Heighington’s story
44 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I
Historic England lists them inside Heighington’s built-up area.
17% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
HeighingtonCounty Durham
With 1,548 residents, it is a village in County Durham, North East.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: DabbyNorthmead · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
1,548
Census 2021 · Darlington council
Median home
£251K
70 sales in 3 years
Median age
50
28% are 65+ · County Durham 21%
Degree level
41%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
9%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Heighington a good place to live?
Jobs & income is where it shines: households earn a mean £61,793 a year, and 0.4% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. It is strong on health as well (A−): life expectancy 82.3 for men, 86 for women. Pupils here do less well than most (D): primary results beat 13% of towns in England; secondary results beat 6% of towns in England. Getting around depends on the car: nearly one in ten commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. The median home sold for £251,000, 5.4 times what households in the Darlington council area earn in a year.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years. An overall grade needs 2,500 residents, so Heighington is graded subject by subject only.
What makes Heighington stand out
The 3 things Heighington does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
9% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
Listed buildings per 10,000 residents
History
1 Grade I, including Church of St Michael; 11.7 times the typical UK town for its size
Historic England’s list, October 2026.
Claimant rate, against UK towns
Work
of 16 to 64s in 2026: fewer than in 100% of UK towns
DWP claimant count, January to August 2026.
How Heighington grades
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Heighington is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
An overall grade needs 2,500 residents, so Heighington is graded subject by subject only.
SchoolsPrimary results beat 13% of towns in England; secondary results beat 6% of towns in EnglandDOpen →Hazard risk0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the seaAOpen →Jobs & incomeAmong the best of the towns comparedA−Open →WalkabilityBased on walking, cycling and transit to everyday placesC−Open →HealthResidents are healthier than in most townsA−Open →SafetyAbove the middle of the towns comparedA−Open →Cost of livingRent £689 a monthBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
HistoryGraded on historic places and the town’s ageA−Open →Outdoors64% live within 400 m of a park; 2.6 ha of public green space per 1,000 residentsDOpen →Civic life3.2 local charities per 1,000 residents; 0% live within 1 km of a libraryB−Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Heighington.
SchoolsD
School results in Heighington are weaker than in 94% of towns in England
GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 29% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 37.7. Below is its only school. 52% of pupils at the 5 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
DSchool Grade
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heighington Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 248 | B+ |
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsThe Schools page →
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A−
Commuters in Heighington travel far: only 20% go under 5 km, fewer than in County Durham’s towns and across England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 30% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For every resident in work, Heighington has 0.2 jobs. At the census, 9% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below both County Durham’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (27%). The census counted 30% of workers working mainly from home.
9%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving88%
On foot6%
Bicycle1%
Bus1%
Train1%
20%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
30%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£62K
mean household income, before tax
0.4%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
C−
Walkability: more walkable than 19% of UK towns
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
History
More buildings in Heighington are listed than in County Durham’s towns or England’s towns: 284 per 10,000 residents
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Heighington’s listed buildings include the Church of St Michael, Grade I. It has 44 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. Also worth knowing: 17% of homes were built before 1919.
44listed buildingsA−History Grade
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I1
Grade II*1
Grade II42
Among them · Grade I
- Church of St Michael Grade I
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
17%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
284
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Health
Fewer people in Heighington live with a disability than in County Durham’s towns or across England’s towns: 16%
4.9% of residents report bad or very bad health. At the census, 84% of people in Heighington called their health good or very good, above County Durham’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. Women here live to 86 on average and men to 82.3 (2019–23). There is no GP practice in the town: the nearest is 2.4 miles off.
84%good or very good healthA−Health Grade
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 84%Fair 11%Bad or very bad 5%
| Census 2021 | Heighington | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 77% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 22% | 17% |
82.3
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
86
life expectancy at birth, women
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.
Safety
Violence is recorded less often in Heighington than in County Durham’s towns or across England’s towns: 15.3 per 1,000 residents a year
Homes saw 7.5 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both County Durham’s towns (18.3) and England’s towns (9.4). Police figures for Heighington’s built-up area: 73 crimes and 12 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences made up 52% of the total.
15.3violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearA−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 58% of the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual38
Damage & arson9
Burglary8
Other crime7
Other theft5
Vehicle crime5
Public order1
Shoplifting0
Anti-social12
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.
15.3
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
7.5
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
6
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
73
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
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.
HousingCost of living grade B
Most households in Heighington own their home: 84%, more than in County Durham’s towns and across England’s towns
9% of households live in social housing. Private renters make up 7% of households, lower than both County Durham’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (21%). The median sale, £251,000, comes from 70 standard sales inside Heighington’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
£251Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Heighington£251K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £310,000 | 34 |
| Semi-detached | £230,000 | 21 |
| Terraced | £170,000 | 14 |
84%
of households own their home · England 61%
7%
rent privately · England 21%
£689
average private rent a month, Darlington council area
£2,519
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
More people in Heighington hold a degree than in County Durham’s towns or England’s towns: 41%
Those aged 15 to 24 account for 7.9% of residents. 28% of residents are 65 or over, higher than both County Durham’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (18%). Typical age in Heighington: 50, the median.
50median age
HeighingtonCounty DurhamEngland
Ages · share of residents
28%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications13%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar18%
Degree level41%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
| Heighington | County Durham | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.9% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.7% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 41% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · County Durham and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Locomotion - The National Railway Museum at Shildon and 2 more in and around Heighington
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Heighington. Best known first.
MuseumLocomotion - The National Railway Museum at Shildon2.9 km outside town, to the north · 94K visitors a year
CastleWalworth Castle4.2 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumAycliffe and District Bus Preservation Society2.7 km outside town, to the eastPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (2)
- Locomotion - The National Railway Museum at Shildon: Hugh Mortimer, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Walworth Castle: Hugh Mortimer, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Heighington
15pages on Heighington
The big questions
SafetyA−15.3 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Cost of livingBMedian home £251K · rent £689 a monthHousing18 sold in 12 months · busiest street Pinewood CrescentSchoolsD1 state schoolHealthA−Life expectancy 82.3 (men), 86 (women)Work & commuteA−44% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazardsA0% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Out and about
Famous people from Heighington
3 notable people were born in Heighington.
Heighington’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
School AycliffeShildonNewton AycliffeBishop AucklandCoundon and LeeholmeWest AucklandDarlingtonHeighington
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heighington | 1,548 | — | — | B | A− | A− |
| School Aycliffe | 1,590 | 1.2 | — | B− | A | B− |
| Shildon | 9,650 | 2.6 | D | A− | D− | D− |
| Newton Aycliffe | 25,760 | 2.7 | C− | A− | D | D |
| Bishop Auckland | 23,359 | 4.6 | D | A− | D− | D |
| Coundon and Leeholme | 2,522 | 4.8 | C− | A | D− | D− |
| West Auckland | 3,107 | 4.9 | D | A− | D− | D |
| Darlington | 93,022 | 5 | C+ | A | D | C− |
School Aycliffe has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Heighington
How many listed buildings are there in Heighington?
That is 11.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Michael.
Are schools in Heighington good?
GCSE results trail 94% of towns in England, and primary results trail 87% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Darlington council.
Is Heighington safe?
Against all UK towns, it grades A−.
About Heighington
Village in County Durham, England
Heighington is a built-up area of 1,548 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
- Population
- 1,548 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Darlington
- County
- County Durham
- Region
- North East
- Area
- 0.2 sq mi (0.5 km²)
- ONS code
- E63000302
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.