Croft’s story
2 listed buildings
Historic England lists them inside Croft’s built-up area.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
CroftCheshire
A village of 1,520 in Cheshire, North West.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Ronald Saunders from Warrington, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
1,520
Census 2021 · Warrington council
Median home
£381K
56 sales in 3 years
Median age
48.6
24% are 65+ · Cheshire 21%
Degree level
44%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
10%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Croft a good place to live?
Croft has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Its strongest subject is jobs & income (A): mean household income £62,502; 1.5% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Its weakest is walkability (C−): 10% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The median home sold for £381,000 in the last three years, 7.4 times what households in the Warrington council area earn in a year.
What makes Croft stand out
The 3 things Croft does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
10% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
85%of UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people
Safety
Less crime than 85%
of UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people
Per resident, police.uk, 3 years.
Own outright
Housing
49% own outright
of households own their home with no mortgage (England’s towns 32%)
How Croft grades
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Croft is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Jobs & incomeAOpen →SafetyAOpen →Hazard risk0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the seaAOpen →HealthLife expectancy 81.9 for men, 86 for womenA−Open →WalkabilityC−Open →Cost of livingrent £899 a monthC+Open →SchoolsPrimary results beat 75% of towns in England; secondary results beat 37% of towns in EnglandBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
History2 listed buildingsDOpen →Outdoors79% live within 400 m of a park; 1.1 ha of public green space per 1,000 residentsDOpen →Civic life3.3 local charities per 1,000 residents; 0% live within 1 km of a libraryB−Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Croft.
Safety
Per resident, Croft sees less crime than nine in ten UK towns
Violence came to 11.6 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Cheshire’s towns (20.9) and England’s towns (22). Per 1,000 residents, 4 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded a year. Over the year to August 2026, 32 offences were reported in Croft, along with 11 incidents of anti-social behaviour.
11.6violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearASafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 85% of the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people: less crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual21
Damage & arson5
Other theft3
Other crime2
Vehicle crime1
Shoplifting0
Public order0
Burglary0
Anti-social11
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.
11.6
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
4
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
3.3
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
32
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
SchoolsB
Exam results at Croft’s schools top 58% of towns in England
Its only school is listed below. Nearly two thirds of pupils at the 15 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The town’s primary school has 253 pupils.
BSchool Grade
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croft Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 253 | B+ |
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsThe Schools page →
History
Croft’s listed buildings: 2, all Grade II
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
13% of Croft’s homes date from before 1919, and Historic England’s list holds 2 listed buildings inside its built-up area.
2listed buildingsDHistory Grade
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I0
Grade II*0
Grade II2
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
13%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
13
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Health
Is Croft a healthy place? 86% of its people say their health is good, above Cheshire’s towns and England’s towns
Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3.7% of the town. Seeing a GP means leaving Croft: the nearest practice is 1.6 miles away. Men in Croft can expect to live to 81.9, women to 86 (2019–23).
86%good or very good healthA−Health Grade
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 86%Fair 11%Bad or very bad 4%
| Census 2021 | Croft | Cheshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.7% | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
81.9
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
86
life expectancy at birth, women
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A
Croft is a driving town: 88% of commuters go by car, above Cheshire’s towns and England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 42% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Home was the main workplace for just over two in five workers at the census. 31% of commuters travelled under 5 km, lower than both Cheshire’s towns (43%) and England’s towns (45%). The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 1.5%.
10%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving88%
On foot5%
Bicycle3%
Bus1%
31%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
42%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£63K
mean household income, before tax
1.5%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
C−
Walkability: more walkable than 25% of UK towns
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
HousingCost of living grade C+
Croft is a town of owners: 83% of households own their home, above Cheshire’s towns and England’s towns
Private tenants account for 7% of households. 10% live in social housing, lower than both Cheshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Half of the 56 standard sales inside Croft’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £381,000.
£381Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Croft£381K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £470,000 | 29 |
| Semi-detached | £297,500 | 25 |
83%
of households own their home · England 61%
7%
rent privately · England 21%
£899
average private rent a month, Warrington council area
£2,480
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
Degrees are more common in Croft than in Cheshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 44% of adults
People 65 and over make up nearly a quarter of the town, higher than both Cheshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (18%). The median resident of Croft is 48.6 years old. Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 9.8% of the town.
48.6median age
CroftCheshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
24%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications11%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar15%
Degree level44%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Croft | Cheshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.8% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 32% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 11% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.7% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 44% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cheshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Gulliver's World and 4 more in and around Croft
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Croft. Best known first.
Theme parkGulliver's World5 km outside town, to the southwestWildlife parkWildlife parkWild Wings Birds of Prey1.7 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumRAF Burtonwood Heritage Centre4.9 km outside town, to the southwestCastleCastleThe Mount4.7 km outside town, to the southArt galleryArt galleryTotal Eclipse of the Art Gallery3.1 km outside town, to the southPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (1)
- Gulliver's World: Gulliver's Theme Park Resorts, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Croft
14pages on Croft
The big questions
SafetyA11.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Cost of livingC+Median home £381K · rent £899 a monthHousing18 sold in 12 months · busiest street Browmere DriveSchoolsB1 state schoolHealthA−Life expectancy 81.9 (men), 86 (women)Work & commuteA54% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazardsA0% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Out and about
Croft’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
CulchethWinwickGolborneWarringtonGlazeburyNewton-le-WillowsBurtonwoodCroft
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croft | 1,520 | — | — | C+ | A | A− |
| Culcheth | 6,722 | 1.9 | B+ | C+ | A− | B |
| Winwick | 2,062 | 2.1 | — | C+ | D− | C− |
| Golborne | 25,563 | 3 | — | B | — | C− |
| Warrington | 174,968 | 3.1 | B | A− | C− | C− |
| Glazebury | 1,094 | 3.4 | — | B | B− | B+ |
| Newton-le-Willows | 24,651 | 3.6 | D | C | C− | D |
| Burtonwood | 3,504 | 4.2 | B+ | A | B+ | D |
Winwick and Glazebury have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Golborne has no Safety Grade: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish to police.uk. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Croft
Is Croft safe?
Police recorded 32 crimes inside Croft’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 66% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Is Croft expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £381,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: semi-detached houses £297,500 and detached houses £470,000.
Does Croft flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
About Croft
Village in Cheshire, England
Croft is a built-up area of 1,520 people, in the Warrington 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
- Population
- 1,520 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Warrington
- County
- Cheshire
- Region
- North West
- Area
- 0.2 sq mi (0.5 km²)
- ONS code
- E63001344
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.