Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 31,114 in Greater Manchester, North West.
Fewer journeys need a car: 20% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Health outcomes fall short of most towns (D): life expectancy 76.6 for men, 80.3 for women. Incomes are on the low side: mean household income £43,300; 5.1% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. At a median £195,000, a home costs 4.1 times the yearly income of households in the Bury council area.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years. Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Radcliffe has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. The other subjects are graded below.
The 3 things Radcliffe 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 Radcliffe is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Radcliffe has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. The other subjects are graded below.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 12 buildings inside Radcliffe’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
26% 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 Radcliffe. Best known first.
MuseumBolton Art Gallery, Library & Museum4.9 km outside town, to the west
Historic houseHeaton Park3.4 km outside town, to the southeast
Art galleryBury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre1.8 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumThe Fusilier Museum1.9 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumBury Transport Museum2.1 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumHeaton Park Tramway3.9 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Radcliffe.
2 GP practices serve the town; just over four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, just over a fifth of people here had a disability, higher than both Greater Manchester’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%). In addition, 6.8% of residents report bad or very bad health.
| Census 2021 | Radcliffe | Greater Manchester | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.8% | 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.
Attainment 8 at the 12 secondary schools within 3 km averages 42.9, and 38% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Gorsefield Primary School’s results beat 85% of schools in England like it. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 9 primary schools: 58% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Two of its 11 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gorsefield Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 332 | A |
| Star Radcliffe AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 286 | – |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 25% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Of the commuters living in Radcliffe, 16% work in the town itself. For every resident in work, Radcliffe has 0.5 jobs. After the car, walking came next, for 8% of commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
962 standard sales inside Radcliffe’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £195,000. A fifth of households live in social housing. Owners make up 58% of households, near both Greater Manchester’s towns (58%) and England’s towns (61%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £305,000 | 160 |
| Semi-detached | £220,000 | 351 |
| Terraced | £160,000 | 376 |
| Flat or maisonette | £120,000 | 75 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Radcliffe has 12 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 2 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. Its listed buildings include the Church of St Mary and St Bartholomew, Grade I. The national list protects one ancient monument locally.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Just over a tenth of the population is aged 15 to 24, lower than both Greater Manchester’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%). Half the people of Radcliffe are older than 38.9. Children under 15 make up 19% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Radcliffe | Greater Manchester | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.5% | 5.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Greater Manchester and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
12 listed buildings in Radcliffe, 2 of them Grade I.
Church of St Mary and St Bartholomew: Photo: Alexander P Kapp · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Radcliffe War Memorial: Photo: Ingy the Wingy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Thomas and St John: Photo: Parrot of Doom · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Church of Saint Andrew: Photo: Paul Anderson · CC BY-SA 2.0
25 notable people were born in Radcliffe.
Danny Boyle: Montclair Film, CC BY 2.0 · John Spencer: Mestremendo, CC BY-SA 4.0 · John Partridge: SAM_0082k.jpg: ChryedCrazy derivative work: Frickative, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Craig Whittaker: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0 · Walker Hampson: Thebees1889, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radcliffe | 31,114 | — | — | C+ | — | D |
| Little Lever | 12,524 | 1.7 | — | D | — | C− |
| Whitefield | 22,193 | 2 | — | C− | — | C− |
| Ainsworth | 1,595 | 2 | — | C+ | — | C+ |
| Bury | 81,115 | 2.3 | — | C | — | C− |
| Kearsley | 11,117 | 2.5 | — | C | — | C− |
| Simister | 1,054 | 3.2 | — | D | — | C |
| Wardley | 2,298 | 3.2 | — | D− | — | C− |
Ainsworth, Simister and Wardley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Little Lever, Whitefield, Ainsworth, Bury, Kearsley, Simister and Wardley have no Safety Grade: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish to police.uk. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Its Grade I buildings include Church of St Mary and St Bartholomew. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
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 Radcliffe has no Safety Grade. Greater Manchester Police’s own figures cover whole boroughs, not towns.
GCSE results trail 73% of towns in England, and primary results trail 67% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Large town in Greater Manchester, England
Radcliffe is a built-up area of 31,114 people, in the Bury 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.