Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 1,129 in Cumbria, North West.
Wetheral has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Its strongest subject is health (A+): life expectancy 82.6 for men, 85.4 for women. Its weakest is cost of living (D−): median sale £356,250, 8.7 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.
The 3 things Wetheral 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 Wetheral is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Wetheral’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
20% 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 Wetheral.
Wetheral sits above both Cumbria’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (18%) on this measure. 11% of residents are children under 15. Half the people of Wetheral are older than 58.5.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Wetheral | Cumbria | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 11% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 6.7% | 9.9% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 14% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 28% | 25% |
| 65+ | 37% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 46% | 28% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cumbria and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
That puts Wetheral above both Cumbria’s towns (68%) and England’s towns (61%). 3% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £432,500 | 40 |
| Semi-detached | £270,000 | 16 |
| Terraced | £240,000 | 5 |
| Flat or maisonette | £182,000 | 17 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
On this, Wetheral is below both Cumbria’s towns (6.1%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Wetheral has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 2.4 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 | Wetheral | Cumbria | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.9% | 6.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
In the comparison, Wetheral comes below both Cumbria’s towns (27.2) and England’s towns (22). Burglary and damage come to 4.4 per 1,000 residents a year. Police recorded 31 crimes inside Wetheral’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 1 reports of anti-social behaviour.
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For Wetheral, that is below both Cumbria’s towns (53%) and England’s towns (45%). At the census, 9% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For its size, Wetheral has 177 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above both Cumbria’s towns (45) and England’s towns (39). 20% of homes were built before 1919. Wetheral’s listed buildings include Walls of East Range of Wetheral Priory, East of Gatehouse, Grade I.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wetheral | 1,129 | — | — | D− | A | A+ |
| Scotby | 1,830 | 1.6 | — | D− | A+ | A− |
| Warwick Bridge | 1,232 | 1.8 | — | D | B+ | A− |
| Carlisle | 77,729 | 4.1 | D | C+ | D | D |
| Houghton | 1,486 | 4.4 | — | D | A | B+ |
| Brampton | 4,187 | 5.9 | C− | C− | D | C+ |
| Dalston | 1,541 | 6.4 | — | D− | B | B |
| Longtown | 2,176 | 10 | — | C+ | D | C |
Scotby, Warwick Bridge, Houghton, Dalston and Longtown have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 7.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Walls of East Range of Wetheral Priory, East of Gatehouse. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £356,250, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £182,000, terraced houses £240,000, semi-detached houses £270,000 and detached houses £432,500.
Village in Cumbria, England
Wetheral is a built-up area of 1,129 people, in the Carlisle 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.