Hale’s story
15 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade II*
Historic England lists them inside Hale’s built-up area.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
HaleCheshire
Population 1,502: a village in Cheshire, North West. On the way to work, 10% walk, cycle or take a bus or train.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
1,502
Census 2021 · Halton council
Median home
£270K
52 sales in 3 years
Median age
54.1
32% are 65+ · Cheshire 21%
Degree level
30%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
10%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Hale a good place to live?
Hale’s strongest is safety: 19.5 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 8.2 home and vehicle crimes. Schools lag (D): primary results beat 14% of towns in England. Prices are high against local incomes: the median home sold for £270,000, 6.2 years of area income. Health is a weak point: life expectancy is 80.3 for men and 81 for women.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · life expectancy, ONS. Hale is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall grade.
WeakestDSchools
What makes Hale stand out
The 3 things Hale 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%)
Listed buildings per 10,000 residents
History
1 Grade II*, including The Manor House; 4.1 times the typical UK town for its size
Historic England’s list, October 2026.
Residents 65 and over
Who lives here
32% are 65 or over
Against 18% across England’s towns
How Hale grades
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Hale is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Hale is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall grade.
SchoolsPrimary results beat 14% of towns in EnglandDOpen →Cost of livingHomes are harder to afford than in most townsCOpen →WalkabilityBelow the middle of the towns comparedCOpen →HealthGraded on how healthy residents areCOpen →Hazard risk0.7% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the seaC+Open →SafetyLess crime than in most townsBOpen →Jobs & income1.9% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefitsB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
HistoryBased on listed places, the town’s age and notable peopleB−Open →Outdoors100% live within 400 m of a park; 4.8 ha of public green space per 1,000 residentsA−Open →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 Hale.
Who lives here
Older residents shape Hale: 32% are 65 or over, above Cheshire’s towns and England’s towns
Among adults, 30% have a degree. Children under 15 make up 12%, lower than both Cheshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%); what’s more, people aged 15 to 24 make up 7.2% of the town. The middle age in Hale is 54.1.
54.1median age
HaleCheshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
32%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications19%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level30%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Hale | Cheshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.2% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 32% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cheshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
SchoolsD
School results in Hale are weaker than in 90% of towns in England
There is one school here; it is shown below. At the 7 primary schools within 3 km, 53% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its one primary school teaches 202 pupils.
DSchool Grade
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hale Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 202 | B |
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsThe Schools page →
HousingCost of living grade C
Private renting is less common in Hale than in Cheshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 8%
6% live in social housing, below Cheshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Home ownership stands at 86% of households. Private rents average £749 a month across the Halton council area.
£270Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Hale£270K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £439,000 | 10 |
| Semi-detached | £285,000 | 30 |
| Terraced | £195,000 | 12 |
86%
of households own their home · England 61%
8%
rent privately · England 21%
£749
average private rent a month, Halton council area
£2,453
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
Commuters in Hale travel far: only 25% go under 5 km, fewer than in Cheshire’s towns and across England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 31% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
87% of commuters took the car to work at the census. Household income came to £43K a year before tax, below Cheshire’s towns (£56K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike. Of the commuters living in Hale, 3% work in the town itself. Jobs per working resident: 0.2.
10%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving87%
On foot4%
Bus3%
Bicycle2%
Train1%
25%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
£43K
mean household income, before tax
1.9%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
C
Walkability: more walkable than 26% of UK towns
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Health
Fewer people in Hale say their health is good than in Cheshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 79%
Disability touches 21% of Hale’s population. There is no GP practice locally: the nearest is 1.2 miles off. Men in Hale can expect to live to 80.3, women to 81 (2019–23).
79%good or very good healthCHealth Grade
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 79%Fair 15%Bad or very bad 6%
| Census 2021 | Hale | Cheshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.8% | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 18% | 17% |
80.3
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
81
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.
Safety
Per resident, Hale sees less crime than 62% of UK towns
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 71 crimes and 14 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Hale’s built-up area. Violence and sexual offences were 54% of the crimes. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 5.8 reports per 1,000, higher than Cheshire’s towns (3.6) yet lower than England’s towns (7.8).
19.5violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearBSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 40% of the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual38
Public order9
Damage & arson8
Other theft6
Burglary5
Drugs2
Shoplifting1
Vehicle crime1
Anti-social14
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.
19.5
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
8.2
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
5.8
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
71
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
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.
History
Hale’s heritage list runs to 15 buildings
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Relative to its size, Hale keeps 100 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. Of the town’s land, 31% lies in conservation areas, below Cheshire’s towns (100%) but above England’s towns (7%). Homes from before 1919 make up just over a tenth of the total. Grade II* covers 1 of them.
15listed buildingsB−History Grade
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I0
Grade II*1
Grade II14
Among them · Grade II*
- The Manor House Grade II*
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
11%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
100
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Speke Hall and 2 more in and around Hale
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Hale. Best known first.
Historic house · National TrustSpeke Hall3.9 km outside town, to the west
MuseumCatalyst Museum4.3 km outside town, to the eastRuinsRuinsOld Pyrites Kilns4.5 km outside town, to the northeastPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (2)
- Speke Hall: Liverpoolpics, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Catalyst Museum: Chemical Engineer, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Hale
15pages on Hale
The big questions
SafetyB19.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Cost of livingCMedian home £270K · rent £749 a monthHousing15 sold in 12 months · busiest street Arklow DriveSchoolsD1 state schoolHealthCLife expectancy 80.3 (men), 81 (women)Work & commuteB−46% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazardsC+0.7% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Out and about
Hale’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
Hale BankWidnesCrontonRuncornFrodshamEltonHelsbyHale
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hale | 1,502 | — | — | C | B | C |
| Hale Bank | 1,618 | 1.5 | — | B+ | C− | C− |
| Widnes | 59,938 | 3.6 | C− | B | D | D |
| Cronton | 1,234 | 4.1 | — | D− | A | B− |
| Runcorn | 61,641 | 4.1 | D | B+ | D | D |
| Frodsham | 9,101 | 4.4 | B− | C | B− | B |
| Elton | 3,293 | 4.4 | B+ | B+ | B | B− |
| Helsby | 5,278 | 4.6 | A | B− | A− | A− |
Hale Bank and Cronton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Hale
How many listed buildings are there in Hale?
That is 4.1 times the typical UK town for its size.
Are schools in Hale good?
Primary results trail 86% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Halton council.
About Hale
Village in Cheshire, England
Hale is a built-up area of 1,502 people, in the Halton 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
- 1,502 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Halton
- County
- Cheshire
- Region
- North West
- Area
- 0.2 sq mi (0.6 km²)
- ONS code
- E63001471
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.