Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
34,569 people live in this large town in Derbyshire, East Midlands.
Overall, Swadlincote earns a C, better than 31% of UK towns. Its place in the ranking is #39 of 59 in Derbyshire. The weak point is schools (D): primary results beat 7% of towns in England; secondary results beat 32% of towns in England. Buying a home costs less than in most towns: homes sell for a median £220,000, about 3.9 times local household income.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Swadlincote 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 Swadlincote is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 21 buildings inside Swadlincote’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
16% 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 Swadlincote.
Council and housing-body homes hold 13% of households. 69% of households own their home, near Derbyshire’s towns (67%) and higher than England’s towns (61%). Private rents average £883 a month across the South Derbyshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £285,000 | 647 |
| Semi-detached | £200,000 | 672 |
| Terraced | £155,500 | 331 |
| Flat or maisonette | £113,500 | 33 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 9 primary schools: nearly half of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Fairmeadows Foundation Primary School’s results beat 92% of schools in England like it. Secondary results at the town’s 3 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 42.7, with 41% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Of its 16 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 415 | D |
| The Pingle AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,363 | C+ |
| Fairmeadows Foundation Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 207 | A |
Ages in Swadlincote split evenly at 41.7: half are older, half younger. One in ten residents are 15 to 24, close to Derbyshire’s towns (11%) and below England’s towns (12%). Children are 18% of the town.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Swadlincote | Derbyshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 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
79% of Swadlincote’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, near Derbyshire’s towns (80%) and lower than England’s towns (82%). 4 GP practices serve the town; 70% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. A disability affects a fifth of people locally.
| Census 2021 | Swadlincote | Derbyshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.9% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
52% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Homes see 12.7 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 2,660 crimes and 324 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Swadlincote’s built-up area.
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 19% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For 37% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. 86% of commuters drove, higher than both Derbyshire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (70%). Home was the main workplace for 19% of workers at the census. Of the commuters living in Swadlincote, 25% work in the town itself.
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.
16% of its homes were built before 1919, about level with England’s towns (16%) and below Derbyshire’s towns (23%). Grade II* covers 2 of them. Scaled to its population, that is 6 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in Swadlincote.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Swadlincote. Best known first.
MuseumSharpe's Pottery Museumin town
MuseumNational Brewery Centre3.5 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumClaymills Victorian Pumping Station4.1 km outside town, to the northwestGardenGardenBluebell Arboretum3.1 km outside town, to the eastTheme parkTheme parkConkers1.5 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumMoira Furnace Museum2.7 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
21 listed buildings in Swadlincote.
Four Bottle Kilns at Greens Pottery: Photo: David Rogers · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bretby Hall: Photo: Mark Walton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bottle Kiln at Hill Top Works: Neville Lumb and Company Limited: Photo: Chris Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St John: Photo: Dave Kelly · CC BY-SA 2.0
29 notable people were born in Swadlincote.
Carl Dickinson: Wfcfan1, CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swadlincote | 34,569 | — | C | A+ | C− | C− |
| Woodville | 7,255 | 1.5 | C | A+ | C− | C− |
| Overseal and Castle Gresley | 5,055 | 2.4 | B− | A+ | B− | C |
| Blackfordby | 1,071 | 2.4 | — | B+ | A− | C+ |
| Linton | 2,145 | 2.4 | — | A+ | B− | C |
| Moira | 3,198 | 3 | B | A | B | C |
| Burton upon Trent | 76,264 | 3.8 | C+ | A | D | D |
| Donisthorpe | 1,204 | 3.9 | — | A | B− | C+ |
Blackfordby, Linton and Donisthorpe have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: 68% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £220,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £113,500, terraced houses £155,500, semi-detached houses £200,000 and detached houses £285,000.
Large town in Derbyshire, England
Swadlincote is a built-up area of 34,569 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.