Holywell grades D overall against UK towns: better than 13% of UK towns, and #32 of 39 in Clwyd. Its strongest subject is hazard risk (A): 0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its weakest is jobs & income (D−): mean household income £43,477; 3.8% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The median home sold for £175,000 in the last three years, 3.8 times what households in the Flintshire council area earn in a year.
This town's Health Grade uses ONS's small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy for 2019 to 2023, and two Census 2021 measures, bad health and disability, adjusted for age. English towns' grades also use OHID's small-area early deaths, hospital admissions and child obesity, which OHID publishes for England only.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within Wales), ordered by how far Holywell is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Holywell.
Safety
Homes in Holywell see more burglary and damage than in Clwyd’s towns or Wales’s towns: 21.2 per 1,000 a year
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 48% of recorded crime. Violent crime ran at 52.1 per 1,000 residents a year, higher than both Clwyd’s towns (34.3) and Wales’s towns (33.8). 763 crimes and 177 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Holywell’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. For its size, Holywell records more crime per resident than 95% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
52.1violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 5% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people: more crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual370
Shoplifting112
Damage & arson86
Other theft61
Public order60
Burglary19
Drugs16
Vehicle crime15
Anti-social177
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.
52.1
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
21.2
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
32.3
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
Schools
5 state schools in Holywell
Below are three of them, each with why it was picked. Between them, four primaries and one secondary teach 1,244 pupils in Holywell. Three of them are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
Welsh Government · schools list · Wales publishes no school-level results, so its schools have no letters.See all 5 schools →
Health
Life expectancy in Holywell is shorter than in 86% of UK towns
4 GP practices serve the town. The nearest A&E to Holywell is Arrowe Park Hospital, 8.4 miles away. Just over a fifth of residents have a disability, in line with Clwyd’s towns (22%) and Wales’s towns (22%).
78%good or very good healthDHealth Grade
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 78%Fair 14%Bad or very bad 7%
Census 2021
Holywell
Clwyd
Wales
Good or very good health
78%
79%
78%
Bad or very bad health
7%
6.5%
7.1%
Disabled (Equality Act)
22%
22%
22%
77.8
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
80.6
life expectancy at birth, women
Welsh towns’ Health Grades use ONS’s small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy for 2019 to 2023, and two Census 2021 measures, bad health and disability, adjusted for age. English towns’ also use OHID’s small-area early deaths, hospital admissions and child obesity, which OHID publishes for England only.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · ONS, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy among them.
HousingCost of living grade A−
Holywell’s grade for cost of living grade: an A−
15% of households are private tenants. The median sale, £175,000, comes from 266 standard sales inside Holywell’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Private rents average £811 a month across the Flintshire council area.
£175Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Holywell£175K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£267,000
103
Semi-detached
£154,500
116
Terraced
£130,000
33
Flat or maisonette
£110,500
14
15%
rent privately · Wales 17%
£811
average private rent a month, Flintshire council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
History
Listed buildings in Holywell: 94, with 1 at Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For its size, Holywell has 121 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, higher than both Clwyd’s towns (30) and Wales’s towns (18). Its listed buildings include St. Winifrides's Chapel & Well, Grade I. 12% of homes date from before 1919. At the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 2 Grade II*.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D−
Commuters in Holywell travel far: only 28% go under 5 km, fewer than in both Clwyd’s towns and Wales’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 17% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Walking, cycling and public transport carried 11% of commuters at the census. About 14% of its commuters stay in Holywell for work. For every resident in work, Holywell has 0.5 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Who lives here
A town of families: 19% of people in Holywell are under 15, more than in both Clwyd’s towns and Wales’s towns
11% of the population is aged 15 to 24, above Clwyd’s towns (10%) but below Wales’s towns (12%). People 65 and over make up 20% of the town. Holywell has a median age of 43.1 years. Among adults, 27% have a degree.
43.1median age
HolywellClwydWales
Ages · share of residents
20%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications21%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level27%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
WomenWalesMen
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
Jonathan Pryce: Greg2600, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mike England: Rob Mieremet / Anefo, CC0 · Sarah Edith Wynne: Thomas, John,, Public domain · Jennifer Toye: Houston Rogers (1902-1970) or John Blomfield (per-page credits), Public domain
Pentre Halkyn, Northop and Caldy have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Holywell
How many listed buildings are there in Holywell?
94 on Cadw’s list, 1 of them Grade I and 2 Grade II*. That is 5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is St. Winifrides's Chapel & Well. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Is Holywell expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £175,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £110,500, terraced houses £130,000, semi-detached houses £154,500 and detached houses £267,000.
About Holywell
Town in Clwyd, Wales
Holywell is a built-up area of 7,741 people, in the Flintshire 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
Population
7,741 (Census 2021)
Council
Flintshire
County
Clwyd
Region
Wales
Area
1 sq mi (2.7 km²)
ONS code
W45000052
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) · Cadw listed buildings, scheduled monuments and registered historic parks and gardens via DataMapWales, 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.
