Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,275 in Derbyshire, East Midlands.
Bakewell grades A− overall against UK towns: better than 76% of UK towns, and #12 of 59 in Derbyshire. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 27% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (D−): 20% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £375,000 in the last three years, 7 times what households in the Derbyshire Dales council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Bakewell 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 Bakewell is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 173 buildings inside Bakewell’s built-up area, 4 of them Grade I, and 6 scheduled monuments.
31% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1890.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Bakewell. Best known first.
MuseumOld House Museumin town
Historic houseChatsworth House3.8 km outside town, to the eastHistoric houseHistoric houseHaddon Hall1.5 km outside town, to the southeastAttractionAttractionAndle Stone4.7 km outside town, to the southeastAttractionAttractionCork Stone5 km outside town, to the southeastRuinsRuinsMagpie Mine3.3 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bakewell.
Bakewell sits above both Derbyshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%) on this measure. 10% of residents are children under 15. Half the people of Bakewell are older than 58.2.
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Bakewell | Derbyshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 10% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.2% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 14% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 38% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 41% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Derbyshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Lady Manners School’s results beat 82% of schools in England like it. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakewell Methodist AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 39 | C+ |
| Lady Manners SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,405 | A− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
That puts Bakewell above both Derbyshire’s towns (23) and England’s towns (39). Bakewell’s listed buildings include Church of All Saints, Grade I. Bakewell has 173 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 4 Grade I, 3 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
70% of commuters drove, below Derbyshire’s towns (80%) and close to England’s towns (70%). 1.8% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Police recorded 220 crimes inside Bakewell’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 36 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 40% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking, so it runs higher than U.S. “violent crime”.
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
On this, Bakewell is above both Derbyshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Bakewell is Chesterfield Royal Hospital, 11.8 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 | Bakewell | Derbyshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 24% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
In the comparison, Bakewell comes below both Derbyshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £507,475 | 58 |
| Semi-detached | £377,500 | 52 |
| Terraced | £280,000 | 23 |
| Flat or maisonette | £240,000 | 19 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
173 listed buildings in Bakewell, 4 of them Grade I.
Church of All Saints: Photo: Andy Jamieson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Holme Hall: Photo: Alan Heardman · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Burton Closes: Photo: Stephen Richards · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Lumford Mill (Original Building Only): Photo: Dave.Dunford · CC BY-SA 4.0
9 notable people were born in Bakewell.
Ivor Grattan-Guinness: Renate Schmid, Copyright is with MFO, CC BY-SA 2.0 de · Annie Last: Cs-wolves, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bakewell | 3,275 | — | A− | B | C+ | B |
| Baslow | 1,172 | 3.4 | — | B− | A− | A |
| Calver | 1,073 | 4.1 | — | B− | A | A |
| Darley Dale | 3,985 | 4.6 | A− | A− | B | B− |
| Tideswell | 1,554 | 6 | — | A− | B+ | A |
| Matlock | 11,990 | 7.2 | B+ | A | C | B− |
| Holymoorside | 1,363 | 7.6 | — | C | A | B+ |
| Hathersage | 1,861 | 8.1 | — | B− | B+ | A |
Baslow, Calver, Tideswell, Holymoorside and Hathersage have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
That is 21.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Church of All Saints. It also has 6 scheduled monuments.
Secondary schools stand out: GCSE results beat 90% of towns in England. Primary results beat 71%. Bakewell has 3 state schools; places are handled by Derbyshire council.
Town in Derbyshire, England
Bakewell is a built-up area of 3,275 people, in the Derbyshire Dales 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.