Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 8,915 in Derbyshire, East Midlands.
Clay Cross grades D overall against UK towns: better than 7% of UK towns, and #57 of 59 in Derbyshire. Its strongest subject is cost of living (B+): median sale £214,500, 4.5 years of area income; rent £791 a month. Its weakest is health (D−): life expectancy 75.9 for men, 80.2 for women.
The 3 things Clay Cross 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 Clay Cross is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 7 buildings inside Clay Cross’s built-up area.
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 Clay Cross.
People 65 and over make up 21% of the town, near Derbyshire’s towns (20%) and higher than England’s towns (18%). The age that splits Clay Cross in two is 43.5. The 15-to-24 age group makes up one in ten residents.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Clay Cross | Derbyshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 27% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.7% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 19% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Derbyshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 2 primary schools: 53% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 37% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 43.4. Some 658 pupils attend Clay Cross’s two primaries.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharley Park Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 411 | C− |
At the census, 9.5% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, higher than both Derbyshire’s towns (6%) and England’s towns (5.2%). A disability affects 26% of people in Clay Cross. Men in Clay Cross can expect to live to 75.9, women to 80.2 (2019–23). Also worth knowing: 2 GP practices serve the town; 54% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Clay Cross | Derbyshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 71% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 9.5% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 26% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 959 offences in Clay Cross and 169 cases of nuisance behaviour. Each year, 14.9 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded per 1,000 residents. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Clay Cross has more crime per resident than 95% of them. There were 23.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above Derbyshire’s towns (8.5) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 17% of the total, below Derbyshire’s towns (23%) but above England’s towns (16%). Relative to its size, Clay Cross keeps 8 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Owners make up 53% of households, lower than both Derbyshire’s towns (67%) and England’s towns (61%). 15% of households rent privately. 384 standard sales inside Clay Cross’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £214,500.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £290,000 | 148 |
| Semi-detached | £200,000 | 138 |
| Terraced | £130,000 | 89 |
| Flat or maisonette | £105,000 | 9 |
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.
The car carried just over four in five commuters at the census. About just over a fifth of its commuters stay in Clay Cross for work. For every resident in work, Clay Cross has 1 jobs. Household income came to £36K a year before tax, below both Derbyshire’s towns (£50K) and England’s towns (£55K).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
7 listed buildings in Clay Cross.
Church of St Bartholomew: Photo: Phil Sangwell from United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0 · Danesmoor War Memorial: Photo: Phil Sangwell from United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0
10 notable people were born in Clay Cross.
Dennis Skinner: Robin Hood, CC BY 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Cross | 8,915 | — | D | B+ | D | D− |
| Old Tupton | 4,190 | 1.4 | C | B+ | C− | C− |
| Pilsley and Lower Pilsley | 3,470 | 1.8 | B− | A− | C+ | C |
| North Wingfield and Holmewood | 9,545 | 2 | D | B+ | D | D |
| Morton | 1,335 | 2 | — | C+ | B+ | C− |
| Grassmoor | 3,528 | 2.5 | C− | A− | D | D |
| Wingerworth | 6,404 | 2.5 | A | B− | A− | B+ |
| Shirland and Stonebroom | 3,988 | 2.7 | C+ | A− | C+ | C− |
Morton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Police recorded 959 crimes inside Clay Cross’ built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 55% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
GCSE results trail 72% of towns in England, and primary results trail 86% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Clay Cross has 2 state schools; places are handled by Derbyshire council.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £214,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £105,000, terraced houses £130,000, semi-detached houses £200,000 and detached houses £290,000.
Town in Derbyshire, England
Clay Cross is a built-up area of 8,915 people, in the North East Derbyshire 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.
