Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2,796 residents make their home in this town in County Durham, North East.
Good value, with catches elsewhere. Where it falls short is safety — 30.8 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 21.7 home and vehicle crimes. Only 15% of UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people have more crime per resident. Sherburn’s overall grade is B−, better than 49% of UK towns. In the ranking it comes #16 of 52 in County Durham. It also trails on health: life expectancy 79.2 for men, 82.2 for women. On cost of living it is strong: homes sell for a median £145,000, about 3.4 times local household income.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS.
The 3 things Sherburn 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 Sherburn is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 1 building inside Sherburn’s built-up area.
7% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Sherburn. Best known first.
CastleDurham Castle4.1 km outside town, to the west
CathedralDurham Cathedral4.1 km outside town, to the west
MuseumOriental Museum4.5 km outside town, to the west · 19K visitors a year
Abbey or priory · English HeritageFinchale Priory4.6 km outside town, to the northwest
GardenDurham University Botanic Garden4.3 km outside town, to the west
MuseumDurham Museum4 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Sherburn.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Before 1919: that is when 7% of homes were built. Of Sherburn’s land, 18% lies in conservation areas, higher than both County Durham’s towns (0%) and England’s towns (7%). Listed buildings per head: 4 for every 10,000 residents of the town.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
At the 10 primary schools within 3 km, nearly two thirds of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its only school is listed below. Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 48.6, and 48% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sherburn Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 176 | B− |
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 233 offences in Sherburn and 48 cases of nuisance behaviour. Of all the crimes, 37% were violence and sexual offences. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 11 reports per 1,000, between County Durham’s towns (16.5) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
Social housing holds nearly a quarter of households, above County Durham’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £650 a month across the County Durham council area. Behind the median of £145,000: 136 standard sales inside Sherburn’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £245,000 | 35 |
| Semi-detached | £140,000 | 58 |
| Terraced | £125,000 | 39 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
2 GP practices serve the town; just over four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, just over a fifth of people here had a disability, between County Durham’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (17%). 77% of people in Sherburn rate their own health good or very good. Women here live to 82.2 on average and men to 79.2 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Sherburn | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 77% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.7% | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 24% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 12% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below both County Durham’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (27%). A third of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. Work in town: 3% of resident commuters. Household income averages £43K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The age that splits Sherburn in two is 47. Nearly a tenth of the population is aged 15 to 24, below County Durham’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. The share of residents under 15 is 16%.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Sherburn | County Durham | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.9% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.1% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 29% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · County Durham and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
4 notable people were born in Sherburn.
Josh Charlton: Nicola, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherburn | 2,796 | — | B− | A− | C− | C− |
| High Pittington | 1,147 | 1.3 | — | B+ | B− | C− |
| High Shincliffe | 1,045 | 2 | — | C | A+ | C+ |
| Durham | 50,502 | 2.5 | B+ | B | D | C |
| Bowburn | 4,843 | 2.6 | B | A− | C− | C− |
| West Rainton | 2,323 | 2.6 | — | B | D | C− |
| Thornley | 2,543 | 3.1 | C− | A− | D | D− |
| East Rainton | 1,476 | 3.4 | — | C+ | C+ | D |
High Pittington, High Shincliffe, West Rainton and East Rainton 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 £145,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £125,000, semi-detached houses £140,000 and detached houses £245,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in County Durham, England
Sherburn is a built-up area of 2,796 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.