Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 7,393 residents, it is a town in Derbyshire, East Midlands. 47% of households own their home outright.
Jobs & income is its strong suit: households earn a mean £51,480 a year, and 2.2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. With a B overall, Breaston and Draycott is better than 64% of UK towns. It ranks #19 of 59 in Derbyshire. Buying the median home, at £250,000, takes 5.2 years of household income in the Erewash council area. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for safety, B− for schools, C+ for health, B for walkability and C+ for hazard risk.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Breaston and Draycott 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 Breaston and Draycott is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 17 buildings inside Breaston and Draycott’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
17% 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 Breaston and Draycott.
Under-15s account for 14% of the population. Nearly a tenth of the population is aged 15 to 24, lower than both Derbyshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Breaston and Draycott has a median age of 50.1.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Breaston and Draycott | Derbyshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.7% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 33% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Derbyshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
63% of pupils at the town’s 2 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Both of its schools are shown below. GCSE results at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km: just over two in five pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 45.6.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firfield Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 413 | B− |
| Draycott Community Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 105 | A− |
14% rent privately, below both Derbyshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%). Council and housing-body homes hold 10% of households. From September 2023 to August 2026, 354 homes sold inside Breaston and Draycott’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £250,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £382,500 | 112 |
| Semi-detached | £245,000 | 154 |
| Terraced | £190,050 | 56 |
| Flat or maisonette | £135,000 | 32 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The nearest A&E to Breaston and Draycott is Queen's Medical Centre, 6.7 miles away. There is no GP practice locally: the nearest is 1.9 miles off. 81% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, higher than Derbyshire’s towns (80%) and near England’s towns (82%).
| Census 2021 | Breaston and Draycott | Derbyshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Breaston and Draycott’s listed buildings include the Church of St Michael, Grade I. Relative to its size, Breaston and Draycott keeps 23 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, below Derbyshire’s towns (26) and England’s towns (39) alike.
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.
15% of commuters left the car at home at the census, walking, cycling or taking public transport. Work in town: 7% of resident commuters. For every resident in work, Breaston and Draycott has 0.4 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 45% of recorded crime. Over the year to August 2026, 337 offences were reported in Breaston and Draycott, along with 60 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 11.8 reports per 1,000, higher than both Derbyshire’s towns (8.5) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Breaston and Draycott. Best known first.
CastleElvaston Castle2.8 km outside town, to the westAttractionAttractionLane's Garden Centre and Open Farm600 m outside town, to the northeastAttractionAttractionAttenborough Nature Centre4.3 km outside town, to the eastAttractionAttractionSaxon Cross3.6 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumShardlow Heritage Centre2.5 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
17 listed buildings in Breaston and Draycott, 1 of them Grade I.
Cotton Doubling Mill at Draycott Mills: Photo: Alan Murray-Rust · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Railway Bridge at Sk 446 334: Photo: Alan Murray-Rust · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Manor Farmhouse: Photo: Alan Murray-Rust · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Draycott Hall and Attached Outbuildings: Photo: Alan Murray-Rust · CC BY-SA 2.0
8 notable people were born in Breaston and Draycott.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breaston and Draycott | 7,393 | — | B | B | B− | C+ |
| Long Eaton | 37,815 | 1.7 | C+ | A− | C− | C |
| Sandiacre | 9,373 | 2.2 | B | B+ | C | C |
| Shardlow | 1,190 | 2.2 | — | A | C | B− |
| Borrowash | 7,171 | 2.2 | B+ | B | B | C+ |
| Stapleford | 15,041 | 3.3 | B− | B | C− | C |
| Aston-on-Trent | 2,433 | 3.6 | — | A | A | B+ |
| Castle Donington | 7,344 | 3.8 | A− | B+ | B− | B− |
Shardlow and Aston-on-Trent have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Close to the typical UK town: the median sale over three years was £250,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £135,000, terraced houses £190,050, semi-detached houses £245,000 and detached houses £382,500.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Derbyshire, England
Breaston and Draycott is a built-up area of 7,393 people, in the Erewash 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.