Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 21,161 in Derbyshire, East Midlands.
Dronfield grades A overall against UK towns: better than 86% of UK towns, and #8 of 59 in Derbyshire. Its strongest subject is jobs & income (A): mean household income £54,423; 1.6% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Its weakest is walkability (C+): 12% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The median home sold for £287,500 in the last three years, 6.1 times what households in the North East Derbyshire council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Dronfield 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 Dronfield is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 41 buildings inside Dronfield’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
7% 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 Dronfield.
In the comparison, Dronfield comes above both Derbyshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are 8.8% of the population. Dronfield has a median age of 49.9.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Dronfield | Derbyshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.8% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 29% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 34% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Derbyshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
William Levick Primary School’s results beat 81% of schools in England like it. Three of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dronfield Junior SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 319 | B− |
| Dronfield Henry Fanshawe SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,810 | B+ |
| William Levick Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 207 | A− |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violence came to 15.9 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Derbyshire’s towns (25.9) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 837 crimes inside Dronfield’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 96 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 38% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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
For Dronfield, that is below both Derbyshire’s towns (6%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Women here live to 85.4 on average and men to 81.5 (2019–23). 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 | Dronfield | Derbyshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Dronfield has 41 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 4 Grade II*. 7% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 32% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Dronfield sits below both Derbyshire’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%) on this measure. 86% of commuters drove to work at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
That puts Dronfield above both Derbyshire’s towns (67%) and England’s towns (61%). 8% of households rent privately.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £370,000 | 348 |
| Semi-detached | £265,000 | 357 |
| Terraced | £215,000 | 97 |
| Flat or maisonette | £145,000 | 45 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Dronfield. Best known first.
MuseumBishop's House4 km outside town, to the north
MuseumAbbeydale Industrial Hamlet2.9 km outside town, to the northwest
Historic houseBarlow Woodseats Hall3.2 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumRevolution House3 km outside town, to the southeastAttractionAttractionAbbeydale Miniature Railway2.6 km outside town, to the northwestZooZooGraves Park Animal Farm2.5 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
41 listed buildings in Dronfield, 1 of them Grade I.
Aston End: Photo: Roger Templeman · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · The Green Dragon Inn: Photo: Mark Rickus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lea Road Bridge (TJC1 26): Photo: Mark Rickus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Old Grammar School: Photo: Mark Rickus · CC BY-SA 4.0
10 notable people were born in Dronfield.
Gary Cahill: Кирилл Венедиктов, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Rick Allen: Raph_PH, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dronfield | 21,161 | — | A | C+ | B+ | B |
| Chesterfield | 76,394 | 4.3 | C | B | D | C− |
| Eckington | 7,435 | 4.4 | C− | A− | C | C− |
| Brimington | 11,068 | 4.7 | B− | B | C− | C− |
| Sheffield | 500,520 | 5.1 | C− | B− | D | C− |
| Staveley | 15,151 | 5.3 | D | B | D | D− |
| Holymoorside | 1,363 | 5.6 | — | C | A | B+ |
| Renishaw | 2,425 | 6 | — | A | B− | D |
Holymoorside and Renishaw have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results beat 79% of towns in England, and primary results beat 77% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Large town in Derbyshire, England
Dronfield is a built-up area of 21,161 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.