Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,650 in County Durham, North East.
Shildon grades D overall against UK towns: better than 9% of UK towns, and #50 of 52 in County Durham. Its strongest subject is cost of living (A−): median sale £77,500, 1.8 years of area income; rent £650 a month. Its weakest is safety (D−): 65.8 violent and sexual offences and 42.4 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 0%.
The 3 things Shildon 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 Shildon is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 23 buildings inside Shildon’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade II*.
37% 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 Shildon.
10% of residents are 15 to 24, below both County Durham’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). The middle age in Shildon is 42.9. Retirement age and beyond: a fifth of residents are 65 or older.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Shildon | County Durham | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 27% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.2% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 18% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · County Durham and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Between them, three primaries teach 773 pupils in Shildon. Thornhill Primary School’s results beat 98% of schools in England like it. GCSE results at the 4 secondary schools within 3 km: just over a third of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 41.7.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timothy Hackworth Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 329 | D |
| Thornhill Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 205 | A+ |
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 34.4 reports per 1,000, above County Durham’s towns (16) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 1,420 recorded crimes inside Shildon’s built-up area, and 339 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were just over two fifths 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.
73% of Shildon’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below County Durham’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. Disability touches just over a quarter of the town’s population. Life expectancy here is 77.7 for women and 75.9 for men (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Shildon is Darlington Memorial Hospital, 7.5 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Shildon | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 73% | 77% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 9.2% | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 26% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
53% of households own their home, lower than both County Durham’s towns (62%) and England’s towns (61%). Only one of the 52 towns in County Durham costs less to buy into than Shildon, whose median sale is £77,500. Behind the median of £77,500: 377 standard sales inside the town’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £209,975 | 50 |
| Semi-detached | £100,250 | 96 |
| Terraced | £64,500 | 230 |
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 15% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Work in town: 13% of resident commuters. For every resident in work, Shildon has 0.6 jobs. Households had £35K a year before tax, below both County Durham’s towns (£43K) and England’s towns (£55K). Home was the main workplace for 15% of workers at the census.
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.
Shildon has 23 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 3 Grade II*. Of the town’s land, 1% lies in conservation areas, above County Durham’s towns (0%) but below England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Shildon. Best known first.
MuseumLocomotion - The National Railway Museum at Shildonin town · 94K visitors a year
Historic house · English HeritageAuckland Castle3 km outside town, to the north
Art galleryMining Art Gallery2.9 km outside town, to the northwestTheme parkTheme parkKynren3.6 km outside town, to the northwestCastleCastle · English HeritageAuckland Castle Deer Shelter3.1 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumFaith Museum2.9 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
23 listed buildings in Shildon.
Soho House: Photo: Alan Murray-Rust · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Soho Engine Shed, originally Kilburns' warehouse: Photo: Alan Murray-Rust · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Shildon Signal Box: Photo: Ashley Dace · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Grey Horse Public House: Photo: JThomas · CC BY-SA 2.0
15 notable people were born in Shildon.
Jack Forrest: Sideswerve, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shildon | 9,650 | — | D | A− | D− | D− |
| Bishop Auckland | 23,359 | 2.1 | D | A− | D− | D |
| School Aycliffe | 1,590 | 2.2 | — | B− | A | B− |
| Coundon and Leeholme | 2,522 | 2.4 | C− | A | D− | D− |
| Heighington | 1,548 | 2.6 | — | B | A− | A− |
| Newton Aycliffe | 25,760 | 2.7 | C− | A− | D | D |
| West Auckland | 3,107 | 3.2 | D | A− | D− | D |
| Chilton | 4,693 | 4.1 | 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.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £77,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £64,500, semi-detached houses £100,250 and detached houses £209,975.
Town in County Durham, England
Shildon is a built-up area of 9,650 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.