Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 1,395 in Derbyshire, East Midlands.
Cromford has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Its strongest subject is cost of living (A): median sale £257,500, 4.8 years of area income; rent £819 a month. Its weakest is hazard risk (D): 7.8% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea.
The 3 things Cromford 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 Cromford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 83 buildings inside Cromford’s built-up area, 10 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
40% 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 Cromford. Best known first.
MuseumNational Tramway Museum3.8 km outside town, to the east
Historic houseRiber Castle2 km outside town, to the northeast
Heritage railwaySteeple Grange Light Railway600 m outside town, to the southwest
Theme parkGulliver's Kingdom700 m outside town, to the north
MuseumNational Stone Centre800 m outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cromford.
Degrees are held by 35% of adults, higher than Derbyshire’s towns (29%) and near England’s towns (34%). 33% of residents are 65 or over. The middle age in Cromford is 54.3. People aged 15 to 24 are 7.3% of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Cromford | Derbyshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.3% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 32% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 33% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 35% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Derbyshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the 7 primary schools within 3 km, 56% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its only school is listed below. GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 45% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 46.7.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cromford Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 75 | D |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Cromford’s listed buildings include the Bridge at Cromford Mill, Grade I. Historic England’s list names 83 listed buildings locally: 10 Grade I, 3 Grade II*. It is part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. Conservation areas cover nearly half of the town’s land, above both Derbyshire’s towns (6%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Renting privately is how 14% of households live. From September 2023 to August 2026, 60 homes sold inside Cromford’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £257,500. That is the middle of 60 standard sales inside the town’s built-up area over three years, against £277,000 in the typical UK town.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £350,000 | 17 |
| Semi-detached | £265,250 | 18 |
| Terraced | £217,500 | 22 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 60 crimes and 9 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Cromford’s built-up area. Violent crime ran at 16.7 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Derbyshire’s towns (25.9) and England’s towns (22). 53% 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 31% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
1.9% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026. The car took just over four in five commuters, above Derbyshire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Also worth knowing: there are 1.3 jobs in Cromford for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
78% of people in Cromford rate their own health good or very good. At the census, 6.6% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, higher than both Derbyshire’s towns (6%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Seeing a GP means leaving Cromford: the nearest practice is 2 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Cromford | Derbyshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.6% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
6 notable people were born in Cromford.
George Turner: Keene studio, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cromford | 1,395 | — | — | A | A− | C+ |
| Wirksworth | 4,904 | 1.7 | B | A | C+ | B− |
| Matlock | 11,990 | 2.6 | B+ | A | C | B− |
| Tansley | 1,176 | 2.8 | — | B | A | B+ |
| Crich | 2,070 | 3.8 | — | C+ | B+ | B+ |
| Darley Dale | 3,985 | 4.4 | A− | A− | B | B− |
| Ambergate | 1,566 | 5.1 | — | B+ | B | B |
| South Wingfield | 1,079 | 5.3 | — | A− | B− | B+ |
Tansley, Crich, Ambergate and South Wingfield have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 24.4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Bridge at Cromford Mill. It also has 2 scheduled monuments. Part of it is in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Against all UK towns, it grades A−.
Village in Derbyshire, England
Cromford is a built-up area of 1,395 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.