Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,979 in County Durham, North East.
Sedgefield grades A overall against UK towns: better than 89% of UK towns, and #2 of 52 in County Durham. Its strongest subject is schools (A): primary results beat 94% of towns in England; secondary results beat 82% of towns in England. The median home sold for £190,000 in the last three years, 4.5 times what households in the County Durham council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Sedgefield 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 Sedgefield is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 26 buildings inside Sedgefield’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
12% 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 Sedgefield.
Sedgefield Hardwick Primary Academy’s results beat 89% of schools in England like it. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedgefield Hardwick Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 256 | A |
| Sedgefield Community CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 982 | A− |
That puts Sedgefield above both County Durham’s towns (62%) and England’s towns (61%). 10% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £335,000 | 62 |
| Semi-detached | £190,000 | 100 |
| Terraced | £167,500 | 68 |
| Flat or maisonette | £74,950 | 38 |
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 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
On this, Sedgefield is below both County Durham’s towns (41%) and England’s towns (45%). At the census, 12% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
19% of residents have a disability, below County Durham’s towns (22%) but above England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Sedgefield is University Hospital of North Tees, 6.6 miles away. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Sedgefield | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 77% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.2% | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Homes saw 11.3 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, below County Durham’s towns (18.3) but above England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 239 crimes inside Sedgefield’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 65 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 45% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Sedgefield has 26 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 12% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
In the comparison, Sedgefield comes above both County Durham’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (34%). Over-65s are 27% of the population. The median resident of Sedgefield is 48.2 years old.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Sedgefield | County Durham | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.5% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.5% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 42% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · County Durham and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
26 listed buildings in Sedgefield, 1 of them Grade I.
Manor House: Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hardwick Park: Photo: SequenceDancer · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hardwick Arms Hotel: Photo: Andrew Curtis · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Nss Newsagents: Photo: Andrew Curtis · CC BY-SA 2.0
15 notable people were born in Sedgefield.
Mark Gatiss: zeropuntosedici (Sara Zizza), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Aidan Davison: Timmy96, CC0 · Dave Hockaday: Bruce Fenn, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sedgefield | 4,979 | — | A | B | B− | B |
| Fishburn | 2,387 | 1.9 | — | A− | C− | D |
| Bishop Middleham | 1,136 | 2.2 | — | A− | B+ | B− |
| Trimdon | 2,835 | 3.1 | C+ | A− | C− | D |
| Stillington | 1,407 | 3.7 | — | A | C | B |
| Cornforth | 2,424 | 4 | — | A− | D | D− |
| Trimdon Grange | 1,233 | 4.1 | — | A− | D | D |
| Chilton | 4,693 | 4.3 | D | A− | D− | D |
Fishburn, Bishop Middleham, Stillington, Cornforth and Trimdon Grange have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Edmund.
GCSE results beat 82% of towns in England, and primary results beat 94% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Sedgefield has 3 state schools; places are handled by County Durham council.
Band D council tax in Sedgefield is £2,736 for 2026–27, more than in 98% 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.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £190,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £74,950, terraced houses £167,500, semi-detached houses £190,000 and detached houses £335,000.
Town in County Durham, England
Sedgefield is a built-up area of 4,979 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.