Best & Worst Councils for Care Home Quality (2026)

Rankings of all 152 English local authorities by CQC inspection outcomes. Where you live significantly affects the quality of care available nearby.

Source: CQC open data · Open Government Licence v3.0 · Only councils with 10+ rated homes included.

Councils with Most Outstanding-Rated Homes

Ranked by percentage of rated homes achieving Outstanding — the highest possible CQC grade.

#	Council	Region	Outstanding	% Outstanding	Total homes
1	Kensington and Chelsea	London	2	20%	11
2	Windsor and Maidenhead	South East	6	15.4%	43
3	Trafford	North West	7	13.7%	56
4	Bracknell Forest	South East	2	13.3%	17
5	South Gloucestershire	South West	10	13.2%	83
6	Hammersmith and Fulham	London	1	12.5%	11
7	Suffolk	East	21	12.1%	197
8	Plymouth	South West	10	11.8%	88
9	Wokingham	South East	5	11.6%	46
10	West Northamptonshire	East Midlands	11	11.3%	105
11	Nottingham	East Midlands	8	11.3%	78
12	Swindon	South West	5	11.1%	46
13	Newcastle upon Tyne	North East	7	10.8%	74
14	Hounslow	London	3	10.7%	32
15	North Lincolnshire	Yorkshire & Humberside	6	10.2%	60
16	North East Lincolnshire	Yorkshire & Humberside	5	9.8%	57
17	Blackpool	North West	6	9.1%	70
18	Rutland	East Midlands	1	9.1%	11
19	East Riding of Yorkshire	Yorkshire & Humberside	12	9%	143
20	Nottinghamshire	East Midlands	23	8.9%	280

Highest Overall Care Quality

Ranked by combined percentage of Outstanding and Good rated homes.

#	Council	Good or Outstanding	% well-rated	Total homes
1	Merton	36	100%	37
2	Bristol, City of	87	100%	91
3	Islington	15	100%	18
4	Sutton	64	98%	69
5	South Tyneside	29	97%	33
6	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	126	97%	135
7	Harrow	49	96%	53
8	Waltham Forest	42	95%	46
9	North Somerset	88	95%	95
10	Sunderland	82	95%	87
11	South Gloucestershire	72	95%	83
12	Richmond upon Thames	38	95%	45
13	Barking and Dagenham	20	95%	23
14	County Durham	132	94%	146
15	Lewisham	44	94%	50
16	Croydon	113	93%	129
17	Middlesbrough	41	93%	49
18	Kingston upon Thames	34	92%	44
19	Wandsworth	24	92%	26
20	Cambridgeshire	115	92%	139

Councils with Most Inadequate-Rated Homes

These councils have the highest proportion of homes rated Inadequate — failing to meet fundamental CQC standards. Families should read inspection reports carefully before choosing a home in these areas.

#	Council	Inadequate homes	% Inadequate	Total homes
1	Medway	4	6.6%	67
2	Cheshire West and Chester	4	5.5%	84
3	St. Helens	2	5.4%	41
4	Liverpool	4	5.1%	85
5	Calderdale	2	4.8%	46
6	Knowsley	1	4.2%	28
7	Kirklees	5	4.1%	127
8	Wirral	4	3.9%	111
9	Southampton	2	3.9%	53
10	Central Bedfordshire	2	3.6%	65
11	Norfolk	10	3.4%	325
12	Darlington	1	3.3%	33
13	Kent	14	3%	496
14	Luton	1	3%	35
15	Tameside	1	2.9%	35

What drives variation between councils?

CQC ratings reflect the quality of individual care homes, not council management — councils do not directly run most care homes. However, local authority commissioning practices, fee rates paid to providers, and the overall socioeconomic profile of an area all correlate with care quality outcomes.

Wealthier areas tend to have higher concentrations of Outstanding homes, partly because higher fees attract better-resourced providers, and partly because self-funding residents in those areas can afford premium settings. This creates a significant postcode lottery in care quality for those relying on council-funded placements.

For the full list of homes in any council area, use our care home directory. Data from the Care Quality Commission under the Open Government Licence.