Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 8,857 in County Durham, North East.
Ferryhill grades D overall against UK towns: better than 13% of UK towns, and #44 of 52 in County Durham. 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 safety (D−): 69.8 violent and sexual offences and 36.5 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 1%. The median home sold for £85,999 in the last three years, 2 times what households in the County Durham council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Ferryhill 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 Ferryhill is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 11 buildings inside Ferryhill’s built-up area.
35% 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 Ferryhill.
The 65-and-over age group makes up nearly a quarter of residents. People aged 15 to 24 make up just over a tenth of the town, below County Durham’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%) alike, and on top of that under-15s account for 16% of the population. The age that splits Ferryhill in two is 46.9.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Ferryhill | County Durham | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 26% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.3% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 19% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · County Durham and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Some 1,461 pupils attend Ferryhill’s four primaries and one secondary. Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy’s results beat 92% of schools in England like it. At the town’s 4 primary schools, 55% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Two of its 6 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 248 | A |
| Ferryhill SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 727 | D |
1,587 crimes and 193 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Ferryhill’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. There were 23.4 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both County Durham’s towns (16) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were 44% of the crimes.
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.
Disability touches 26% of Ferryhill’s population. Women here live to 80.3 on average and men to 74.8 (2019–23). One GP practice serves the town; 57% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Ferryhill is University Hospital North Durham, 7.3 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Ferryhill | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 71% | 77% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 10% | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 26% | 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.
Private renters make up nearly a quarter of households, above County Durham’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. The social rented sector houses just over a quarter of households. That is the middle of 370 standard sales inside Ferryhill’s built-up area over three years, against £277,000 in the typical UK town.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £197,000 | 55 |
| Semi-detached | £110,000 | 113 |
| Terraced | £69,999 | 201 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
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.
Just over four in five commuters drove, close to County Durham’s towns (80%) and above England’s towns (70%). Jobs per working resident: 0.5. Work in town: 13% of resident commuters. For 31% of commuters, work was under 5 km away.
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.
Historic England’s list names 11 listed buildings in Ferryhill, every one Grade II. Listed buildings per head: 12 for every 10,000 residents of the town.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
22 notable people were born in Ferryhill.
John McManners: Hugh McManners, Public domain · Alexander Carmichael Bruce: Arthur Griffiths, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferryhill | 8,857 | — | D | A− | D− | D− |
| Chilton | 4,693 | 1.8 | D | A− | D− | D |
| Cornforth | 2,424 | 1.8 | — | A− | D | D− |
| Spennymoor | 20,401 | 2.3 | C− | A− | D− | D |
| Bishop Middleham | 1,136 | 2.5 | — | A− | B+ | B− |
| Coxhoe | 4,542 | 2.7 | B | B+ | C | C− |
| Coundon and Leeholme | 2,522 | 3.7 | C− | A | D− | D− |
| Bowburn | 4,843 | 3.8 | B | A− | C− | C− |
Cornforth and Bishop Middleham have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
By type: terraced houses £69,999, semi-detached houses £110,000 and detached houses £197,000.
Town in County Durham, England
Ferryhill is a built-up area of 8,857 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.