Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 3,470: a town in Derbyshire, East Midlands.
What it saves you on housing, it gives back elsewhere. It is hard to get around without a car: 8% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Cost of living is its strong suit: homes sell for a median £193,000, about 4.1 times local household income. Overall, that makes a B−, better than 46% of UK towns. The ranking puts it #29 of 59 in Derbyshire. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for schools and B for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Pilsley and Lower Pilsley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Pilsley and Lower Pilsley does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 3 buildings inside Pilsley and Lower Pilsley’s built-up area.
23% 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 Pilsley and Lower Pilsley.
At 44.9, the median resident of Pilsley and Lower Pilsley sits in the middle of the age range. 15% are under 15, below both Derbyshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 9.9% of the town.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Pilsley and Lower Pilsley | Derbyshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.9% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 23% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Derbyshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Between them, two primaries teach 418 pupils in Pilsley and Lower Pilsley. Below is one of its 2 schools, and why it was picked. At the town’s 2 primary schools, 70% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pilsley Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 213 | A+ |
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.
A quarter of commuters travelled under 5 km, below both Derbyshire’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%). Home was the main workplace for nearly a fifth of workers at the census. 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
Owners make up 72% of households, higher than both Derbyshire’s towns (67%) and England’s towns (61%). Behind the median of £193,000: 175 standard sales inside Pilsley and Lower Pilsley’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026. Private rents average £791 a month across the North East Derbyshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £277,500 | 54 |
| Semi-detached | £182,100 | 84 |
| Terraced | £130,000 | 33 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
23% of its homes were built before 1919, close to Derbyshire’s towns (23%) and above England’s towns (16%). Per 10,000 residents, Pilsley and Lower Pilsley counts 9 listed buildings.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest A&E to Pilsley and Lower Pilsley is Chesterfield Royal Hospital, 5.4 miles away. 78% of people in Pilsley and Lower Pilsley rate their own health good or very good. At the census, just over a fifth of people here had a disability, above both Derbyshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (17%). The town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.6 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Pilsley and Lower Pilsley | Derbyshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.8% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Property crime (burglary and damage) runs at 6.9 per 1,000 residents a year. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 153 recorded crimes inside Pilsley and Lower Pilsley’s built-up area, and 23 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 60% of the crimes.
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.
6 notable people were born in Pilsley and Lower Pilsley.
Archibald Slater: Bslater87, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town in Derbyshire, England
Pilsley and Lower Pilsley is a built-up area of 3,470 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilsley and Lower Pilsley | 3,470 | — | B− | A− | C+ | C |
| Morton | 1,335 | 1.6 | — | C+ | B+ | C− |
| Tibshelf | 4,352 | 1.7 | C | B+ | C | C− |
| North Wingfield and Holmewood | 9,545 | 1.7 | D | B+ | D | D |
| Clay Cross | 8,915 | 1.8 | D | B+ | D | D− |
| Old Tupton | 4,190 | 2.5 | C | B+ | C− | C− |
| Newton and Blackwell | 3,053 | 2.6 | C+ | B+ | C | C− |
| Shirland and Stonebroom | 3,988 | 2.6 | C+ | A− | C+ | C− |
Morton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
At the 2021 Census, 9.9% of Pilsley and Lower Pilsley’s 3,470 residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £193,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £130,000, semi-detached houses £182,100 and detached houses £277,500.
About the middle for its size: 61% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+. Burglary was rare, with 4 reports in the year.
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.