Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,800 in Cheshire, North West.
Pickmere grades B− overall against UK towns: better than 52% of UK towns, and #32 of 46 in Cheshire. Its strongest subject is safety (A+): 8.6 violent and sexual offences and 2.4 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Its weakest is walkability (D−): 6% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The median home sold for £315,000 in the last three years, 6.1 times what households in the Cheshire West and Chester council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Pickmere 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 Pickmere is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 2 buildings inside Pickmere’s built-up area.
19% 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 Pickmere.
Violent crime ran at 8.6 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Cheshire’s towns (20.9) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 40 crimes inside Pickmere’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 14 reports of anti-social behaviour. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Pickmere has less crime per resident than 99% of them.
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
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wincham Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 223 | C+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 41% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
That puts Pickmere below both Cheshire’s towns (43%) and England’s towns (45%). 92% 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
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Pickmere has 2 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 0 Grade II*. 19% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
On this, Pickmere is above both Cheshire’s towns (68%) and England’s towns (61%). 4% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £355,000 | 65 |
| Semi-detached | £265,000 | 42 |
| Terraced | £270,000 | 11 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
In the comparison, Pickmere comes above both Cheshire’s towns (82%) and England’s towns (82%). Pickmere has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 2.1 miles away. 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 | Pickmere | Cheshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.4% | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
For Pickmere, that is below both Cheshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Over-65s are 23% of the population. Pickmere has a median age of 48.
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Pickmere | Cheshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.4% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 35% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.7% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 38% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cheshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Pickmere. Best known first.
Historic houseArley Hall3.2 km outside town, to the north
MuseumCuckooland Museum2.1 km outside town, to the east
MuseumLion Salt Works1.3 km outside town, to the southwest
Historic houseTabley House2.8 km outside town, to the east
MuseumWeaver Hall Museum & Workhouse3.7 km outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionAnderton Boat Lift3.6 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
Police recorded 40 crimes inside Pickmere’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 40% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Cheshire West and Chester council.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Cheshire, England
Pickmere is a built-up area of 2,800 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.