Whitehaven grades D overall against UK towns: better than 9% of UK towns, and #15 of 23 in Cumbria. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 17% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is health (D): life expectancy 75.9 for men, 78.5 for women. The median home sold for £160,000 in the last three years, 3.6 times what households in the Copeland council area earn in a year.
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 Whitehaven is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Whitehaven.
Health
Life expectancy in Whitehaven is shorter than in 96% of UK towns
Women here live to 78.5 on average and men to 75.9 (2019–23). At the census, 7.1% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above both Cumbria’s towns (6.1%) and England’s towns (5.2%). 3 GP practices serve the town; 72% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 14 schools →
Safety
Violent crime runs high in Whitehaven: 52 per 1,000 residents a year, above Cumbria’s towns and England’s towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
On this, Whitehaven is above both Cumbria’s towns (27) and England’s towns (22). Burglary and damage come to 14.5 per 1,000 residents a year. Police recorded 2,199 crimes inside Whitehaven’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 155 reports of anti-social behaviour.
52violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 15% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 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 & sexual1,227
Public order249
Damage & arson225
Other theft122
Drugs93
Shoplifting79
Other crime76
Burglary46
Anti-social155
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.
52
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
14.5
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
11.5
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
History
Homes from before 1919 in Whitehaven: 15%, against 28% in Cumbria’s towns and 16% in England’s towns
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Whitehaven’s listed buildings include Church of St James the Greater, Grade I. Whitehaven has 170 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 5 Grade II*. For its size, Whitehaven has 74 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, close to Cumbria’s towns (45) and above England’s towns (39).
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
Degrees are less common in Whitehaven than in Cumbria’s towns or across England’s towns: 24% of adults
Whitehaven sits below both Cumbria’s towns (28%) and England’s towns (34%) on this measure. Those 65 and older account for 21% of residents. Half the people of Whitehaven are older than 44.3.
44.3median age
WhitehavenCumbriaEngland
Ages · share of residents
21%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications23%
Apprenticeship8%
A levels or similar18%
Degree level24%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
WomenEnglandMen
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Dean Henderson: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Scott Carson: The original uploader was Jonesy702 at English Wikipedia., Public domain · Brad Kavanagh: FC Brad Kavanagh, CC BY 2.0 · Jonny Edgar: F1Marv, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jackie Sewell: footysphere from Sheffield, England, CC BY-SA 2.0
Moresby Parks, Frizington, St Bees, Distington and High Harrington have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Whitehaven
How many listed buildings are there in Whitehaven?
That is 3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St James the Greater. It also has 4 scheduled monuments.
Is Whitehaven safe?
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: 85% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less. Police recorded 2,199 crimes inside Whitehaven’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 56% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Does Whitehaven flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Is Whitehaven expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £160,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £90,000, terraced houses £122,750, semi-detached houses £165,000 and detached houses £275,000.
About Whitehaven
Large town in Cumbria, England
Whitehaven is a built-up area of 22,952 people, in the Copeland 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
22,952 (Census 2021)
Council
Copeland
County
Cumbria
Region
North West
Area
2.9 sq mi (7.4 km²)
ONS code
E63000326
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.
