Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 11,289 in Cheshire, North West. 15% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport.
Sandbach grades B overall against UK towns: better than 63% of UK towns, and #24 of 46 in Cheshire. Its strongest subject is schools (B+): primary results beat 60% of towns in England; secondary results beat 72% of towns in England. Its weakest is safety (C): 34.5 violent and sexual offences and 7.4 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 56%. The median home sold for £267,500 in the last three years, 5.1 times what households in the Cheshire East council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Sandbach 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 Sandbach is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 58 buildings inside Sandbach’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 3 scheduled monuments.
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 Sandbach.
Young adults of 15 to 24 are 8.6% of the population. The middle age in Sandbach is 47.3. 38% of adults hold a degree, above both Cheshire’s towns (34%) and England’s towns (34%).
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
| Sandbach | Cheshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.6% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 38% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cheshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 3 primary schools: 63% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are three of its 6 schools, each with why it was picked. Attainment 8 at the town’s 2 secondary schools averages 49.7, and just over half of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offley Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 454 | B |
| Sandbach SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,534 | C+ |
| Sandbach High School and Sixth Form CollegeTop results in townSecondary | Secondary | 1,340 | A− |
The 12 months to August 2026 brought 766 recorded crimes inside Sandbach’s built-up area, and 90 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 48% of the crimes. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 7.5 reports per 1,000, above Cheshire’s towns (3.6) and close to 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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Sandbach’s land, 100% lies in conservation areas, close to Cheshire’s towns (100%) and above England’s towns (7%). The town’s listed buildings include the Old Hall Hotel, Grade I. 3 scheduled monuments lie in the town.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Owners make up 72% of households, above Cheshire’s towns (68%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. Private rents average £985 a month across the Cheshire East council area. Social housing holds 14% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £415,000 | 237 |
| Semi-detached | £240,000 | 184 |
| Terraced | £220,000 | 163 |
| Flat or maisonette | £139,000 | 40 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The nearest A&E to Sandbach is Leighton Hospital, 5.1 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 87% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 18% of people here had a disability, near both Cheshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%).
| Census 2021 | Sandbach | Cheshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.3% | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 37% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 83% of commuters, above both Cheshire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (70%). Income per household averages £51K a year, before tax. Work in town: 17% of resident commuters. There are 0.7 jobs in Sandbach for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
58 listed buildings in Sandbach, 2 of them Grade I.
Old Hall Hotel: Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Mary: Photo: Peter I. Vardy · Public domain · Town Hall and Market Hall: Photo: Dave.Dunford · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hope Chapel: Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.0
13 notable people were born in Sandbach.
I. A. Richards: © Richards family archive, CC BY-SA 4.0 · William James: Unidentified painter, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandbach | 11,289 | — | B | B | C | C+ |
| Wheelock | 2,155 | 1.2 | — | B | C+ | B |
| Elworth | 7,646 | 1.3 | A | B | B | B+ |
| Winterley | 1,371 | 2.3 | — | C | A− | B |
| Haslington | 5,042 | 3.4 | A− | B | A− | B− |
| Rode Heath | 1,901 | 3.6 | — | A− | A− | B |
| Holmes Chapel | 6,674 | 3.9 | A | C+ | A− | A |
| Alsager | 15,504 | 4 | B | B | B− | B |
Wheelock, Winterley and Rode Heath have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Old Hall Hotel. It also has 3 scheduled monuments.
About the middle for its size: 44% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C.
Town in Cheshire, England
Sandbach is a built-up area of 11,289 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.