Bickershaw’s story
No listed buildings inside Bickershaw’s built-up area
25% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
BickershawGreater Manchester
A village of 2,277 in Greater Manchester, North West. 15% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: S Parish · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
2,277
Census 2021 · Wigan council
Median home
£190K
61 sales in 3 years
Median age
33.3
9% are 65+ · Greater Manchester 16%
Degree level
23%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
15%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Bickershaw a good place to live?
Housing is within reach: the median home sold for £190,000, 4.4 years of area income. Health is its weak spot — life expectancy 77.7 for men, 81.1 for women. It also trails on jobs & income (C−): households earn a mean £41,425 a year, and 3.6% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Hazards are a real consideration: 1.9% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency. Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Bickershaw has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. Its other subjects still get grades, below.
How Bickershaw grades
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Bickershaw is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Bickershaw has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. Its other subjects still get grades, below.
HealthHealth outcomes are among the weakest comparedDOpen →Jobs & incomeBehind most towns comparedC−Open →Hazard riskBased on how exposed the town is to floods, storms and other hazardsC−Open →Cost of livingRent £746 a monthB+Open →SchoolsPrimary results beat 37% of towns in England; secondary results beat 42% of towns in EnglandC+Open →WalkabilityGraded on how easily people get around without a carBOpen →
SafetyNo police.uk data–
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
History0 listed buildingsC−Open →Outdoors13% live within 400 m of a park; 5 ha of public green space per 1,000 residentsB−Open →Civic life0 local charities per 1,000 residents; 0% live within 1 km of a libraryD−Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
What makes Bickershaw stand out
The 3 things Bickershaw does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
15% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
Homes built before 1919
History
25% of homes built before 1919
Against 15% in the typical UK town
Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period.
Degree level, 16+
Education
Degree-level qualifications, residents 16+ (England’s towns 34%)
Greater Manchester 32%.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bickershaw.
Health
More people in Bickershaw live with a disability than in Greater Manchester’s towns or across England’s towns: 26%
77%good or very good healthDHealth Grade
Self-reported good health: 77% of Bickershaw’s residents. At the census, 7.5% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above Greater Manchester’s towns (5.9%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. This Greater Manchester town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.2 miles away. Men in Bickershaw can expect to live to 77.7, women to 81.1 (2019–23).
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 77%Fair 15%Bad or very bad 7%
| Census 2021 | Bickershaw | Greater Manchester | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.5% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 26% | 18% | 17% |
77.7
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
81.1
life expectancy at birth, women
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.
SchoolsC+
On exam results, Bickershaw’s schools trail 62% of towns in England
C+School Grade
The town has one school, shown below. Attainment 8 at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km averages 44.6, and 43% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Nearly three in five pupils at the 28 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bickershaw CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 138 | D |
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsThe Schools page →
Who lives here
A young town: 17% of people in Bickershaw are 15 to 24, more than in Greater Manchester’s towns or England’s towns
33.3median age
People 65 and over make up 9.3% of the town, below both Greater Manchester’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). At 33.3, the median resident of Bickershaw sits in the middle of the age range. Nearly a quarter of adults hold a degree.
BickershawGreater ManchesterEngland
Ages · share of residents
17%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications27%
Apprenticeship8%
A levels or similar14%
Degree level23%
Women and men · all residents
39% women, 61% men
About 64 women for every 100 men. Across England, 51% of residents are women. A large institution, such as a prison, barracks, boarding school, university or care home, can tilt a town’s split: the census counts the people living there as residents.
| Bickershaw | Greater Manchester | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 17% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 36% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 22% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 9.3% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 27% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.6% | 5.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 23% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Greater Manchester and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
History
Bickershaw keeps more of its old housing than Greater Manchester’s towns or England’s towns: 25% built before 1919
0listed buildingsC−History Grade
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Historic England’s list has no building inside Bickershaw’s built-up area.
