Workington grades D− overall against UK towns: behind almost every UK town. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 22% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D−): 59.3 violent and sexual offences and 22.1 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 6%. The median home sold for £132,000 in the last three years, 3.2 times what households in the Allerdale 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 Workington is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Workington.
Safety
Workington has more crime per resident than 96% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Burglary and damage came to 22.1 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Cumbria’s towns (8.4) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 2,662 crimes inside Workington’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 186 reports of anti-social behaviour. Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Workington has more crime per resident than 94% of them.
59.3violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearD−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 6% 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 & sexual1,281
Public order299
Damage & arson280
Shoplifting278
Other theft147
Drugs102
Burglary95
Other crime71
Anti-social186
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.
59.3
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
22.1
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
10.2
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 11 schools →
Health
Bad health is more common in Workington than in Cumbria’s towns or across England’s towns: 7.8% of residents
Workington sits above both Cumbria’s towns (6.1%) and England’s towns (5.2%) on this measure. Women here live to 79.8 on average and men to 74.4 (2019–23). 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.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
History
Workington keeps more of its old housing than Cumbria or England’s towns: 34% built before 1919
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
On this, Workington is above both Cumbria’s towns (28%) and England’s towns (16%). Workington has 46 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 4 Grade II*.
Troy Donockley: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0 · Mark Cueto: Charlie from UK, CC BY 2.0 · Damien Moore: Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0 · Paul Workman: Duncan.Hull, CC BY-SA 4.0
High Harrington, Stainburn, Distington, Flimby, Moresby Parks and Great Broughton and Little Broughton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Workington
Is Workington safe?
Police recorded 2,662 crimes inside Workington’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 48% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Are schools in Workington good?
GCSE results trail 90% of towns in England, and primary results trail 95% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
How many listed buildings are there in Workington?
It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Is Workington expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £132,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £75,000, terraced houses £105,000, semi-detached houses £150,000 and detached houses £230,000.
About Workington
Large town in Cumbria, England
Workington is a built-up area of 21,276 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
21,276 (Census 2021)
Council
Allerdale
County
Cumbria
Region
North West
Area
2.8 sq mi (7.3 km²)
ONS code
E63000268
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.
