Keswick grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 35% of UK towns, and #6 of 23 in Cumbria. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 44% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is cost of living (D−): median sale £350,000, 8.5 years of area income; rent £681 a month.
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 Keswick is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Keswick.
Who lives here
Children make up only 12% of Keswick, fewer than in Cumbria’s towns and across England’s towns
Among adults, 36% have a degree. 30% of residents are 65 or over, above both Cumbria’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (18%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for 8% of residents. Half of Keswick is older than 52.8, half younger.
52.8median age
KeswickCumbriaEngland
Ages · share of residents
30%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications17%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level36%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenEnglandMen
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.
ONS Census 2021 · Cumbria and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
SchoolsC+
Results at Keswick’s schools trail 55% of towns in England
52% of pupils at the 2 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Both of the town’s schools appear below. Keswick’s one primary and one secondary have 1,474 pupils between them.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 2 schools →
HousingCost of living grade D−
Social housing is more common in Keswick than in Cumbria’s towns or across England’s towns, at 24% of households
Private renters make up 12% of households, lower than both Cumbria’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (21%). Only one of the 23 towns in Cumbria costs more to buy into than Keswick, whose median sale is £350,000. Home ownership stands at 63% of households.
£350Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Keswick£350K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£500,000
50
Semi-detached
£370,000
38
Terraced
£350,000
65
Flat or maisonette
£226,500
62
63%
of households own their home · England 61%
12%
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
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
Fewer commuters in Keswick drive than in Cumbria’s towns or across England’s towns: 54%
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 27% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
56% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. Household income came to £39K a year before tax, below both Cumbria’s towns (£45K) and England’s towns (£55K). There are 1.6 jobs in Keswick for each resident in work.
44%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving54%
On foot39%
Bicycle3%
Bus2%
56%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
27%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£39K
mean household income, before tax
1.9%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
A+
Walkability: more walkable than almost every UK town
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
History
Old homes shape Keswick: 32% were built before 1919, more than in Cumbria’s towns and across England’s towns
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Listed buildings per head: 110 for every 10,000 residents of Keswick. The town’s listed buildings include Greta House, Grade I. Of the town’s land, 20% lies in conservation areas, above both Cumbria’s towns (7%) and England’s towns (7%). Historic England’s list names 49 listed buildings in the town: 1 Grade I, 3 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Health
Bad health is less common in Keswick than in Cumbria’s towns or across England’s towns: 4.3% of residents
The nearest A&E to Keswick is West Cumberland Hospital, 18 miles away. Men in Keswick can expect to live to 82.2, women to 85.4 (2019–23). One GP practice serves the town; nearly four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Safety
Violence is recorded more often in Keswick than in Cumbria’s towns or across England’s towns: 31.5 per 1,000 residents a year
Violence and sexual offences accounted for just over two fifths of recorded crime. Police figures for Keswick’s built-up area: 295 crimes and 37 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Burglary and damage came to 11.3 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Cumbria’s towns (8.4) and England’s towns (9.4). Also worth knowing: among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Keswick has more crime per resident than 72% of them.
31.5violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearCSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 28% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people: 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 & sexual121
Shoplifting37
Damage & arson35
Public order33
Other theft26
Drugs10
Burglary8
Vehicle crime8
Anti-social37
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.
31.5
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
11.3
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
8.8
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.
Frederic William Henry Myers: William Clarke Wontner, Public domain · Eliza Lynn Linton: not stated, Public domain · Francis Derwent Wood: George Washington Lambert (died 1930), Public domain · Derwent Hall Caine: Bain, Public domain
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
How many listed buildings are there in Keswick?
That is 4.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Greta House.
About Keswick
Town in Cumbria, England
Keswick is a built-up area of 4,465 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
4,465 (Census 2021)
Council
Allerdale
County
Cumbria
Region
North West
Area
0.8 sq mi (2.2 km²)
ONS code
E63000295
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.
