Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village in Cumbria, North West, home to 1,871 people.
Walking, cycling and public transport work well here (A−): on the way to work, 22% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Cost of living is its weak spot (C−) — a typical home costs £235,000 and rent runs £816 a month. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for safety, B− for schools, B for health, C+ for jobs & income and B− for hazard risk. Over-65s are a quarter of the population.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency. With fewer than 2,500 residents, Milnthorpe has subject grades but no overall one.
ONS publishes one rent for all of Westmorland and Furness, so this town's Cost Grade uses house prices and council tax only.
The thing Milnthorpe 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 Milnthorpe is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
With fewer than 2,500 residents, Milnthorpe has subject grades but no overall one.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 7 buildings inside Milnthorpe’s built-up area.
23% 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 1905.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Milnthorpe.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 17% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
17% of workers worked mainly from home, below Cumbria’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (31%) alike. Average household income comes to £48K a year before tax. About 18% of its commuters stay in Milnthorpe for work. For every resident in work, Milnthorpe has 0.8 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Its two schools are listed below. At the 3 primary schools within 3 km, nearly two thirds of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 44.1, with 38% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milnthorpe Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 176 | A− |
| Dallam SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 761 | C+ |
27% of adults hold a degree, near Cumbria’s towns (28%) and lower than England’s towns (34%). The median resident of Milnthorpe is 45.9 years old. People aged 15 to 24 are just over a tenth 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.
| Milnthorpe | Cumbria | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 9.9% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 28% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 9.4% | 8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 28% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cumbria and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Social housing holds a fifth of households, above Cumbria’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. The £235,000 median rests on 75 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026). Owners make up 67% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £375,000 | 20 |
| Semi-detached | £239,000 | 34 |
| Terraced | £209,500 | 19 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The nearest A&E to Milnthorpe is Royal Lancaster Infirmary, 13.9 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 85% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Also worth knowing: women here live to 85 on average and men to 80.8 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Milnthorpe | Cumbria | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.3% | 6.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as 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.
23% of its homes were built before 1919, between Cumbria’s towns (28%) and England’s towns (16%). Conservation areas cover 9% of Milnthorpe’s land, above Cumbria’s towns (7%) and England’s towns (7%) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Violence and sexual offences were 63% of the crimes. Over the year to August 2026, 89 offences were reported in Milnthorpe. There were 1.1 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below Cumbria’s towns (3.5) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Milnthorpe. Best known first.
Historic houseLevens Hall2.8 km outside town, to the north
ZooLakeland Wildlife Oasis3.4 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumHeron Corn Mill1 km outside town, to the southAttractionAttractionLakeland Maze Farm Park4.8 km outside town, to the northPhotos: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milnthorpe | 1,871 | — | — | C− | B− | B |
| Holme | 1,477 | 2.3 | — | C− | A− | A− |
| Levens | 1,020 | 2.9 | — | D− | A+ | A+ |
| Arnside | 2,231 | 3.3 | — | D− | A+ | B+ |
| Burton-in-Kendal | 1,341 | 3.7 | — | D− | A+ | A+ |
| Silverdale | 1,056 | 4.7 | — | D− | A | B− |
| Warton (Lancaster) | 1,801 | 5.6 | — | D | A | B− |
| Grange-over-Sands | 4,047 | 6.5 | B− | D− | A− | B |
Holme, Levens, Arnside, Burton-in-Kendal, Silverdale and Warton (Lancaster) have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Band D council tax in Milnthorpe is £2,506 for 2026–27, more than in 66% 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
Milnthorpe is a built-up area of 1,871 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.