Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Private rents average £689 a month. 93,022 people call this large town in County Durham, North East home.
Cheap to live in, with trade-offs. Crime runs high (D): 45.2 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 25.8 home and vehicle crimes. Set beside UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, its crime per resident is higher than in 73%. It also trails on health: life expectancy 77.3 for men, 81.4 for women. Cost of living is its strong suit: the median home sold for £158,000, 3.4 years of area income. The overall grade lands at C+, #21 of 52 in County Durham. Set against the rest, it does better than nearly two fifths of UK towns. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for schools and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Darlington 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 Darlington is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 237 buildings inside Darlington’s built-up area, 4 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
22% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 3 old photos and postcards going back to 1895 and a map from c. 1925.
Darlington, Indiana, is named after Darlington.
USUS editionDarlington, Indiana, platted in 1836, takes its name from this large town.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Darlington.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Police figures for Darlington’s built-up area: 9,702 crimes and 2,994 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 28.1 reports per 1,000, above County Durham’s towns (16) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Just over two fifths of the crimes fell under 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.
Secondary results at the town’s 7 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 46.1, with 46% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. St Teresa's Catholic Primary School’s results beat 92% of schools in England like it. Three of its 37 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 23 primary schools: 60% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Rydal AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 584 | D |
| Carmel CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,367 | A− |
| St Teresa's Catholic Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 342 | A |
Private renters make up just over a fifth of households, above both County Durham’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (21%). That is the middle of 3,901 standard sales inside Darlington’s built-up area over three years, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. It is the 15th most expensive of 52 towns of 2,500+ in County Durham.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £266,750 | 792 |
| Semi-detached | £161,000 | 1,693 |
| Terraced | £115,000 | 1,121 |
| Flat or maisonette | £92,000 | 295 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
9 GP practices serve the town; 86% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 6.2% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, lower than County Durham’s towns (7.3%) yet higher than England’s towns (5.2%). Disability touches 20% of Darlington’s population.
| Census 2021 | Darlington | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 77% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.2% | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
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.
Household income came to £45K a year before tax, near County Durham’s towns (£43K) and lower than England’s towns (£55K). Jobs per working resident: 1.2. About 60% of its commuters stay in Darlington for work. 60% of commuters travelled under 5 km to 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.
Darlington’s listed buildings include Butler House and the Rectory, Grade I. The register of parks and gardens lists 3 in the town. It has one scheduled monument.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Degrees are held by 27% of adults. Darlington has a median age of 42.4 years. A fifth of residents are 65 or over, close to County Durham’s towns (21%) and above England’s towns (18%).
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Darlington | County Durham | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.2% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 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 Darlington. Best known first.
MuseumHopetown Darlingtonin town
CastleWalworth Castle3.2 km outside town, to the northwestArt galleryArt galleryDarlington Library Art Galleryin townAbbey or prioryAbbey or priorySt Clare's Abbeyin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
237 listed buildings in Darlington, 4 of them Grade I.
Church of St Andrew: Photo: Crystalline Entity · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Skerne Bridge: Photo: Verbarson · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bank Top Railway Station (Main Building): Photo: Matt Buck · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Turks Head Public House: Photo: Graham Robson · CC BY-SA 2.0
176 notable people were born in Darlington.
James Morrison: Warwick Gastinger, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bailey Peacock-Farrell: Biser Todorov, CC BY 4.0 · Julie Bindel: Saeima, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jann Mardenborough: Flickr user GT Academy, CC BY 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darlington | 93,022 | — | C+ | A | D | C− |
| Hurworth-on-Tees | 2,667 | 3.3 | B | B | B+ | B− |
| Middleton St George | 4,756 | 3.8 | B− | B | C− | B− |
| Heighington | 1,548 | 5 | — | B | A− | A− |
| School Aycliffe | 1,590 | 5.5 | — | B− | A | B− |
| Newton Aycliffe | 25,760 | 6.4 | C− | A− | D | D |
| Gainford | 1,127 | 7.4 | — | B− | A− | C+ |
| Stillington | 1,407 | 7.4 | — | A | C | B |
Heighington, School Aycliffe, Gainford and Stillington 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 £158,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £92,000, terraced houses £115,000, semi-detached houses £161,000 and detached houses £266,750.
Band D council tax in Darlington is £2,486 for 2026–27, more than in 61% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Large town in County Durham, England
Darlington is a built-up area of 93,022 people, in the Darlington 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.