Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Cumbria, North West has a population of 6,671.
A town with more to fix than most. Its weakest subject is schools — primary results beat just over a fifth of towns in England; secondary results beat 20% of towns in England. Cleator Moor’s overall grade of D puts it better than 8% of UK towns, #16 of 23 in Cumbria. It also trails on health — life expectancy is 77.8 for men and 82.2 for women. The local economy is weaker than most: the mean household earns £44,537 a year. Prices are modest for what you get: the median home sold for £126,000, 2.8 years of area income.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
ONS publishes one rent for all of Cumberland, so this town's Cost Grade uses house prices and council tax only.
The 3 things Cleator Moor 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 Cleator Moor is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 14 buildings inside Cleator Moor’s built-up area.
32% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1924.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cleator Moor.
At the town’s 2 primary schools, 55% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). One of its 3 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. GCSE results at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km: 36% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 41.8.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Patrick's Catholic Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 271 | B |
Women here live to 82.2 on average and men to 77.8 (2019–23). At the census, 75% of people in Cleator Moor called their health good or very good, below both Cumbria’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (82%). A disability affects just over a fifth of people in the town. There is no GP practice in the town: the nearest is 2.7 miles off.
| Census 2021 | Cleator Moor | Cumbria | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 75% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.8% | 6.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Burglary and damage came to 14.3 per 1,000 residents a year, above Cumbria’s towns (8.4) and England’s towns (9.4) alike. Over the year to August 2026, 483 offences were reported in Cleator Moor, along with 39 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Cleator Moor has more crime per resident than 87% of them. Of all the crimes, 49% were 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.
Private tenants account for 13% of households. The median sale, £126,000, comes from 252 standard sales inside Cleator Moor’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. 64% of households are owner-occupiers.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £327,000 | 65 |
| Semi-detached | £182,500 | 56 |
| Terraced | £90,000 | 130 |
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 22% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For every resident in work, Cleator Moor has 0.5 jobs. At the census, 15% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, lower than both Cumbria’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (27%). Also worth knowing: in 2026, 2.5% of 16 to 64s were claiming unemployment benefits. Of the commuters living in the town, 10% work in the town itself.
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.
Grade II covers all 14 listed buildings that Historic England records here. Of Cleator Moor’s land, 1% lies in conservation areas, below Cumbria’s towns (8%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. Listed buildings per head: 21 for every 10,000 residents of the town.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Children under 15 make up 16% of residents. Typical age in Cleator Moor: 44.4, the median. One in ten residents are 15 to 24, about level with Cumbria’s towns (9.9%) and below England’s towns (12%).
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Cleator Moor | Cumbria | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 9.9% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 28% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 25% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.7% | 8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 21% | 28% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cumbria and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Cleator Moor. Best known first.
CastleEgremont Castle2.7 km outside town, to the south
MuseumThe Rum Story3.8 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumThe Beacon Museum4.1 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumHaig Colliery Mining Museum4.1 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumWest Cumberland Railway Museum4.4 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleator Moor | 6,671 | — | D | B | C− | C− |
| Frizington | 1,754 | 1.7 | — | B+ | D− | D |
| Whitehaven | 22,952 | 2.7 | D | B− | D | D |
| Egremont | 5,791 | 2.8 | D | B | D | D |
| Moresby Parks | 1,180 | 3 | — | B | A+ | C− |
| St Bees | 1,187 | 3.7 | — | C | B− | B+ |
| Distington | 1,375 | 5.2 | — | B | C+ | D |
| High Harrington | 1,574 | 6.5 | — | D− | A+ | C+ |
Frizington, Moresby Parks, St Bees, Distington and High Harrington 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 £126,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £90,000, semi-detached houses £182,500 and detached houses £327,000.
Burglary was rare, with 8 reports in the year.
GCSE results trail 80% of towns in England, and primary results trail 79% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Cleator Moor has 3 state schools; places are handled by Cumbria council.
Town in Cumbria, England
Cleator Moor is a built-up area of 6,671 people, in the Copeland 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.