Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 24,264 people live in this large town, in Derbyshire, East Midlands.
Easy on the wallet, harder on other counts. Its weakest is safety: police record 45.3 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 16 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 79%. Health is weaker too — life expectancy 77.8 for men, 81.5 for women. Housing is within reach: homes sell for a median £192,000, about 3.9 times local household income. The overall grade lands at C−, better than nearly a quarter of UK towns. That places it #49 of 59 in Derbyshire.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS.
The 3 things Heanor 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 Heanor is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 11 buildings inside Heanor’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
29% 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 Heanor. Best known first.
CastleCodnor Castle2 km outside town, to the north
Abbey or prioryBeauvale Priory4.1 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumD.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum900 m outside town, to the east
Heritage railwayMidland Railway – Butterley4.3 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumErewash Museum3.3 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Heanor.
The median resident of Heanor is 42.5 years old. Aged 15 to 24: just over one in ten residents. Children under 15 make up 17%, close to Derbyshire’s towns (17%) and below England’s towns (18%).
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Heanor | Derbyshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 21% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Derbyshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Coppice Primary School’s results beat 81% of schools in England like it. Below are three of its 13 schools, each with why it was picked. Heanor’s 11 primaries and two secondaries have 3,981 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howitt Primary Community SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 350 | B |
| Heanor Gate Spencer AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,493 | C+ |
| Coppice Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 235 | A− |
Private rents average £799 a month across the Amber Valley council area. From September 2023 to August 2026, 965 homes sold inside Heanor’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £192,000. Two thirds of households own their home.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £300,000 | 360 |
| Semi-detached | £180,000 | 306 |
| Terraced | £143,000 | 290 |
| Flat or maisonette | £110,000 | 9 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 22.9 reports per 1,000, above both Derbyshire’s towns (8.5) and England’s towns (7.8). The 12 months to August 2026 brought 2,164 recorded crimes inside Heanor’s built-up area, and 470 reports of anti-social behaviour. Also worth knowing: 49% 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 nearest A&E to Heanor is Queen's Medical Centre, 8.3 miles away. At the census, 78% of people in Heanor called their health good or very good, below both Derbyshire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). 6.5% of residents report bad or very bad health. Men in Heanor can expect to live to 77.8, women to 81.5 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Heanor | Derbyshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.5% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 19% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Household income came to £44K a year before tax, below both Derbyshire’s towns (£50K) and England’s towns (£55K). Work in town: 20% of resident commuters. Heanor counts 0.6 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 1 of them. 29% of its homes were built before 1919, above both Derbyshire’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (16%). Heanor has 5 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
11 listed buildings in Heanor.
Former Heanor Technical College (South East Derbyshire College): Photo: Dave Bevis · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Butchers House: Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Registry Office: Photo: Peter Barr · CC BY-SA 2.0 · 8 Market Place: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
28 notable people were born in Heanor.
Henry Garnet: anonymous, European School., Public domain · Edward Smith: Barraud & Jerrard, Photographers, Public domain · Maggie Throup: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heanor | 24,264 | — | C− | A | D | C− |
| Eastwood | 18,890 | 2.1 | C | B | C | C− |
| Smalley | 2,201 | 2.2 | — | B | C | C+ |
| Brinsley and Underwood | 4,514 | 2.6 | B | B | A− | C |
| Awsworth | 2,444 | 3 | — | B | C+ | B− |
| West Hallam | 5,912 | 3.1 | B+ | B | A− | B+ |
| Ironville | 1,824 | 3.1 | — | A | D | D |
| Ripley | 20,191 | 3.1 | C | A− | D | C− |
Smalley, Awsworth and Ironville have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 76% of towns in England, and primary results trail 81% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Large town in Derbyshire, England
Heanor is a built-up area of 24,264 people, in the Amber Valley 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.