Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
12,186 people live in this town in Greater Manchester, North West.
Prices are modest for what you get: homes sell for a median £145,000, about 3.4 times local household income. Walkability is a strength too — just over a fifth of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Its weakest subject is health (D−): men here can expect to live to 72.7, women to 76.7. It lags on jobs & income as well: households earn a mean £35,534 a year, and 5.7% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP. Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Ince-in-Makerfield 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 Ince-in-Makerfield is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Ince-in-Makerfield has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. The other subjects are graded below.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Ince-in-Makerfield does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 5 buildings inside Ince-in-Makerfield’s built-up area.
24% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ince-in-Makerfield.
20% are under 15, above both Greater Manchester’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%). People 65 and over make up 14% of the town. Ince-in-Makerfield has a median age of 37.3.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Ince-in-Makerfield | Greater Manchester | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 28% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.5% | 5.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 17% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Greater Manchester and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Secondary results at the 5 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 43.5, with 41% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Below are two of its 4 schools, each with why it was picked. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 3 primary schools: 57% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ince CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 383 | B− |
| Dean Trust Rose BridgeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 692 | C− |
At the census, 7.5% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. 78% of Ince-in-Makerfield’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%). Disability touches 21% of the town’s population.
| Census 2021 | Ince-in-Makerfield | Greater Manchester | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.5% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 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.
49% of households own their home. Ince-in-Makerfield is the cheapest of the 81 towns in Greater Manchester: its median sale is £145,000. 277 standard sales inside the town’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £145,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £257,500 | 42 |
| Semi-detached | £158,500 | 110 |
| Terraced | £121,000 | 122 |
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 13% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Working mainly from home: 13% of workers, below both Greater Manchester’s towns (29%) and England’s towns (31%). On foot, by bike or by bus and train: that was how 22% of commuters travelled at the census. Of the commuters living in Ince-in-Makerfield, 15% work in the town itself. For every resident in work, Ince-in-Makerfield has 1 jobs.
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.
Before 1919: that is when nearly a quarter of homes were built. Relative to its size, Ince-in-Makerfield keeps 4 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
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Ince-in-Makerfield. Best known first.
MuseumMuseum of Wigan Life600 m outside town, to the westAttractionAttractionBridge Warehouse1 km outside town, to the westHistoric siteHistoric siteThe Orwell at Wigan Pier1 km outside town, to the westAttractionAttractionTrencherfield Mill800 m outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Town in Greater Manchester, England
Ince-in-Makerfield is a built-up area of 12,186 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ince-in-Makerfield | 12,186 | — | — | A | — | D− |
| Platt Bridge and Abram | 10,587 | 1.7 | — | A− | — | D− |
| Wigan | 81,580 | 1.8 | — | A− | — | D |
| Hindley | 24,485 | 2.1 | — | B+ | — | D |
| Bickershaw | 2,277 | 2.4 | — | B+ | — | D |
| Aspull | 4,937 | 2.4 | — | B+ | — | C |
| Ashton-in-Makerfield | 26,367 | 3.6 | — | B+ | — | C− |
| Wingates | 1,936 | 3.7 | — | C | — | D |
Bickershaw and Wingates have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Platt Bridge and Abram, Wigan, Hindley, Bickershaw, Aspull, Ashton-in-Makerfield and Wingates have no Safety Grade: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish to police.uk. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
At the 2021 Census, 12% of Ince-in-Makerfield’s 12,186 residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £145,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £121,000, semi-detached houses £158,500 and detached houses £257,500.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
We can’t say from police.uk: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime data there, so Ince-in-Makerfield has no Safety Grade. Greater Manchester Police’s own figures cover whole boroughs, not towns.
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.