Dobcross’s story
46 listed buildings
Historic England lists them inside Dobcross’ built-up area.
43% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
DobcrossGreater Manchester
A village in Greater Manchester, North West, home to 1,569 people. Mortgage-free owners make up 50% of households.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Raymond Knapman · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
1,569
Census 2021 · Oldham council
Median home
£380K
71 sales in 3 years
Median age
51.5
25% are 65+ · Greater Manchester 16%
Degree level
47%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
13%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Dobcross a good place to live?
Jobs and pay hold up well: mean household income £54,345; 1.7% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Residents are healthier than most (A−): life expectancy 81.1 for men, 84.8 for women. Its weakest subject is cost of living (D−) — the median home sold for £380,000, 9.1 years of area income. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for schools, C+ for walkability and C+ for hazard risk.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency. Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Dobcross has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. Its other subjects still get grades, below.
What makes Dobcross stand out
The 3 things Dobcross does most differently from other towns.
Listed buildings per 10,000 residents
History
0 Grade II*; 12 times the typical UK town for its size
Historic England’s list, October 2026.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
13% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
Own outright
Housing
50% own outright
of households own their home with no mortgage (England’s towns 32%)
How Dobcross grades
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Dobcross is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Dobcross has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. Its other subjects still get grades, below.
Cost of livingRent £942 a monthD−Open →Jobs & incomeIncomes and work are among the strongest comparedAOpen →HealthAmong the best of the towns comparedA−Open →SchoolsPrimary results beat 70% of towns in England; secondary results beat 43% of towns in EnglandBOpen →Walkability13% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transportC+Open →Hazard risk0.4% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the seaC+Open →
SafetyNo police.uk data–
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
HistoryGraded on historic places and the town’s ageA+Open →Outdoors100% live within 400 m of a park; 22% of land within 5 km is National Park or National LandscapeA+Open →Civic life2.5 local charities per 1,000 residents; 32% live within 1 km of a libraryB+Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Dobcross.
HousingCost of living grade D−
More households own their home in Dobcross than in Greater Manchester’s towns or across England’s towns: 82%
4% live in social housing, below Greater Manchester’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private tenants account for 13% of households. 71 standard sales inside Dobcross’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £380,000.
£380Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Dobcross£380K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £510,000 | 27 |
| Semi-detached | £318,000 | 17 |
| Terraced | £287,850 | 23 |
82%
of households own their home · England 61%
13%
rent privately · England 21%
£942
average private rent a month, Oldham council area
£2,625
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
SchoolsB
Results at Dobcross’s schools beat 59% of towns in England
Nearly two thirds of pupils at the 15 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). 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.
BSchool Grade
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Trinity CofE Dobcross Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 232 | A− |
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsThe Schools page →
History
More buildings in Dobcross are listed than in Greater Manchester’s towns or England’s towns: 293 per 10,000 residents
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Dobcross’ land, 100% lies in conservation areas, above Greater Manchester’s towns (3%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. Every one of the town’s 46 listed buildings sits at Grade II, the most common listing. The pre-1919 share of homes is 43%.
46listed buildingsA+History Grade
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I0
Grade II*0
Grade II46
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
43%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
293
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Health
85% of people in Dobcross say their health is good or very good, more than in Greater Manchester’s towns and across England’s towns
Seeing a GP means leaving Dobcross: the nearest practice is 0.7 miles away. 3.6% of residents report bad or very bad health. At the census, 15% of people here had a disability, lower than both Greater Manchester’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%).
85%good or very good healthA−Health Grade
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 85%Fair 11%Bad or very bad 4%
| Census 2021 | Dobcross | Greater Manchester | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.6% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
81.1
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
84.8
life expectancy at birth, women
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.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A
Long commutes are the norm in Dobcross: just 25% travel under 5 km, below Greater Manchester’s towns and England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 39% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Home was the main workplace for nearly two in five workers at the census. 86% of commuters drove, above both Greater Manchester’s towns (72%) and England’s towns (70%). Also worth knowing: about 1% of its commuters stay in Dobcross for work. For every resident in work, Dobcross has 0.7 jobs.
13%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving86%
On foot7%
Bus2%
Bicycle2%
Train1%
Underground, tram1%
25%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
39%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£54K
mean household income, before tax
1.7%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
C+
Walkability: more walkable than 43% of UK towns
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Who lives here
More people in Dobcross hold a degree than in Greater Manchester’s towns or England’s towns: 47%
The 15-to-24 age group makes up 9% of residents. Children under 15 make up 14%, below Greater Manchester’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. A quarter of residents have reached 65. Line up the people of Dobcross by age and the one in the middle is 51.5.
51.5median age
DobcrossGreater ManchesterEngland
Ages · share of residents
25%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications11%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar15%
Degree level47%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Dobcross | Greater Manchester | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 34% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 11% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 5.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 47% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Greater Manchester and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Buckton Castle and 2 more in and around Dobcross
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Dobcross. Best known first.
CastleBuckton Castle4.5 km outside town, to the south
Art galleryGallery Oldham5 km outside town, to the west
MuseumSaddleworth Museum700 m outside town, to the southeastPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (3)
- Buckton Castle: Richard Nevell from London, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Gallery Oldham: SMJ, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Saddleworth Museum: Paul Anderson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Dobcross
14pages on Dobcross
The big questions
SafetyNo police.uk data for Greater ManchesterCost of livingD−Median home £380K · rent £942 a monthHousing11 sold in 12 months · busiest street Nudger GreenSchoolsB1 state schoolHealthA−Life expectancy 81.1 (men), 84.8 (women)Work & commuteA50% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazardsC+0.4% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Out and about
Dobcross’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
DelphUppermillLeesMossleyShawOldhamRoytonDobcross
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dobcross | 1,569 | — | — | D− | — | A− |
| Delph | 2,282 | 0.8 | — | D− | — | B+ |
| Uppermill | 11,207 | 1.1 | — | D− | — | A− |
| Lees | 12,641 | 2.3 | — | D | — | C− |
| Mossley | 11,416 | 2.8 | — | D | — | C |
| Shaw | 18,249 | 3.8 | — | D | — | C− |
| Oldham | 110,722 | 3.9 | — | C− | — | D− |
| Royton | 22,997 | 4.3 | — | D− | — | C− |
Delph has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Delph, Uppermill, Lees, Mossley, Shaw, Oldham and Royton have no Safety Grade: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish to police.uk. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Dobcross
How many listed buildings are there in Dobcross?
That is 12 times the typical UK town for its size.
Is Dobcross safe?
We can’t say from police.uk: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime data there, so Dobcross has no Safety Grade. Greater Manchester Police’s own figures cover whole boroughs, not towns.
Is Dobcross expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £380,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £287,850, semi-detached houses £318,000 and detached houses £510,000.
About Dobcross
Village in Greater Manchester, England
Dobcross is a built-up area of 1,569 people, in the Oldham 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
- 1,569 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Oldham
- County
- Greater Manchester
- Region
- North West
- Area
- 0.2 sq mi (0.6 km²)
- ONS code
- E63001165
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.