Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 902 in Cumbria, North West.
Shap has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures on this page are still real.
The 3 things Shap does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Shap’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
37% 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 Shap.
People 65 and over make up 28% of the town, higher than both Cumbria’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (18%). Nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24. The median resident of Shap is 50.4 years old. Degrees are held by 22% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Shap | Cumbria | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.5% | 9.9% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 28% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 27% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 22% | 28% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cumbria and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
41% of pupils at the one primary school within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its only school is listed below. The town’s primary school has 88 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shap Endowed CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 88 | D |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 22% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Driving is how 84% of commuters got to work at the census. 15% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below both Cumbria’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (27%). A household here earns £43K a year before tax, on average. Of the commuters living in Shap, 6% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
14% rent privately, close to Cumbria’s towns (15%) and below England’s towns (21%). Social renters account for 13% of households. The median sale, £190,000, comes from 43 standard sales inside Shap’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £260,000 | 7 |
| Semi-detached | £191,000 | 14 |
| Terraced | £190,000 | 17 |
| Flat or maisonette | £120,000 | 5 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
There were 0.4 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below Cumbria’s towns (3.3) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Police recorded 24 crimes inside Shap’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences were a third of the crimes.
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.
At the census, 78% of people in Shap called their health good or very good, below both Cumbria’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (82%). One GP practice serves the town; 98% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 4.6% of residents report bad or very bad health.
| Census 2021 | Shap | Cumbria | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 6.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Shap has 19 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade II*. Homes from before 1919 make up 37% of the total, above both Cumbria’s towns (28%) and England’s towns (16%). It has one scheduled monument.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shap | 902 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Appleby-in-Westmorland | 3,233 | 8.1 | D | C− | C− | B+ |
| Penrith | 16,705 | 9.7 | C− | D | D | C+ |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 8.6 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
An older village. At the 2021 Census, 28% of residents were 65 or over and 30% were 45 to 64, against 18% and 25% across England’s towns; 13% were under 15.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £190,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £120,000, terraced houses £190,000, semi-detached houses £191,000 and detached houses £260,000. Private rents in the Westmorland and Furness council area averaged £816 a month in August 2026.
Village in Cumbria, England
Shap is a built-up area of 902 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.