Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 54,352 in Cheshire, North West.
Macclesfield grades B− overall against UK towns: better than 49% of UK towns, and #34 of 46 in Cheshire. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 22% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (C−): 40.2 violent and sexual offences and 10.2 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 75%. The median home sold for £265,000 in the last three years, 5 times what households in the Cheshire East council area earn in a year.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Macclesfield is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 225 buildings inside Macclesfield’s built-up area, 18 of them Grade II*, and 2 scheduled monuments.
21% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Macclesfield. Best known first.
MuseumParadise Millin town
MuseumWest Park Museumin town
Historic house · National TrustHare Hill2.4 km outside town, to the northwest
Historic houseSutton Hall, Sutton Lane Ends200 m outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseAdlington Hall3.8 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseCapesthorne Hall4.4 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Macclesfield.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
That puts Macclesfield above both Cheshire’s towns (43%) and England’s towns (45%). 75% of commuters drove to work at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Two of its 19 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parkroyal Community SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 411 | C− |
| The Fallibroome AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,532 | A− |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violent crime ran at 40.2 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Cheshire’s towns (20.3) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 4,381 crimes inside Macclesfield’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 413 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 48% 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
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Macclesfield has 225 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 18 Grade II*. 21% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
On this, Macclesfield is below both Cheshire’s towns (10%) and England’s towns (12%). Children under 15 make up 16% of residents. Half the people of Macclesfield are older than 44.1.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Macclesfield | Cheshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.5% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cheshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
82% of Macclesfield’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 82% across Cheshire’s towns. 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 | Macclesfield | Cheshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Half the homes sold went for more than £265K, close to Cheshire’s towns (£300K) and below England’s towns (£308K).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £445,000 | 636 |
| Semi-detached | £296,525 | 712 |
| Terraced | £207,500 | 1,115 |
| Flat or maisonette | £168,000 | 373 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
225 listed buildings in Macclesfield.
Christ Church: Photo: Gammock · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Macclesfield Sunday School (Macclesfield Heritage Centre) Roe Street Sunday School: Photo: Mike in Macc · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fence Almshouses: Photo: Francesbell · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Former Regent Foundry: Photo: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent · CC BY 3.0
94 notable people were born in Macclesfield.
Peter Crouch: Original: CFC Unofficial (Debs) / Derivative work: Danyele, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ben Ainslie: Hpeterswald, CC BY-SA 4.0 · John Mayall: Frank Schwichtenberg, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ben Amos: nasmac (Ian C), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Tommy Smith: Just-an-Ipswich-fan, CC BY 3.0 · Arthur Smith Woodward: Unknown photographer, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macclesfield | 54,352 | — | B− | B | C− | C |
| Prestbury | 2,629 | 2.2 | A− | C− | A− | A+ |
| Bollington | 7,236 | 2.8 | A | C+ | A− | B+ |
| Alderley Edge | 4,496 | 5 | A | C− | C+ | A |
| Woodford | 2,241 | 5.7 | — | D− | — | A+ |
| Chelford | 1,377 | 6.1 | — | C− | A+ | A |
| Poynton | 13,015 | 6.2 | A | C− | A− | A |
| Wilmslow | 25,716 | 6.3 | A | C− | B | A+ |
Woodford and Chelford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Woodford has no Safety Grade: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish to police.uk. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C−.
At the 2021 Census, 9.2% of Macclesfield’s 54,352 residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
Secondary schools stand out: GCSE results beat 75% of towns in England. Primary results trail 70%.
Large town in Cheshire, England
Macclesfield is a built-up area of 54,352 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.