Some subjects shine; others lag. Buying in is costly: homes sell for a median £259,950, about 6.3 times local household income. Where it does best is walkability (A−): just over a fifth of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Health is another plus (B+) — life expectancy 80.6 for men, 83.9 for women. All told, that adds up to a C+ overall and a rank of #3 of 23 in Cumbria. It comes out better than 44% of UK towns. Hazard risk is higher than most (D−): one in ten homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for safety, B− for schools and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · life expectancy and income, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · claimants, DWP.
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 Cockermouth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cockermouth.
HousingCost of living grade D−
Private renting is less common in Cockermouth than in Cumbria’s towns or across England’s towns: 14%
Owners make up 70% of households. Private rents average £681 a month across the Cumberland council area. Behind the median of £259,950: 514 standard sales inside Cockermouth’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
£260Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Cockermouth£260K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£382,500
176
Semi-detached
£249,950
148
Terraced
£180,000
121
Flat or maisonette
£125,000
69
70%
of households own their home · England 61%
14%
rent privately · England 21%
£681
average private rent a month, Cumberland council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
SchoolsB−
Cockermouth’s schools outperform 50% of towns in England on results
Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 2 primary schools: 59% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Two of its 3 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 47.9, with 47% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 3 schools →
Who lives here
Degrees are more common in Cockermouth than in Cumbria’s towns or across England’s towns: 41% of adults
Young adults of 15 to 24 account for nearly a tenth of the town. People 65 and over make up 28% of the town, higher than both Cumbria’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (18%). One measure of family life: 13% of residents are under 15. The age that splits Cockermouth in two is 50.3.
50.3median age
CockermouthCumbriaEngland
Ages · share of residents
28%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications15%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar16%
Degree level41%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
ONS Census 2021 · Cumbria and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
History
Cockermouth has 101 listed buildings, 6 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Cockermouth’s land, 26% lies in conservation areas, above Cumbria’s towns (7%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. Its listed buildings include Cockermouth Castle (Residence of Lord Egremont), Grade I. It has 114 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
Fewer commuters in Cockermouth work nearby than in Cumbria’s towns or England’s towns: 32% travel under 5 km
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 32% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 22% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, close to Cumbria’s towns (23%) and below England’s towns (27%). Driving is how 76% of commuters got to work at the census. Also worth knowing: 29% of commuters who live in Cockermouth also work there. A household here earns £49K a year before tax, on average.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Health
82% of people in Cockermouth rate their health good or very good
The nearest A&E to Cockermouth is West Cumberland Hospital, 12.2 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 74% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Nearly a fifth of residents have a disability, between Cumbria’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (17%).
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
Safety
Cockermouth records less burglary and damage per resident than Cumbria’s towns or England’s towns, at 6.1 per 1,000 a year
Of all the crimes, 53% were violence and sexual offences. Police recorded 376 crimes inside Cockermouth’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 22 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violent crime comes to 24.2 per 1,000 residents a year.
24.2violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearBSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 57% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual199
Public order48
Damage & arson44
Other theft25
Shoplifting21
Drugs14
Burglary8
Other crime8
Anti-social22
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.
24.2
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
6.1
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
3.1
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.
Nearby attractions
Wordworth House and 5 more in and around Cockermouth
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Cockermouth. Best known first.
William Wordsworth: Benjamin Haydon, Public domain · James Trafford: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Christopher Wordsworth: George Fennell Robson (1788–1833), Public domain · Ralph Neville, 2nd Earl of Westmorland: Charles Alfred Stothard, Public domain
Great Broughton and Little Broughton, Dearham, Stainburn, Flimby and Aspatria have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Cockermouth
Does Cockermouth flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
How many listed buildings are there in Cockermouth?
That is 4.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Cockermouth Castle (Residence of Lord Egremont). It also has 3 scheduled monuments.
About Cockermouth
Town in Cumbria, England
Cockermouth is a built-up area of 8,859 people, in the Allerdale 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
8,859 (Census 2021)
Council
Allerdale
County
Cumbria
Region
North West
Area
1.1 sq mi (2.9 km²)
ONS code
E63000255
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.
