Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 74,116 in Cheshire, North West.
Crewe grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 24% of UK towns, and #42 of 46 in Cheshire. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 22% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D): 51.3 violent and sexual offences and 14.3 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 36%. The median home sold for £180,000 in the last three years, 3.4 times what households in the Cheshire East council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Crewe does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Crewe is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 46 buildings inside Crewe’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
21% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1944.
Explore the history →Crewe, Virginia, is named after Crewe.
USUS editionCrewe, Virginia, settled in 1888, takes its name from this large town.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Crewe.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violence came to 51.3 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Cheshire’s towns (20.3) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 7,644 crimes inside Crewe’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 791 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 47% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
Wistaston Church Lane Academy’s results beat 93% of schools in England like it. Three of its 28 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monks Coppenhall AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 664 | B− |
| Shavington AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 934 | C+ |
| Wistaston Church Lane AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 416 | A |
Women here live to 80.7 on average and men to 77.2 (2019–23). 4 GP practices serve the town; 67% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Crewe | Cheshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.4% | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 20% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In the comparison, Crewe comes above both Cheshire’s towns (1.8%) and England’s towns (2.3%). 61% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
For Crewe, that is above both Cheshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (21%). Crewe is the second cheapest of the 46 towns in Cheshire, at £180,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £295,000 | 731 |
| Semi-detached | £180,000 | 1,131 |
| Terraced | £130,000 | 698 |
| Flat or maisonette | £90,000 | 107 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Crewe has 46 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 2 Grade II*. 21% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Crewe sits below both Cheshire’s towns (34%) and England’s towns (34%) on this measure. Those 65 and older account for 16% of residents. The median resident of Crewe is 38.7 years old.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Crewe | Cheshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.8% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cheshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Crewe. Best known first.
MuseumCrewe Heritage Centrein town · 30K visitors a year
Historic houseDorfold Hall4.2 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumNantwich Museum2.7 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumEnglesea Brook Museum of Methodism3.5 km outside town, to the southeastHistoric siteHistoric siteAPT-Pin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
46 listed buildings in Crewe.
The Church of St Michael: Photo: Steve Lewin · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Queen's Park, Crewe: Photo: FREON101 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Crewe Hall: Photo: Espresso Addict · CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Lyceum Theatre: Photo: Arwel Parry · CC BY-SA 3.0
111 notable people were born in Crewe.
Nick Powell: Geoffrey Chisnall, CC BY 2.0 · Bryony Page: Gérald Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Harry Stafford: Dwaynerip, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Matthew Langridge: Gregor Rom, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Shanaze Reade: knackeredhack, CC BY 2.0 · Rob Hulse: currybet, CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crewe | 74,116 | — | C− | A− | D | D |
| Haslington | 5,042 | 2.2 | A− | B | A− | B− |
| Willaston (Cheshire East) | 3,653 | 2.4 | A− | B | B+ | B+ |
| Shavington | 4,972 | 2.5 | B | B+ | B | B |
| Winterley | 1,371 | 3.2 | — | C | A− | B |
| Nantwich | 18,741 | 3.7 | B− | B | C− | C+ |
| Wheelock | 2,155 | 3.7 | — | B | C+ | B |
| Elworth | 7,646 | 4.1 | A | B | B | B+ |
Winterley and Wheelock have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
About the middle for its size: 64% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades D.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £180,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £90,000, terraced houses £130,000, semi-detached houses £180,000 and detached houses £295,000.
Large town in Cheshire, England
Crewe is a built-up area of 74,116 people, in the Cheshire East council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.