Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 5,685 residents in County Durham, North East.
The data are hard on it. Police record more crime here than in most towns: police record 58.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 33.1 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 2%. Willington’s overall grade is D, better than just over one in ten UK towns. In the ranking it comes #46 of 52 in County Durham. Residents’ health trails most towns: life expectancy is 76.6 for men and 78.4 for women. Its strongest subject is cost of living (A−): homes sell for a median £140,000, about 3.3 times local household income. The rest of its grades are middling: B for walkability and B for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Willington 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 Willington is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 5 buildings inside Willington’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 Willington.
Police recorded 724 crimes inside Willington’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 189 reports of anti-social behaviour. There were 32.8 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both County Durham’s towns (16) and England’s towns (7.8). 47% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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.
Some 1,324 pupils attend Willington’s three primaries and one secondary. Below are two of its 4 schools, each with why it was picked. At the town’s 3 primary schools, 56% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Stephen's Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 213 | C |
| Parkside AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 833 | C |
The nearest A&E to Willington is University Hospital North Durham, 6.6 miles away. At the census, nearly one in ten residents said their health was bad or very bad, higher than both County Durham’s towns (7.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Disability touches 27% of the town’s population. One GP practice serves the town; 87% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Willington | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 72% | 77% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 9.2% | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 27% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
258 standard sales inside Willington’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £140,000. Owners make up 57% of households, below both County Durham’s towns (62%) and England’s towns (61%). Private rents average £650 a month across the County Durham council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £225,995 | 88 |
| Semi-detached | £143,000 | 75 |
| Terraced | £80,000 | 94 |
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.
Grade II covers all 5 listed buildings that Historic England records here. Scaled to its population, that is 9 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in Willington.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 21% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Driving is how just over four in five commuters got to work at the census. At the census, 16% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, about level with County Durham’s towns (17%) and below England’s towns (27%). Household income averages £36K a year before tax. Of the commuters living in Willington, 14% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
People 65 and over make up 22% of the town, higher than both County Durham’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (18%). The median resident of Willington is 44.7 years old. The share aged 15 to 24 is 11%.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Willington | County Durham | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 26% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.5% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 23% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · County Durham and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Willington. Best known first.
Historic house · English HeritageAuckland Castle4.1 km outside town, to the south
CastleBrancepeth Castle2.4 km outside town, to the northeast
Art galleryMining Art Gallery4.1 km outside town, to the southTheme parkTheme parkKynren3.5 km outside town, to the southCastleCastle · English HeritageAuckland Castle Deer Shelter4 km outside town, to the southHistoric siteHistoric siteBinchester Roman Fort2.9 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
11 notable people were born in Willington.
Thomas Renton Elliott: Basil, CC BY 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willington | 5,685 | — | D | A− | D− | D− |
| Crook | 9,717 | 2.3 | C− | A | D | D |
| Billy Row | 1,254 | 2.7 | — | A | C+ | C− |
| Spennymoor | 20,401 | 3.5 | C− | A− | D− | D |
| Brandon | 9,508 | 3.7 | B− | A− | D | D |
| Coundon and Leeholme | 2,522 | 4.1 | C− | A | D− | D− |
| New Brancepeth | 1,280 | 4.2 | — | A | D | D |
| Bishop Auckland | 23,359 | 4.2 | D | A− | D− | D |
Billy Row and New Brancepeth 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 £140,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £80,000, semi-detached houses £143,000 and detached houses £225,995.
GCSE results trail 72% of towns in England, and primary results trail 77% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Town in County Durham, England
Willington is a built-up area of 5,685 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.