Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 5,278 residents in Cheshire, North West. People aged 65 and over make up 25% of residents.
Police record less crime here than in most towns (A−): 17.4 violent and sexual offences and 5.2 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Most journeys need a car: 12% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Homes sell for a median £250,000, about 4.9 years of what households in the Cheshire West and Chester council area earn. The overall grade lands at A, #12 of 46 in Cheshire. Nationally, it does better than 87% of UK towns.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
The 3 things Helsby 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 Helsby is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 19 buildings inside Helsby’s built-up area.
14% 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 Helsby.
41% of adults hold a degree. People 65 and over make up 25% of the town, above both Cheshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are nearly a tenth of the population. The median resident of Helsby is 47.3 years old.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
| Helsby | Cheshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.3% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 41% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cheshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 46.6, and 47% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 2 primary schools: two thirds of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Helsby’s two primaries and one secondary have 1,612 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helsby Hillside Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 202 | A− |
| Helsby High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,211 | B− |
185 crimes and 14 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Helsby’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences were 52% of the crimes. There were 3.6 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), about level with Cheshire’s towns (3.7) and below England’s towns (7.8).
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.
The nearest A&E to Helsby is The Countess of Chester Hospital, 6.8 miles away. 2 GP practices serve the town; 88% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Women here live to 84.6 on average and men to 82 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Helsby | Cheshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4% | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 87% of commuters, above Cheshire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. For every resident in work, Helsby has 0.9 jobs. About 10% of its commuters stay in Helsby for work. Before tax, the average household brings in £59K a year.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 100% of Helsby’s land, close to Cheshire’s towns (100%) and above England’s towns (7%). The pre-1919 share of homes is 14%.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Renting privately is how 13% of households live. 7% live in social housing, below Cheshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. 257 standard sales inside Helsby’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £250,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £350,000 | 86 |
| Semi-detached | £250,000 | 87 |
| Terraced | £200,000 | 57 |
| Flat or maisonette | £85,000 | 27 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
19 listed buildings in Helsby.
Shippon Stable and Cartshed 10 Metres South East of Poplar Tree Farmhouse: Photo: Dave.Dunford · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alvanley House: Photo: Dave.Dunford · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Clematis Cottage: Photo: Dave.Dunford · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lychgate to St Paul's Churchyard: Photo: Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helsby | 5,278 | — | A | B− | A− | A− |
| Elton | 3,293 | 1.8 | B+ | B+ | B | B− |
| Frodsham | 9,101 | 2.6 | B− | C | B− | B |
| Kingsley | 1,551 | 3.9 | — | D | A+ | A− |
| Mickle Trafford | 1,840 | 4.2 | — | C− | A+ | B |
| Hale | 1,502 | 4.6 | — | C | B | C |
| Guilden Sutton | 1,462 | 5.1 | — | D | A+ | A |
| Kelsall | 2,997 | 5.1 | A+ | D | A+ | A+ |
Kingsley, Mickle Trafford, Hale and Guilden Sutton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Primary schools stand out: Key Stage 2 results beat 78% of towns in England. Secondary results are closer to the middle, beating 56%. Helsby has 3 state schools; places are handled by Cheshire West and Chester council.
Town in Cheshire, England
Helsby is a built-up area of 5,278 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.