Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 36,005 people live in this large town, in Greater Manchester, North West.
On walkability it is strong (A−): a fifth of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Homes are dear: homes sell for a median £221,975, about 5.3 times local household income. Hazard risk is lower than in most UK towns (A). It lags on health as well — life expectancy 77.7 for men, 81.6 for women.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency · life expectancy, ONS. Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Denton has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. Its other subjects still get grades, below.
The 3 things Denton 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 Denton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Denton has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. Its other subjects still get grades, below.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 20 buildings inside Denton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
17% 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 Denton. Best known first.
MuseumThe Manchester Museum5 km outside town, to the west
MuseumPankhurst Centre4.5 km outside town, to the west
Art galleryThe Whitworth4.6 km outside town, to the west
MuseumHat Works4.1 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumElizabeth Gaskell's House4.1 km outside town, to the west
MuseumStaircase House3.6 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Denton.
Owners make up 65% of households, above Greater Manchester’s towns (58%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. Private rents average £953 a month across the Tameside council area. The £221,975 median rests on 1,312 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £317,000 | 121 |
| Semi-detached | £245,000 | 613 |
| Terraced | £185,500 | 500 |
| Flat or maisonette | £130,000 | 78 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Three of its 11 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. GCSE results at the town’s 2 secondary schools: 55% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 46.8. 58% of pupils at the town’s 9 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russell Scott Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 440 | C+ |
| Denton Community AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,107 | B+ |
| Linden Road AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 228 | A− |
The share aged 15 to 24 is 10%. Children under 15 make up 17%, below Greater Manchester’s towns (19%) and close to England’s towns (18%). A fifth of residents have reached 65. Denton has a median age of 43.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Denton | Greater Manchester | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.7% | 5.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 22% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Greater Manchester and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the census, a fifth of people here had a disability, higher than both Greater Manchester’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 6.7% of the town. Men in Denton can expect to live to 77.7, women to 81.6 (2019–23). 2 GP practices serve the town; 68% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Denton | Greater Manchester | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.7% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
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 car took 77% of commuters, higher than both Greater Manchester’s towns (72%) and England’s towns (70%). Denton counts 0.5 jobs per working resident. Of the commuters living locally, 12% work in the town itself. Household income averages £41K a year before tax.
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.
Denton’s listed buildings include the Church of St Anne, Grade I. The pre-1919 share of homes is 17%. For its size, Denton has 6 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, lower than both Greater Manchester’s towns (7) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
20 listed buildings in Denton, 1 of them Grade I.
Hyde Hall: Photo: Roger May · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Lawrence: Photo: Roger May · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Denton War Memorial, Victoria Park, Victoria Street, Denton: Photo: Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Manor Farmhouse: Photo: Stephen Richards · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
11 notable people were born in Denton.
Jimmy Armfield: Angstpristine, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Zach Clough: Cazza3012, CC0 · James Tunnicliffe: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bluewheelofficial/, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Tony Audenshaw: Schooleydoo, CC BY 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denton | 36,005 | — | — | D | — | C− |
| Audenshaw | 13,397 | 1.5 | — | D− | — | C− |
| Reddish | 22,189 | 1.8 | — | C+ | — | D |
| Hyde | 35,902 | 1.9 | — | D | — | D |
| Bredbury and Woodley | 17,044 | 2 | — | C | — | C− |
| Dukinfield | 21,151 | 2.2 | — | D | — | D |
| Droylsden | 23,916 | 2.6 | — | D | — | D |
| Romiley | 10,902 | 2.9 | — | D | — | C |
Audenshaw, Reddish, Hyde, Bredbury and Woodley, Dukinfield, Droylsden and Romiley 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 Denton 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.
Large town in Greater Manchester, England
Denton is a built-up area of 36,005 people, in the Tameside 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.