Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 38,723 in Derbyshire, East Midlands.
Ilkeston grades C overall against UK towns: better than 26% of UK towns, and #46 of 59 in Derbyshire. Its strongest subject is cost of living (A): median sale £175,000, 3.6 years of area income; rent £834 a month. Its weakest is safety (D): 55 violent and sexual offences and 17.2 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 11%.
The 3 things Ilkeston 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 Ilkeston is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 24 buildings inside Ilkeston’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
25% 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 Ilkeston. Best known first.
MuseumErewash Museumin town
MuseumD.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum2.4 km outside town, to the north
Abbey or prioryDale Abbey ruins1.7 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumNottingham Industrial Museum5 km outside town, to the southeastAttractionAttractionThe Bottle Kiln1.8 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumVacuum Cleaner Museum and Repairer2.8 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ilkeston.
On this, Ilkeston is below both Derbyshire’s towns (29%) and England’s towns (34%). The median resident of Ilkeston is 40.9 years old.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Ilkeston | Derbyshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.6% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 20% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Derbyshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Two of its 16 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallimore Primary & Nursery SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 360 | B− |
| Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 984 | B− |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violent crime ran at 55 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Derbyshire’s towns (25.6) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 3,961 crimes inside Ilkeston’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 612 reports of anti-social behaviour. Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Ilkeston has more crime per resident than 89% of them.
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 median sale price was £175K, below both Derbyshire’s towns (£240K) and England’s towns (£308K).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £270,000 | 261 |
| Semi-detached | £182,000 | 607 |
| Terraced | £145,000 | 514 |
| Flat or maisonette | £97,750 | 48 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
In the comparison, Ilkeston comes below both Derbyshire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). Women here live to 80.8 on average and men to 77.5 (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Ilkeston is Queen's Medical Centre, 5.6 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Ilkeston | 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
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.
For Ilkeston, that is above both Derbyshire’s towns (2.2%) and England’s towns (2.3%). The average household earns £44K a year before tax.
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.
Ilkeston has 24 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 3 Grade II*. 25% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
24 listed buildings in Ilkeston, 1 of them Grade I.
Scala Cinema: Photo: David Hallam-Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ilkeston School: Photo: Arbus Driver · CC BY-SA 2.0 uk · Ball and Son Limited Factory: Photo: Alan Murray-Rust · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Greens Lock: Photo: Christine Johnstone · CC BY-SA 2.0
42 notable people were born in Ilkeston.
Chick Churchill: Stefan Brending (2eight), CC BY-SA 3.0 de
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilkeston | 38,723 | — | C | A | D | D |
| Awsworth | 2,444 | 1.6 | — | B | C+ | B− |
| West Hallam | 5,912 | 2.2 | B+ | B | A− | B+ |
| Trowell | 2,165 | 2.3 | — | C+ | A− | B− |
| Eastwood | 18,890 | 2.8 | C | B | C | C− |
| Kimberley | 4,467 | 2.8 | B | B | C+ | C+ |
| Heanor | 24,264 | 3.2 | C− | A | D | C− |
| Stapleford | 15,041 | 3.3 | B− | B | C− | C |
Awsworth and Trowell have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
At the 2021 Census, 11% of Ilkeston’s 38,723 residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
Police recorded 3,961 crimes inside Ilkeston’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 52% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Its Grade I building is Church of All Saints.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £175,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £97,750, terraced houses £145,000, semi-detached houses £182,000 and detached houses £270,000.
Large town in Derbyshire, England
Ilkeston is a built-up area of 38,723 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.