Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
12% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. In Greater Manchester, North West, this town has 4,702 residents.
Health outcomes beat most towns (A+): life expectancy is 83.6 for men and 87.6 for women. Schools are another plus — primary results beat 94% of towns in England; secondary results beat 75% of towns in England. Its lowest grade is for cost of living — homes sell for a median £435,000, about 8.5 times local household income. Natural hazards weigh less here than in most UK towns (A).
Figures: life expectancy, ONS · 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 Marple Bridge has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. The other subjects are graded below.
The 3 things Marple Bridge 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 Marple Bridge is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Marple Bridge has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. The other subjects are graded below.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 18 buildings inside Marple Bridge’s built-up area.
31% 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 Marple Bridge.
Social housing holds 4% of households. 9% rent privately, lower than both Greater Manchester’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%). The median sale, £435,000, comes from 198 standard sales inside Marple Bridge’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £585,000 | 79 |
| Semi-detached | £455,000 | 59 |
| Terraced | £307,500 | 54 |
| Flat or maisonette | £280,000 | 6 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
GCSE results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: 54% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 49.5. Between them, three primaries teach 826 pupils in Marple Bridge. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 3 primary schools: 73% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ludworth Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 373 | A− |
| St Mary's Catholic Voluntary AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 222 | A− |
At the census, 87% of people in Marple Bridge called their health good or very good, above Greater Manchester’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3% of the town. This Greater Manchester town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 0.3 miles away. Disability touches 14% of the town’s population.
| Census 2021 | Marple Bridge | Greater Manchester | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 23% of Marple Bridge’s land, above Greater Manchester’s towns (3%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. Every one of the town’s 18 listed buildings sits at Grade II, the most common listing. This Greater Manchester town has 38 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 47% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 86% of commuters, above both Greater Manchester’s towns (72%) and England’s towns (70%). Before tax, the average household brings in £64K a year. Unemployment benefit claims reached 1.7% of 16 to 64s in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
People aged 15 to 24 make up 7.8% of the town, below both Greater Manchester’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%). Retirement age and beyond: just over a quarter of residents are 65 or older. Line up the people of Marple Bridge by age and the one in the middle is 49. Children under 15 count for 17% of the people here.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Marple Bridge | Greater Manchester | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.8% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 7.8% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.5% | 5.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 52% | 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 Marple Bridge. Best known first.
MuseumChadkirk Chapel2.4 km outside town, to the west
MuseumNew Mills Heritage Centre2.9 km outside town, to the southeastZooZooThe Garden House200 m outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
18 listed buildings in Marple Bridge.
Norfolk Arms and former National Westminster Bank: Photo: Braveheart · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Church Houses Post Office: Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Pear Tree Farmhouse: Photo: Dave.Dunford · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 30 and 32, Mill Brow: Photo: Dave.Dunford · CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marple Bridge | 4,702 | — | — | D− | — | A+ |
| Marple | 12,963 | 1.1 | — | D | — | C+ |
| Romiley | 10,902 | 1.9 | — | D | — | C |
| High Lane | 4,617 | 2.8 | — | D− | — | B− |
| Bredbury and Woodley | 17,044 | 2.8 | — | C | — | C− |
| Broadbottom | 1,001 | 3 | — | D− | — | C |
| New Mills | 9,195 | 3.1 | B | B | C+ | C+ |
| Disley | 3,891 | 3.2 | A | C | A− | A |
Broadbottom has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Marple, Romiley, High Lane, Bredbury and Woodley and Broadbottom have no Safety Grade: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish to police.uk. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 1.6 times the typical UK town for its size.
Secondary results beat 75%. Marple Bridge has 3 state schools; places are handled by Stockport council.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £435,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £280,000, terraced houses £307,500, semi-detached houses £455,000 and detached houses £585,000.
We can’t say from police.uk: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime data there, so Marple Bridge has no Safety Grade. Greater Manchester Police’s own figures cover whole boroughs, not towns.
Town in Greater Manchester, England
Marple Bridge is a built-up area of 4,702 people, in the Stockport 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.