Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This village in Cheshire, North West has a population of 595.
Grades need 1,000 residents, so Great Barrow has none; the figures on this page are still real. Walking, cycling and public transport carry 8% of commuters. 11 buildings are listed here, 0 at Grade I. People aged 65 and over make up just over a fifth of residents.
The 3 things Great Barrow does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 11 buildings inside Great Barrow’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
32% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Great Barrow.
The 15-to-24 age group: 10%, close to Cheshire’s towns (10%) and below England’s towns (12%). People 65 and over make up just over a fifth of the town. Line up the people of Great Barrow by age and the one in the middle is 46.6.
54% women, 46% men
About 84 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Great Barrow | Cheshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.7% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 42% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cheshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Below is its only school. 71% of pupils at the 4 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). 48 pupils attend Great Barrow’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barrow CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 48 | C |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
90% of commuters drove to work at the census. Unemployment benefit claims came to 1.4% of 16 to 64s in 2026, below Cheshire’s towns (1.8%) and England’s towns (2.3%) alike. There are 0.7 jobs in Great Barrow for each resident in work. About 7% of its commuters stay in Great Barrow for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
15% rent privately, about level with Cheshire’s towns (16%) and below England’s towns (21%). Private rents average £991 a month across the Cheshire West and Chester council area. The £282,500 median rests on 22 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Semi-detached | £380,000 | 7 |
| Terraced | £237,000 | 10 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Per 1,000 residents, 2.8 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded a year. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 6 crimes inside Great Barrow’s built-up area. Violence and sexual offences were a third of the crimes.
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 · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Seeing a GP means leaving Great Barrow: the nearest practice is 3.2 miles away. Asked at the census, 83% of residents of Great Barrow said they were in good or very good health. Also worth knowing: the nearest A&E to Great Barrow is The Countess of Chester Hospital, 4.3 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Great Barrow | Cheshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.9% | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Scaled to its population, that is 185 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in Great Barrow. Of the town’s land, 100% lies in conservation areas, about level with Cheshire’s towns (100%) and above England’s towns (7%). Grade II* covers 1 of them.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Barrow | 595 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Guilden Sutton | 1,462 | 1.5 | — | D | A+ | A |
| Mickle Trafford | 1,840 | 1.7 | — | C− | A+ | B |
| Tarvin | 2,744 | 1.8 | A | C | A+ | A+ |
| Christleton and Waverton | 2,670 | 2.6 | A | D | B+ | A |
| Kelsall | 2,997 | 3.4 | A+ | D | A+ | A+ |
| Helsby | 5,278 | 4.2 | A | B− | A− | A− |
| Moston | 1,099 | 4.2 | — | C | B+ | B− |
Guilden Sutton, Mickle Trafford and Moston have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 7.6 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
An older village. At the 2021 Census, 22% of residents were 65 or over and 30% were 45 to 64, against 18% and 25% across England’s towns; 18% were under 15.
Band D council tax in Great Barrow is £2,540 for 2026–27, more than in 74% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Village in Cheshire, England
Great Barrow is a built-up area of 595 people, in the Cheshire West and Chester 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.