Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 14,963 in Cheshire, North West. 14% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport.
Neston grades B overall against UK towns: better than 62% of UK towns, and #26 of 46 in Cheshire. Its strongest subject is schools (B+): primary results beat 81% of towns in England; secondary results beat 43% of towns in England. Its weakest is cost of living (C): median sale £287,500, 5.6 years of area income; rent £991 a month.
The 3 things Neston 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 Neston is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 66 buildings inside Neston’s built-up area, 4 of them Grade II*.
12% 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 Neston.
14% are under 15, below Cheshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. The 15-to-24 age group makes up 9.5% of residents. The age that splits Neston in two is 50.9. Among adults, 39% have a degree.
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.
| Neston | Cheshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.5% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 29% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.2% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 39% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cheshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the town’s 4 primary schools, just over two thirds of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Three of its 5 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 46.2, with 40% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodfall Primary and Nursery SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 438 | A− |
| Neston High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,712 | C+ |
| Parkgate Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 184 | A |
Social housing holds 13% of households. Owners make up nearly three quarters of households, higher than both Cheshire’s towns (68%) and England’s towns (61%). The median sale, £287,500, comes from 615 standard sales inside Neston’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £416,500 | 242 |
| Semi-detached | £268,000 | 187 |
| Terraced | £195,000 | 125 |
| Flat or maisonette | £137,000 | 61 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violence and sexual offences were 51% of the crimes. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 602 crimes and 90 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Neston’s built-up area. Homes see 6.4 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year.
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.
2 GP practices serve the town; just over nine in ten patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Neston is Arrowe Park Hospital, 5.7 miles away. Women here live to 84.9 on average and men to 82.1 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Neston | Cheshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.4% | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 99% of Neston’s land, near Cheshire’s towns (100%) and higher than England’s towns (7%). Grade II* covers 4 of them. Scaled to its population, that is 44 listed buildings for every 10,000 people locally.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 32% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Income per household averages £52K a year, before tax. The car took 84% of commuters, higher than both Cheshire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (70%). Of the commuters living in Neston, 19% work in the town itself. The town counts 0.7 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Neston. Best known first.
Historic houseThornton Manor1.7 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumHadlow Road Station2.2 km outside town, to the eastAttractionAttractionBrimstage Hall2.7 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
66 listed buildings in Neston.
The Greenland Fishery Hotel: Photo: Rodhullandemu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Tower: Photo: Rodhullandemu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Barn: Photo: Rodhullandemu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mostyn House School: Photo: Gary Bealr · CC BY-SA 4.0
10 notable people were born in Neston.
Tim Hunt: Machmit (Machmit), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Janet Okell: Royal Navy, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neston | 14,963 | — | B | C | B | B |
| Willaston (Cheshire West and Chester) | 2,472 | 2.4 | — | C− | A+ | A |
| Heswall | 29,082 | 3.7 | A− | D | A− | B+ |
| Bebington | 57,607 | 4.3 | B− | C | B− | C |
| Flint | 12,776 | 4.5 | C− | A− | C− | D |
| Connah's Quay | 16,768 | 5.3 | C+ | B+ | C | C |
| Bagillt | 5,943 | 5.4 | D | A− | C− | D |
| Garden City | 2,427 | 5.6 | — | B− | D− | D |
Willaston (Cheshire West and Chester) and Garden City have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Band D council tax in Neston is £2,556 for 2026–27, more than in 77% 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.
Town in Cheshire, England
Neston is a built-up area of 14,963 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.