Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 519 in Cumbria, North West.
Grasmere has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures on this page are still real.
The 3 things Grasmere does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Grasmere’s built-up area.
55% 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 Grasmere.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Grasmere sits above both Cumbria’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (27%) on this measure. The car carried 50% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grasmere CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 89 | A |
That puts Grasmere above both Cumbria’s towns (£219K) and England’s towns (£308K). Social housing holds 32% of households.
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
On this, Grasmere is above both Cumbria’s towns (27.1) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 44 crimes inside Grasmere’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 1 reports of anti-social behaviour. Burglary and damage come to 11.6 per 1,000 residents a year.
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
In the comparison, Grasmere comes below both Cumbria’s towns (6.1%) and England’s towns (5.2%). The nearest A&E to Grasmere is West Cumberland Hospital, 22.1 miles away. 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.
| Census 2021 | Grasmere | Cumbria | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.5% | 6.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For Grasmere, that is above both Cumbria’s towns (28%) and England’s towns (16%). Grasmere has 289 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents. Grasmere’s listed buildings include Church of St Oswald, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Children under 15 make up 13% of residents. People 65 and over make up 28% of the town, above both Cumbria’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are 6.6% of the population.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
| Grasmere | Cumbria | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 6.6% | 9.9% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 28% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.5% | 8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 39% | 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 Grasmere. Best known first.
Historic houseRydal Mount2.5 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseRydal Hall2.7 km outside town, to the southeastGardenGardenWordsworth Daffodil Gardenin townMuseumMuseumThe Armitt Museum & Library4.4 km outside town, to the southeastHistoric houseHistoric house · National TrustAllan Bank200 m 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grasmere | 519 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ambleside | 2,624 | 3.4 | B− | D− | C+ | B+ |
| Windermere | 4,819 | 7.8 | C | D− | C | A− |
| Bowness-on-Windermere | 2,290 | 8.2 | — | D− | D− | A |
| Staveley | 1,466 | 10 | — | D− | A− | A |
| Keswick | 4,465 | 10 | C+ | D− | C | A− |
Bowness-on-Windermere and Staveley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
15 on Historic England’s list, 1 of them Grade I and 2 Grade II*. That is 11.9 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Oswald.
Private rents in the Westmorland and Furness council area averaged £816 a month in August 2026.
Band D council tax in Grasmere is £2,498 for 2026–27, more than in 63% 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.
Village in Cumbria, England
Grasmere is a built-up area of 519 people, in the South Lakeland 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.