Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 19,423 in County Durham, North East.
Stanley grades C overall against UK towns: better than 26% of UK towns, and #31 of 52 in County Durham. Its strongest subject is hazard risk (A): 0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its weakest is health (D−): life expectancy 76 for men, 77.9 for women. The median home sold for £100,000 in the last three years, 2.3 times what households in the County Durham council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Stanley 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 Stanley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 9 buildings inside Stanley’s built-up area.
29% 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 Stanley.
That puts Stanley below both County Durham’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (34%). 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Half the people of Stanley are older than 42.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Stanley | County Durham | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 26% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.5% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 19% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · County Durham and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenland Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 318 | A |
| North Durham AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 935 | D |
Women here live to 77.9 on average and men to 76 (2019–23). At the census, 9.2% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above both County Durham’s towns (7.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%). The nearest A&E to Stanley is Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 6.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Stanley | 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
On this, Stanley is above both County Durham’s towns (17.7) and England’s towns (9.4). Violence comes to 57.4 per 1,000 residents a year. Police recorded 2,530 crimes inside Stanley’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 566 reports of anti-social behaviour.
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
In the comparison, Stanley comes above both County Durham’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). Owners make up 54% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £230,000 | 101 |
| Semi-detached | £130,000 | 163 |
| Terraced | £83,999 | 396 |
| Flat or maisonette | £67,500 | 18 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For Stanley, that is above both County Durham’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (16%). Stanley has 9 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 0 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 19% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Stanley sits above both County Durham’s towns (3%) and England’s towns (2.3%) on this measure. The average household earns £39K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Stanley. Best known first.
MuseumBeamish Museum1.4 km outside town, to the northeast · 350K visitors a year
Heritage railwayTanfield Railway2.6 km outside town, to the north
Historic house · National TrustGibside4.8 km outside town, to the northTheme parkTheme parkHolmside Park2.3 km outside town, to the southeastGardenGardenBirkheads Secret Gardens2.7 km outside town, to the northeastAttractionAttractionTiny Tim1.1 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
9 listed buildings in Stanley.
Church of St George: Photo: Christine Johnstone · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Former Stanley Council Chambers: Photo: Graham Robson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Andrew: Photo: Bill Henderson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Roman Catholic Church of St Joseph: Photo: Peter Gregson · CC BY-SA 2.0
35 notable people were born in Stanley.
Ben Wilson: Bradford City AFC, CC BY 3.0 · David Horsley: Robert Grau, Public domain · Brian Tinnion: Matt101, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ross Adams: Rossadam3000, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanley | 19,423 | — | C | A− | D− | D− |
| Tanfield Lea | 2,399 | 1.1 | — | A− | B− | D |
| Annfield Plain | 7,786 | 1.9 | D | A− | D | D− |
| Dipton | 2,653 | 2.7 | B− | A− | C | D |
| Burnhope | 1,465 | 2.9 | — | A− | C+ | C+ |
| Newfield | 1,529 | 2.9 | — | A− | B+ | D |
| Burnopfield | 2,998 | 3.2 | A− | A− | B+ | C− |
| Whitehill | 1,679 | 3.4 | — | B | D | D− |
Tanfield Lea, Burnhope, Newfield and Whitehill 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 £100,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £67,500, terraced houses £83,999, semi-detached houses £130,000 and detached houses £230,000.
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: 96% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less. Police recorded 2,530 crimes inside Stanley’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 43% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Town in County Durham, England
Stanley is a built-up area of 19,423 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.