Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This large town in Greater Manchester, North West has a population of 22,886.
Where it does best is walkability — 21% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Buying in is costly: the median home sold for £250,000, 5.6 years of area income. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for schools and B for hazard risk. Health lags: men here can expect to live to 77.3, women to 81.6.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency · life expectancy, ONS. Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Swinton has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. Every other subject still has a grade below.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Swinton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Swinton has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. Every other subject still has a grade below.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 2 things Swinton does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 11 buildings inside Swinton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
21% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →11 listed buildings in Swinton, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Peter: Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · White Horse Public House: Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Band Stand: Photo: Edward Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Lychgate to Church of St Peter: Photo: Roger May · CC BY-SA 2.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Swinton.
The private rented sector houses 17% of households. The median sale, £250,000, comes from 853 standard sales inside Swinton’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Private rents average £1,170 a month across the Salford council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £425,000 | 85 |
| Semi-detached | £270,000 | 449 |
| Terraced | £206,000 | 269 |
| Flat or maisonette | £160,500 | 50 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 7 primary schools: 65% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Three of its 10 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Between them, seven primaries and two secondaries teach 4,831 pupils in Swinton.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moorside Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 609 | C− |
| Moorside High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,129 | C |
| Broadoak Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 479 | A+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 32% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
About 12% of its commuters stay in Swinton for work. For every resident in work, Swinton has 0.9 jobs. Households had £47K a year before tax, close to Greater Manchester’s towns (£46K) and below England’s towns (£55K). By car: that was how three quarters of commuters travelled at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
3 GP practices serve the town; 85% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Swinton is Salford Royal Hospital, 1.6 miles away. Also worth knowing: nearly a fifth of residents have a disability, about level with Greater Manchester’s towns (18%) and above England’s towns (17%).
| Census 2021 | Swinton | Greater Manchester | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.3% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Swinton’s listed buildings include Wardley Hall, Grade I. Homes built before 1919 account for just over a fifth of the housing. Per 10,000 residents, Swinton counts 5 listed buildings, below both Greater Manchester’s towns (7) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The middle age in Swinton is 39.9. 18% of residents are 65 or over, about level with England’s towns (18%) and above Greater Manchester’s towns (16%). Under-15s account for 19% of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Swinton | Greater Manchester | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.5% | 5.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 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 Swinton. Best known first.
MuseumImperial War Museum North3.9 km outside town, to the southeast · 2K visitors a year
CathedralCathedral Church of St. John the Evangelist4.6 km outside town, to the southeast
Garden · RHSRHS Garden Bridgewater1.8 km outside town, to the west
Historic house · RHSWorsley New Hall1.9 km outside town, to the west
Art galleryThe Lowry3.9 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumSalford Museum and Art Gallery3.9 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
19 notable people were born in Swinton.
Fiona Hall: Keith Edkins, CC BY-SA 3.0
Large town in Greater Manchester, England
Swinton is a built-up area of 22,886 people, in the Salford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swinton | 22,886 | — | — | D− | — | C− |
| Clifton | 17,748 | 1 | — | D | — | C− |
| Wardley | 2,298 | 1 | — | D− | — | C− |
| Eccles | 41,116 | 1.7 | — | D− | — | D− |
| Pendlebury | 1,768 | 1.9 | — | D− | — | D |
| Walkden | 18,684 | 2.5 | — | D− | — | C |
| Kearsley | 11,117 | 2.7 | — | C | — | C− |
| Worsley | 11,958 | 2.7 | — | D− | — | A− |
Wardley and Pendlebury have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Clifton, Wardley, Eccles, Pendlebury, Walkden, Kearsley and Worsley have no Safety Grade: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish to police.uk. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
We can’t say from police.uk: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime data there, so Swinton has no Safety Grade. Greater Manchester Police’s own figures cover whole boroughs, not towns.
Band D council tax in Swinton is £2,594 for 2026–27, more than in 84% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
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.