Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,860 in Derbyshire, East Midlands.
Melbourne grades A+ overall against UK towns: better than almost every UK town, and #2 of 59 in Derbyshire. Its strongest subject is cost of living (A): median sale £309,975, 5.5 years of area income; rent £882 a month.
The 3 things Melbourne 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 Melbourne is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 103 buildings inside Melbourne’s built-up area, 11 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
28% 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 Melbourne. Best known first.
CastleMelbourne Castlein town
Historic houseMelbourne Hallin town
Abbey or priory · National TrustCalke Abbey2.3 km outside town, to the southwestPark or estatePark or estate · National TrustCalke Park2.3 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumEast Midlands Aeropark4.8 km outside town, to the eastHistoric houseHistoric houseSwarkestone Pavilion2.4 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 Melbourne.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
The pre-1919 share of homes is 28%. Melbourne’s listed buildings include Aisled Barn Attached to North of Stables at Melbourne Hall, Grade I. Scaled to its population, Melbourne has 212 listed buildings per 10,000 people, above both Derbyshire’s towns (23) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Between them, two primaries teach 365 pupils in Melbourne. Below is one of its 2 schools, and why it was picked. 65% of pupils at the 3 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne Junior SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 226 | B+ |
10% live in social housing, below Derbyshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. From September 2023 to August 2026, 226 homes sold inside Melbourne’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £309,975. That is the middle of 226 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 | £492,500 | 72 |
| Semi-detached | £310,975 | 68 |
| Terraced | £242,750 | 77 |
| Flat or maisonette | £177,500 | 9 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Melbourne has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 3.1 miles away. At the census, 4.2% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, below both Derbyshire’s towns (6%) and England’s towns (5.2%). What’s more, a disability affects 15% of people locally. The nearest A&E to Melbourne is Royal Derby Hospital, 6.9 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Melbourne | Derbyshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.2% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 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.
Homes saw 6.7 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, below Derbyshire’s towns (9) and England’s towns (9.4) alike. Melbourne logged 157 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 26 complaints of anti-social conduct. Of all the crimes, 49% were violence and sexual offences. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Melbourne has less crime per resident than nearly four fifths 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 police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 37% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Households had £60K a year before tax, higher than both Derbyshire’s towns (£50K) and England’s towns (£55K). Driving is how 83% of commuters got to work at the census. Work in town: 17% of resident commuters. Also worth knowing: 37% of workers did their job mainly from home at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over. People aged 15 to 24 make up nearly a tenth of the town, lower than both Derbyshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). At 46.7, the median resident of Melbourne sits in the middle of the age range.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Melbourne | Derbyshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.3% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.6% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 40% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Derbyshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
103 listed buildings in Melbourne, 11 of them Grade I.
Melbourne Hall: Photo: Mark Anderson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Melbourne Castle fortified manor and earlier medieval manorial remains: Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain · The Old Mill: Photo: Greg Bowler · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hardinge Arms: Photo: David Lally · CC BY-SA 2.0
9 notable people were born in Melbourne.
June Berry: Wjoberry, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne | 4,860 | — | A+ | A | B+ | A− |
| Aston-on-Trent | 2,433 | 2.9 | — | A | A | B+ |
| Castle Donington | 7,344 | 3.6 | A− | B+ | B− | B− |
| Shardlow | 1,190 | 4.2 | — | A | C | B− |
| Repton | 2,766 | 5.2 | A+ | A− | A− | A |
| Ashby-de-la-Zouch | 15,121 | 5.7 | B+ | B+ | C | B− |
| Long Whatton | 1,157 | 5.8 | — | B | A | A− |
| Woodville | 7,255 | 5.9 | C | A+ | C− | C− |
Aston-on-Trent, Shardlow and Long Whatton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 8.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Aisled Barn Attached to North of Stables at Melbourne Hall. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Primary results beat 70% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). Melbourne has 2 state schools; places are handled by Derbyshire council.
Town in Derbyshire, England
Melbourne is a built-up area of 4,860 people, in the South 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.