 | [Lancaster](https://openindex.co.uk/lancaster) | 32.3% | – |
| 14 | [South Ribble](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ribble) | 32.0% | – |
| 15 | [Preston](https://openindex.co.uk/preston) | 31.7% | – |
| 16 | [Wirral](https://openindex.co.uk/wirral) | 31.5% | – |
| 17 | [Liverpool](https://openindex.co.uk/liverpool) | 30.8% | – |
| 18 | [Rossendale](https://openindex.co.uk/rossendale) | 30.7% | – |
| 19 | [West Lancashire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-lancashire) | 30.0% | – |
| 20 | [Sefton](https://openindex.co.uk/sefton) | 29.9% | – |
| 21 | [Wyre](https://openindex.co.uk/wyre) | 28.3% | – |
| 22 | [Cumberland](https://openindex.co.uk/cumberland) | 27.6% | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census output areas in this area, because the census was published on the boundaries before this council changed. |
| 23 | [Bolton](https://openindex.co.uk/bolton) | 27.4% | – |
| 24 | [St. Helens](https://openindex.co.uk/st-helens) | 27.2% | – |
| 25 | [Blackburn with Darwen](https://openindex.co.uk/blackburn-with-darwen) | 26.8% | – |
| 26 | [Rochdale](https://openindex.co.uk/rochdale) | 26.4% | – |
| 27 | [Wigan](https://openindex.co.uk/wigan) | 25.8% | – |
| 28 | [Pendle](https://openindex.co.uk/pendle) | 25.4% | – |
| 29 | [Hyndburn](https://openindex.co.uk/hyndburn) | 25.2% | – |
| 30 | [Oldham](https://openindex.co.uk/oldham) | 24.6% | – |
| 31 | [Tameside](https://openindex.co.uk/tameside) | 24.4% | – |
| 32 | [Burnley](https://openindex.co.uk/burnley) | 24.3% | – |
| 33 | [Halton](https://openindex.co.uk/halton) | 23.9% | – |
| 34 | [Knowsley](https://openindex.co.uk/knowsley) | 23.8% | – |
| 35 | [Blackpool](https://openindex.co.uk/blackpool) | 22.5% | – |

Source: Census 2021, England and Wales and Census 2021, Northern Ireland, ONS Census 2021. Covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Period: 2021. Period: 2021.

## Other rankings of this measure

- [England, Wales and Northern Ireland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/uk)
- [England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/england)
- [Northern Ireland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/northern-ireland)
- [Wales](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/wales)
- [North East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/north-east)
- [Yorkshire and The Humber](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/yorkshire-and-the-humber)
- [East Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/east-midlands)
- [West Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/west-midlands)
- [East of England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/east-of-england)
- [London](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/london)
- [South East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/south-east)
- [South West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/south-west)

- [The map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/degree-level-qualifications)
- [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/degree-level-qualifications)

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/north-west.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.9. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/north-west