Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Derbyshire, East Midlands has a population of 8,790.
Cheap to live in, with trade-offs. Its lowest grade is for safety — police record 57 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 17.2 home and vehicle crimes. Only 5% of UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people have more crime per resident. Health is a weak point (D): men here can expect to live to 75.5, women to 80. Prices are modest for what you get: homes sell for a median £190,000, about 3.9 times local household income. Add walkability to its strengths (A−) — on the way to work, 20% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. The overall grade lands at C−, better than 24% of UK towns. That places it #48 of 59 in Derbyshire.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS.
The 3 things Alfreton 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 Alfreton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 18 buildings inside Alfreton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
23% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Alfreton. Best known first.
Historic houseAlfreton Hallin town
CastleCodnor Castle4.9 km outside town, to the south
Historic houseCarnfield Hall200 m outside town, to the east
Heritage railwayMidland Railway – Butterley2.4 km outside town, to the southRuinsRuins · English HeritageWingfield Manor2.4 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumWest Shed Experience2.4 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Alfreton.
The 15-to-24 age group makes up one in ten residents. Line up the people of Alfreton by age and the one in the middle is 42.2. Children under 15 count for 17% of the people here.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Alfreton | Derbyshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.7% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 27% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 21% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Derbyshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
GCSE results at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km: 34% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 43. Christ the King Catholic Voluntary Academy’s results beat 94% of schools in England like it. At the town’s 3 primary schools, 58% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodbridge Junior SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 226 | D |
| David Nieper AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 810 | C |
| Christ the King Catholic Voluntary AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 225 | A |
Police figures for Alfreton’s built-up area: 1,025 crimes and 155 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. There were 18.1 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both Derbyshire’s towns (8.5) and England’s towns (7.8). 45% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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.
A disability affects 24% of people in Alfreton. At the census, 75% of people in Alfreton called their health good or very good, lower than both Derbyshire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). Also worth knowing: men in Alfreton can expect to live to 75.5, women to 80 (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Alfreton is King's Mill Hospital, 6.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Alfreton | Derbyshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 75% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.9% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 24% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
Owners make up 59% of households, below Derbyshire’s towns (67%) and close to England’s towns (61%). Half of the 389 standard sales inside Alfreton’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £190,000. Private rents average £799 a month across the Amber Valley council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £300,000 | 109 |
| Semi-detached | £170,000 | 142 |
| Terraced | £155,000 | 127 |
| Flat or maisonette | £154,950 | 11 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 18% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For every resident in work, Alfreton has 1.1 jobs. Household income came to £41K a year before tax, below both Derbyshire’s towns (£50K) and England’s towns (£55K). Working from home was the norm for 18% of workers at the census.
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.
Nearly a quarter of homes were built before 1919. Grade II* covers 1 of them. Listed buildings per head: 20 for every 10,000 residents of Alfreton.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
18 listed buildings in Alfreton.
George Hotel: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Alfreton Hall: Photo: Kmtextor · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2, King Street: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · House of Confinement: Photo: Kmtextor · CC BY-SA 4.0
17 notable people were born in Alfreton.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfreton | 8,790 | — | C− | A | D | D |
| Somercotes and Swanwick | 15,105 | 1.6 | C | A | C− | C− |
| South Normanton and Pinxton | 16,028 | 2.2 | C | B+ | C | D |
| South Wingfield | 1,079 | 2.2 | — | A− | B− | B+ |
| Shirland and Stonebroom | 3,988 | 2.3 | C+ | A− | C+ | C− |
| Newton and Blackwell | 3,053 | 2.3 | C+ | B+ | C | C− |
| Morton | 1,335 | 2.9 | — | C+ | B+ | C− |
| Ironville | 1,824 | 3 | — | A | D | D |
South Wingfield, Morton and Ironville have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
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 £154,950, terraced houses £155,000, semi-detached houses £170,000 and detached houses £300,000.
Town in Derbyshire, England
Alfreton is a built-up area of 8,790 people, in the Amber Valley 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.