Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 25,760 in County Durham, North East.
Newton Aycliffe grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 20% of UK towns, and #40 of 52 in County Durham. Its strongest subject is cost of living (A−): median sale £140,000, 3.3 years of area income; rent £650 a month. Its weakest is safety (D): 48.3 violent and sexual offences and 24.9 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 9%.
The 3 things Newton Aycliffe 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 Newton Aycliffe is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 10 buildings inside Newton Aycliffe’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
1% 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 Newton Aycliffe.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Homes saw 24.9 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, above both County Durham’s towns (17.7) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 2,789 crimes inside Newton Aycliffe’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 814 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Newton Aycliffe records more crime per resident than 91% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
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
Three of its 13 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar Hill Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 448 | B− |
| Woodham AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,071 | B |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 150 | A |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Newton Aycliffe has 10 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 1% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Women here live to 80.4 on average and men to 77.2 (2019–23). At the census, 25% of people here had a disability, above both County Durham’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Newton Aycliffe is Darlington Memorial Hospital, 6.5 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Newton Aycliffe | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 77% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.7% | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 25% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Newton Aycliffe sits below both County Durham’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (34%) on this measure. The median resident of Newton Aycliffe is 44 years old. Over-65s are 21% of the population.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Newton Aycliffe | County Durham | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.6% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 23% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · County Durham and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
That puts Newton Aycliffe above both County Durham’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). 15% of households rent privately.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £230,000 | 265 |
| Semi-detached | £140,000 | 246 |
| Terraced | £95,000 | 314 |
| Flat or maisonette | £62,500 | 10 |
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 20% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
18% of Newton Aycliffe’s commuters walked, cycled or took public transport at the 2021 Census, against 27% across England’s towns; 80% drove.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
8 notable people were born in Newton Aycliffe.
Jason Steele: Jon Candy from Cardiff, Wales, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Kate Avery: Rory, CC BY 2.0 · Lewis Wing: Timmy96, CC0 · Michael Blackburn: Flesco, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newton Aycliffe | 25,760 | — | C− | A− | D | D |
| School Aycliffe | 1,590 | 1.5 | — | B− | A | B− |
| Heighington | 1,548 | 2.7 | — | B | A− | A− |
| Chilton | 4,693 | 2.7 | D | A− | D− | D |
| Shildon | 9,650 | 2.7 | D | A− | D− | D− |
| Coundon and Leeholme | 2,522 | 3.5 | C− | A | D− | D− |
| Ferryhill | 8,857 | 4.5 | D | A− | D− | D− |
| Bishop Auckland | 23,359 | 4.6 | D | A− | D− | D |
School Aycliffe and Heighington have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Police recorded 2,789 crimes inside Newton Aycliffe’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 45% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £140,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £62,500, terraced houses £95,000, semi-detached houses £140,000 and detached houses £230,000.
Band D council tax in Newton Aycliffe is £2,812 for 2026–27, more than in 99% 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.
At the 2021 Census, 11% of Newton Aycliffe’s 25,760 residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
Large town in County Durham, England
Newton Aycliffe is a built-up area of 25,760 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.