Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Greater Manchester, North West, this large town has 29,724 residents.
Heywood is easy to get around without a car: 19% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Its weakest is health — life expectancy 75.3 for men, 79.8 for women. The local economy is weaker than most (C−): households earn a mean £40,489 a year, and 5.2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Homes sell for a median £181,500, about 4.3 years of what households in the Rochdale council area earn. The rest of its grades are middling: B for schools and B for hazard risk.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency. Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Heywood has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. The other subjects are graded below.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Heywood is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Heywood has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. The other subjects are graded below.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Heywood does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 13 buildings inside Heywood’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
23% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →13 listed buildings in Heywood.
Queen's Park, Rochdale: Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Railway Warehouse and Loading Shed, Old Goods Yard: Photo: Peter James · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Heywood Area Central Library: Photo: Alexander P Kapp · CC BY-SA 2.0 · War Memorial: Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Heywood.
At the census, 6.5% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. Nearly four fifths of Heywood’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below both Greater Manchester’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%). Also worth knowing: 4 GP practices serve the town; 78% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Disability touches 20% of the town’s population.
| Census 2021 | Heywood | Greater Manchester | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.5% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Below are three of its 13 schools, each with why it was picked. GCSE results at the town’s 2 secondary schools: 51% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 47.5.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 564 | C− |
| Newhouse AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 974 | C+ |
| All Souls Church of England Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 234 | A+ |
Private rents average £855 a month across the Rochdale council area. From September 2023 to August 2026, 958 homes sold inside Heywood’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £181,500. 19% rent privately, lower than both Greater Manchester’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £332,000 | 131 |
| Semi-detached | £215,000 | 300 |
| Terraced | £154,000 | 481 |
| Flat or maisonette | £129,475 | 46 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 18% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Heywood counts 1.3 jobs per working resident. 18% of workers worked mainly from home, lower than both Greater Manchester’s towns (29%) and England’s towns (31%). The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 5.2%.
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.
23% of its homes were built before 1919, higher than both Greater Manchester’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (16%). Grade II* covers 1 of them. One registered park or garden lies in Heywood.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
11% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Children under 15 make up 20%, above Greater Manchester’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Residents of Heywood have a median age of 38.7.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Heywood | Greater Manchester | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 5.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 23% | 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 Heywood. Best known first.
Historic houseHeaton Park3.9 km outside town, to the south
MuseumThe Fusilier Museum1.9 km outside town, to the west
Art galleryBury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre1.9 km outside town, to the west
MuseumBury Transport Museum2.1 km outside town, to the west
MuseumRochdale Pioneers Museum3.6 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumHeaton Park Tramway4.1 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
29 notable people were born in Heywood.
Elliott Tittensor: Digitalspy, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lewis Alessandra: Mattythewhite, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Luke Tittensor: W!ZARD Radio Media, CC BY 3.0 · Mike Hill: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0
Large town in Greater Manchester, England
Heywood is a built-up area of 29,724 people, in the Rochdale 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heywood | 29,724 | — | — | C− | — | D |
| Trub | 1,389 | 2.3 | — | D | — | D |
| Middleton | 46,617 | 2.8 | — | D | — | D |
| Simister | 1,054 | 3.1 | — | D | — | C |
| Rhodes | 2,970 | 3.2 | — | C− | — | D |
| Rochdale | 111,258 | 3.3 | — | C− | — | D |
| Bury | 81,115 | 3.3 | — | C | — | C− |
| Whitefield | 22,193 | 3.9 | — | C− | — | C− |
Trub and Simister have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Trub, Middleton, Simister, Rhodes, Rochdale, Bury and Whitefield have no Safety Grade: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish to police.uk. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £181,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £129,475, terraced houses £154,000, semi-detached houses £215,000 and detached houses £332,000. Household incomes are lower than in 93% of UK towns, so cost of living grades C−.
We can’t say from police.uk: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime data there, so Heywood has no Safety Grade. Greater Manchester Police’s own figures cover whole boroughs, not towns.
Band D council tax in Heywood is £2,601 for 2026–27, more than in 86% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
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.