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I0
Grade II*0
Grade II0
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
25%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
0
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
HousingCost of living grade B+
More households in Bickershaw live in social housing than in Greater Manchester’s towns or England’s towns: 24%
£190Kmedian sale
Private renters make up 17% of households. The median sale, £190,000, comes from 61 standard sales inside Bickershaw’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Households that own their home make up 56%.
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Bickershaw£190K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £300,000 | 15 |
| Semi-detached | £180,000 | 33 |
| Terraced | £115,000 | 12 |
56%
of households own their home · England 61%
17%
rent privately · England 21%
£746
average private rent a month, Wigan council area
£2,152
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
Fewer commuters in Bickershaw work nearby than in Greater Manchester’s towns or England’s towns: 33% travel under 5 km
15%walk, cycle or ride
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 24% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 3.6%. The car took 82% of commuters, higher than both Greater Manchester’s towns (72%) and England’s towns (70%). Bickershaw counts 1.1 jobs per working resident. About 3% of its commuters stay in Bickershaw for work.
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving82%
Bus8%
On foot5%
Bicycle1%
33%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
24%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£41K
mean household income, before tax
3.6%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
B
Walkability: more walkable than 57% of UK towns
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Bickershaw
14pages on Bickershaw
The big questions
SafetyNo police.uk data for Greater ManchesterCost of livingB+Median home £190K · rent £746 a monthHousing22 sold in 12 months · busiest street Nixon Phillips DriveSchoolsC+1 state schoolHealthDLife expectancy 77.7 (men), 81.1 (women)Work & commuteC−41% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazardsC−1.9% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Out and about
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Museum of Wigan Life and 6 more in and around Bickershaw
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Bickershaw. Best known first.
MuseumMuseum of Wigan Life4.2 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumLeigh Town Hall Archives2.7 km outside town, to the southeastAttractionAttractionBridge Warehouse4.6 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumNorth West Computer Museum4.3 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumLeigh Spinners Mill Heritage Centre4.3 km outside town, to the southeastHistoric siteHistoric siteThe Orwell at Wigan Pier4.6 km outside town, to the northwestPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (1)
- Museum of Wigan Life: Hindleyite, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
About Bickershaw
Village in Greater Manchester, England
Bickershaw is a built-up area of 2,277 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
- Population
- 2,277 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Wigan
- County
- Greater Manchester
- Region
- North West
- Area
- 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km²)
- ONS code
- E63001231
Bickershaw’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
Platt Bridge and AbramHindleyLeighInce-in-MakerfieldGolborneWesthoughtonAshton-in-MakerfieldBickershaw
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bickershaw | 2,277 | — | — | B+ | — | D |
| Platt Bridge and Abram | 10,587 | 1.1 | — | A− | — | D− |
| Hindley | 24,485 | 1.2 | — | B+ | — | D |
| Leigh | 45,499 | 2.2 | — | A− | — | D |
| Ince-in-Makerfield | 12,186 | 2.4 | — | A | — | D− |
| Golborne | 25,563 | 2.7 | — | B | — | C− |
| Westhoughton | 21,969 | 3 | — | D | — | C |
| Ashton-in-Makerfield | 26,367 | 3.4 | — | B+ | — | C− |
Platt Bridge and Abram, Hindley, Leigh, Ince-in-Makerfield, Golborne, Westhoughton and Ashton-in-Makerfield have no Safety Grade: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish to police.uk. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Bickershaw
Who lives in Bickershaw?
At the 2021 Census, 17% of Bickershaw’s 2,277 residents were 15 to 24 and 9.3% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
Does Bickershaw flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Is Bickershaw safe?
We can’t say from police.uk: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime data there, so Bickershaw has no Safety Grade. Greater Manchester Police’s own figures cover whole boroughs, not towns.
Is Bickershaw expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £190,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £115,000, semi-detached houses £180,000 and detached houses £300,000.
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.