Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 29,874 in County Durham, North East.
Consett grades C overall against UK towns: better than 30% of UK towns, and #27 of 52 in County Durham. Its strongest subject is cost of living (A−): median sale £150,000, 3.5 years of area income; rent £650 a month. Its weakest is health (D): life expectancy 76.7 for men, 80.5 for women.
The 3 things Consett 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 Consett is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 42 buildings inside Consett’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
20% 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 Consett.
Nearly four fifths of Consett’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above County Durham’s towns (77%) but below England’s towns (82%). 2 GP practices serve the town; 87% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Consett is University Hospital North Durham, 10.8 miles away. Disability touches 21% of the town’s population.
| Census 2021 | Consett | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 77% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.8% | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, 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 and early deaths among them.
Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 47.2, with 41% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Two of its 13 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. 55% of pupils at the town’s 9 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, ConsettLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 372 | C− |
| Consett AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,493 | B− |
16% of households live in social housing. Owners make up nearly two thirds of households, above both County Durham’s towns (62%) and England’s towns (61%). From September 2023 to August 2026, 1,404 homes sold inside Consett’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £150,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £265,000 | 379 |
| Semi-detached | £155,000 | 461 |
| Terraced | £112,000 | 531 |
| Flat or maisonette | £68,000 | 33 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violent crime ran at 33.8 per 1,000 residents a year, below County Durham’s towns (36.6) but above England’s towns (22). A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 2,351 offences in Consett and 548 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 44% of recorded crime.
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 22% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Households had £43K a year before tax, close to County Durham’s towns (£43K) and below England’s towns (£55K). Driving is how just over four in five commuters got to work at the census. 35% of commuters who live in Consett also work there. Jobs per working resident: 0.7.
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 1 of them. Before 1919: that is when 20% of homes were built. Per 10,000 residents, Consett counts 14 listed buildings.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
28% of adults hold a degree, between County Durham’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (34%). Typical age in Consett: 42.7, the median. Over-65s are nearly a fifth of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Consett | County Durham | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · County Durham and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Consett. Best known first.
CastleHamsterley Hall4.1 km outside town, to the northeastHistoric siteHistoric site · English HeritageDerwentcote Steel Furnace4 km outside town, to the northeastTheme parkTheme parkHall Hill Farm4.6 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
42 listed buildings in Consett.
Church of St. Aidan: Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Cuthbert: Photo: Dave Kelly · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cutlers' Hall: Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Christ Church Church Hall: Photo: wfmillar · CC BY-SA 2.0
77 notable people were born in Consett.
Rowan Atkinson: Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mark Clattenburg: Biser Todorov, CC BY 4.0 · John Herdman: Hossein Zohrevand, CC BY 4.0 · Paul Collingwood: Blnguyen, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Alan Campbell: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0 · Barry Venison: User:RoverTheBendInSussex, CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consett | 29,874 | — | C | A− | C | D |
| Leadgate | 3,339 | 1.4 | C− | A | D | D |
| Castleside | 1,532 | 1.9 | — | A− | A | C− |
| Medomsley | 1,216 | 2.3 | — | A− | C | C+ |
| Blackhall Mill | 1,528 | 3.5 | — | B+ | B | C |
| Dipton | 2,653 | 3.9 | B− | A− | C | D |
| Annfield Plain | 7,786 | 4 | D | A− | D | D− |
| Lanchester | 3,510 | 4.4 | B+ | B+ | B | B− |
Castleside, Medomsley and Blackhall Mill have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £150,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £68,000, terraced houses £112,000, semi-detached houses £155,000 and detached houses £265,000.
About the middle for its size: 55% 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.
GCSE results trail 52% of towns in England, and primary results trail 80% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Large town in County Durham, England
Consett is a built-up area of 29,874 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.