Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 5,783 people live in this town, in County Durham, North East.
One weak subject stands out against an otherwise good record. Its strongest is schools (A+) — primary results beat 98% of towns in England; secondary results beat 96% of towns in England. Taken together, its subjects give Barnard Castle a B+ overall, better than 69% of UK towns. It ranks #7 of 52 in County Durham. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: just over a third of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. A median £240,000 buys a home here, 5.6 times what households in the County Durham council area earn in a year. The trade-off is jobs & income (C) — the mean household earns £44,041 a year. Elsewhere it is close to typical: C+ for health and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Barnard Castle 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 Barnard Castle is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 227 buildings inside Barnard Castle’s built-up area, 6 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
21% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1893.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Barnard Castle.
The 15-to-24 age group: 9.6%, below both County Durham’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Under-15s account for 14% of the population. The age that splits Barnard Castle in two is 51.8.
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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.
| Barnard Castle | County Durham | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 30% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · County Durham and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the town’s 3 primary schools, 78% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Montalbo Nursery & Primary School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Three of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Barnard Castle’s three primaries and one secondary have 1,215 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montalbo Nursery & Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 240 | A+ |
| Teesdale School and Sixth FormLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 684 | A |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Barnard CastleTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 103 | A |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 23% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Nearly two thirds of commuters drove, below County Durham’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. For 48% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. About 44% of its commuters stay in Barnard Castle for work. There are 1.7 jobs in Barnard Castle for each resident in work.
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.
Grade II* covers 11 of them, Grade I 6. No town in County Durham has more listed buildings for its size than Barnard Castle. Its listed buildings include Blagraves, Grade I. Of the town’s land, 28% lies in conservation areas, higher than both County Durham’s towns (0%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
334 crimes and 58 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Barnard Castle’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence came to 24.9 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than County Durham’s towns (36.6) yet higher than England’s towns (22). Of all the crimes, 45% were violence and sexual offences.
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.
At the census, 22% of people here had a disability, near County Durham’s towns (22%) and higher than England’s towns (17%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 5.9% of the town. The nearest A&E to Barnard Castle is Darlington Memorial Hospital, 14.3 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 84% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Barnard Castle | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 77% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.9% | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 22% | 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.
16% of households are private tenants. Owners make up nearly two thirds of households, above County Durham’s towns (62%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. Private rents average £650 a month across the County Durham council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £392,595 | 104 |
| Semi-detached | £225,000 | 86 |
| Terraced | £185,000 | 103 |
| Flat or maisonette | £110,000 | 33 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Barnard Castle. Best known first.
Castle · English HeritageBarnard Castle Groundsin town
Museum · English HeritageThe Bowes Museumin town
Abbey or priory · English HeritageEgglestone Abbey1 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseRokeby Park2.9 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseLartington Hall2.7 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
227 listed buildings in Barnard Castle, 6 of them Grade I.
The Castle: Photo: Robert Scarth from London, England · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Market Cross: Photo: Ben Gamble · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Blagraves: Photo: Paul Buckingham · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Golden Lion Public House: Photo: Jo and Steve Turner · CC BY-SA 2.0
11 notable people were born in Barnard Castle.
C. Northcote Parkinson: Wim van Rossem for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · George Brown: Rev George Brown Publisher: London:Hodder & Stoughton uploaded by Teinesavaii, Public domain · James Welford: Henry Joseph Whitlock, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnard Castle | 5,783 | — | B+ | C+ | C+ | C+ |
| Startforth | 1,391 | 0.7 | — | C+ | D− | B− |
| Staindrop | 1,339 | 5.1 | — | B | C+ | C+ |
| Cockfield | 1,351 | 6.4 | — | A | C | C |
| Gainford | 1,127 | 7.3 | — | B− | A− | C+ |
| Evenwood | 1,587 | 8.2 | — | A− | D | C |
| West Auckland | 3,107 | 9.8 | D | A− | D− | D |
| Toft Hill and High Etherley | 1,865 | 9.9 | — | A− | B+ | C |
Startforth, Staindrop, Cockfield, Gainford, Evenwood and Toft Hill and High Etherley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Among the strongest in England: GCSE results beat 96% of towns in England, and primary results beat 98% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
That is 16.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Blagraves. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
About the middle for its size: 64% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+.
Town in County Durham, England
Barnard Castle is a built-up area of 5,783 people, in the County Durham 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.