Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,735 in Greater Manchester, North West. 41% of households own their home with no mortgage.
School results are strong: primary results beat 84% of towns in England; secondary results beat 55% of towns in England. It is hard to get around without a car: on the way to work, 10% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Hazards are a real consideration (C): 1% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. Homes sell for a median £250,000, about 5.8 years of what households in the Wigan council area earn.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS. Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Astley has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. Every other subject still has a grade below.
The 3 things Astley 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 Astley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Astley has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. Every other subject still has a grade below.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 5 buildings inside Astley’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
19% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1866.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Astley.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 30% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Nearly nine in ten commuters drove, higher than both Greater Manchester’s towns (72%) and England’s towns (70%). Among 16 to 64s, 2.2% claimed unemployment benefits in 2026. Astley counts 1.6 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
GCSE results at the 5 secondary schools within 3 km: 46% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 46.6. St Ambrose Barlow Catholic Primary School’s results beat 85% of schools in England like it. Its three schools are below. Between them, two primaries and one secondary teach 1,989 pupils in Astley.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Stephen's CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 240 | B− |
| St Mary's Catholic High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,537 | B− |
| St Ambrose Barlow Catholic Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 212 | A |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Astley has one scheduled monument. The pre-1919 share of homes is 19%. Relative to its size, Astley keeps 11 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, higher than Greater Manchester’s towns (7) yet lower than England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Private tenants account for just over one in ten households. 7% live in social housing, below both Greater Manchester’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (18%). 190 standard sales inside Astley’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £250,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £385,000 | 46 |
| Semi-detached | £237,000 | 94 |
| Terraced | £190,000 | 45 |
| Flat or maisonette | £185,000 | 5 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
3 GP practices serve the town; 87% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 84% of Astley’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above Greater Manchester’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. The nearest A&E to Astley is Royal Bolton Hospital, 3.9 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Astley | Greater Manchester | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.3% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Children under 15 make up 17%, about level with England’s towns (18%) and below Greater Manchester’s towns (19%). Just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over. Typical age in Astley: 43.6, the median.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Astley | Greater Manchester | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.5% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 5.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Greater Manchester and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Astley. Best known first.
Garden · RHSRHS Garden Bridgewater2.9 km outside town, to the east
Historic house · RHSWorsley New Hall2.7 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumWinding Housein townMuseumMuseumNorth West Computer Museum1.3 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumLeigh Spinners Mill Heritage Centre1.3 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
5 listed buildings in Astley.
Astley Vicarage: Photo: Plucas58 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Astley Green Colliery: engine house and headgear: Photo: Patrick H. Lauke · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astley | 4,735 | — | — | B− | — | B− |
| Tyldesley | 16,205 | 0.7 | — | B− | — | C |
| Higher Folds | 2,447 | 1.2 | — | A | — | D |
| Worsley | 11,958 | 1.8 | — | D− | — | A− |
| Atherton | 27,571 | 2.4 | — | B+ | — | D |
| Walkden | 18,684 | 2.5 | — | D− | — | C |
| Glazebury | 1,094 | 2.6 | — | B | B− | B+ |
| Little Hulton | 25,824 | 2.6 | — | D | — | D− |
Higher Folds and Glazebury have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Tyldesley, Higher Folds, Worsley, Atherton, Walkden and Little Hulton have no Safety Grade: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish to police.uk. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
We can’t say from police.uk: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime data there, so Astley has no Safety Grade. Greater Manchester Police’s own figures cover whole boroughs, not towns.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Band D council tax in Astley is £2,152 for 2026–27, less than in 84% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Greater Manchester, England
Astley is a built-up area of 4,735 people, in the Wigan 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.
