A tough set of grades. Safety is its weak spot: police record 55.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 16.6 home and vehicle crimes. Set beside UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, its crime per resident is higher than in 76%. Taken together, its subjects give Carlisle a D overall, better than 5% of UK towns. The ranking puts it #18 of 23 in Cumbria. Fewer journeys need a car: on the way to work, 26% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. At a median £152,000, a home costs 3.7 times the yearly income of households in the Carlisle council area.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
ONS publishes one rent for all of Cumberland, so this town's Cost Grade uses house prices and council tax only.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Carlisle is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Carlisle.
Safety
Carlisle records more crime per resident than 94% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
47% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Carlisle logged 9,159 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 474 complaints of anti-social conduct. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 10.1 reports per 1,000, above both Cumbria’s towns (3.1) and England’s towns (7.8).
55.4violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 24% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: more crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual4,296
Public order1,080
Damage & arson864
Shoplifting835
Drugs529
Other theft510
Other crime275
Burglary207
Anti-social474
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.
55.4
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
16.6
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
10.1
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
SchoolsD
Exam results at Carlisle’s schools trail 91% of towns in England
At the town’s 18 primary schools, 53% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Of its 27 schools, two are shown below, each with the reason. Secondary results at the town’s 4 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 40.4, with 31% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 27 schools →
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
Work is close at hand in Carlisle: 72% of commuters travel under 5 km, more than in both Cumbria’s towns and England’s towns
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.
2.9% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026. Working mainly from home: 15% of workers, below Cumbria’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (31%) alike. Income per household averages £39K a year, before tax. Also worth knowing: about 76% of its commuters stay in Carlisle for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Health
People in Carlisle live shorter lives than in 89% of UK towns
6 GP practices serve the town; three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 6.2% of residents report bad or very bad health. At the census, 19% of people here had a disability, near Cumbria’s towns (20%) and higher than England’s towns (17%).
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · 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.
History
353 listed buildings, 22 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Carlisle’s listed buildings include the Abbey Gate and Gatehouse, Grade I. Homes from before 1919 make up 20% of the total. At the top of the list, 22 are Grade I and 24 Grade II*.
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
Fewer people in Carlisle hold a degree than in Cumbria’s towns or England’s towns: 25%
Half of Carlisle is older than 41.1, half younger. Children under 15 make up 17%, higher than Cumbria’s towns (15%) yet lower than England’s towns (18%). Retirement age and beyond: 19% of residents are 65 or older.
41.1median age
CarlisleCumbriaEngland
Ages · share of residents
19%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications21%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar18%
Degree level25%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Grant Holt: Jon Candy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jarrad Branthwaite: Pete from Liverpool, UK, CC BY 2.0 · Mike Figgis: Annie Mole, CC BY 2.0 · Kevin Beattie: Tony Grunberg, Public domain · Nicki French: Christopher Matthew Thiemann, Columbus, Ohio, CC BY-SA 2.5
Houghton, Scotby, Dalston, Wetheral, Warwick Bridge and Longtown have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Carlisle
How many listed buildings are there in Carlisle?
That is 1.9 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Abbey Gate and Gatehouse. It also has 10 scheduled monuments.
Are schools in Carlisle good?
GCSE results trail 88% of towns in England, and primary results trail 84% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Is Carlisle expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £152,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £92,500, terraced houses £123,158, semi-detached houses £165,000 and detached houses £271,000.
About Carlisle
Large town in Cumbria, England
Carlisle is a built-up area of 77,729 people, in the Carlisle 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
Population
77,729 (Census 2021)
Council
Carlisle
County
Cumbria
Region
North West
Area
8.3 sq mi (21.4 km²)
ONS code
E63000133
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.
