Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 740 in Cumbria, North West.
Clifton has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures on this page are still real.
The 2 things Clifton does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Clifton’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
21% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Clifton. Best known first.
Castle · English HeritageClifton Hallin town
Castle · English HeritageBrougham Castle1.9 km outside town, to the north
Castle · English HeritagePenrith Castle3.3 km outside town, to the northwest
CastleLowther Castle2.7 km outside town, to the southwest
CastleBrougham Hall1.2 km outside town, to the northwestZooZooWetheriggs Zoo and Animal Sanctuary1.5 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Clifton.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 23% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
1.5% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026, below both Cumbria’s towns (1.6%) and England’s towns (2.3%). Driving is how just over nine in ten commuters got to work at the census. Work in town: 8% of resident commuters. For 56% of commuters, work was under 5 km away.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Clifton Primary School’s results beat just over four in five schools in England like it. 54% of pupils at the 4 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The town has one school, shown below. Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 39.5, and 35% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 76 | A− |
14% of households are private tenants. Social housing holds one in ten households, lower than both Cumbria’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). From September 2023 to August 2026, 42 homes sold inside Clifton’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £243,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £362,500 | 20 |
| Semi-detached | £215,000 | 11 |
| Terraced | £207,000 | 11 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violent crime comes to 8.6 per 1,000 residents a year. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 20 crimes inside Clifton’s built-up area. Of all the crimes, 30% 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.
88% of people in Clifton rate their own health good or very good. At the census, 3.1% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, lower than both Cumbria’s towns (6.1%) and England’s towns (5.2%). The nearest A&E to Clifton is Cumberland Infirmary, 20.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Clifton | Cumbria | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.1% | 6.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 12% | 20% | 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
21% of its homes were built before 1919, below Cumbria’s towns (28%) but above England’s towns (16%). Scaled to its population, that is 95 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in Clifton. One scheduled monument lies locally.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Retirement age and beyond: 16% of residents are 65 or older. Young adults of 15 to 24 are nearly one in ten residents, below both Cumbria’s towns (9.9%) and England’s towns (12%). Ages in Clifton split evenly at 41.3: half are older, half younger.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Clifton | Cumbria | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.3% | 9.9% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 28% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.1% | 8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 22% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 33% | 28% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cumbria and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton | 740 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Penrith | 16,705 | 2.6 | C− | D | D | C+ |
| Appleby-in-Westmorland | 3,233 | 9.8 | D | C− | C− | B+ |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.9 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Band D council tax in Clifton is £2,510 for 2026–27, more than in 67% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £243,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £207,000, semi-detached houses £215,000 and detached houses £362,500. Private rents in the Westmorland and Furness council area averaged £816 a month in August 2026.
Village in Cumbria, England
Clifton is a built-up area of 740 people, in the Eden 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.