Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
34,897 people call this large town in Lancashire, North West home.
A tough set of grades. Safety is its weak spot: police record 58.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 24.8 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 95%. The median home sold for £127,500, 3.3 times what households in the Hyndburn council area earn in a year. It is easy to get around without a car (B+): 18% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Overall, that makes a D−, good for #61 of 65 in Lancashire. Set against the rest, it does better than 5% of UK towns. Health outcomes fall short of most towns (D−): life expectancy is 75.1 for men and 78.8 for women.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS.
The 3 things Accrington 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 Accrington is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 36 buildings inside Accrington’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
52% 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 Accrington.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 4,292 offences in Accrington and 1,128 cases of nuisance behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 42.7 reports per 1,000, above Lancashire’s towns (17.2) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Also worth knowing: of all the crimes, 47% were violence and sexual offences.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Three of its 17 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Accrington Benjamin Hargreaves Church of England Primary School’s results beat just over four in five schools in England like it. At the town’s 12 primary schools, 46% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accrington Peel Park Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 570 | C |
| Accrington AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 953 | C− |
| Accrington Benjamin Hargreaves Church of England Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 137 | A− |
7.1% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, higher than both Lancashire’s towns (6.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Self-reported good health: 78% of Accrington’s residents. 4 GP practices serve the town; 72% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Accrington | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.1% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 16% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Work in town: nearly a quarter of resident commuters. There are 0.9 jobs in Accrington for each resident in work. Households had £38K a year before tax, below Lancashire’s towns (£48K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike. 75% of commuters took the car to work at the census.
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.
Grade II* covers 2 of them. Historic England’s list names 36 listed buildings in Accrington: 2 Grade II*. The town has 10 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
58% of households own their home, below Lancashire’s towns (65%) and close to England’s towns (61%). From September 2023 to August 2026, 1,121 homes sold inside Accrington’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £127,500. Private rents average £648 a month across the Hyndburn council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £270,000 | 123 |
| Semi-detached | £175,000 | 304 |
| Terraced | £94,000 | 682 |
| Flat or maisonette | £73,500 | 12 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Those 65 and older account for 15% of residents. Half of Accrington is older than 36.2, half younger. 23% of adults hold a degree, below Lancashire’s towns (29%) and England’s towns (34%) alike.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Accrington | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 15% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 25% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.3% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 23% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Lancashire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Accrington. Best known first.
MuseumHaworth Art Galleryin town
MuseumHelmshore Mills Textile Museum4.2 km outside town, to the south
MuseumThe Whitaker4.1 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumAccrington Domein townMuseumMuseumGawthorpe Hall4.6 km outside town, to the northeastHistoric houseHistoric houseMartholme3.4 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
36 listed buildings in Accrington.
Accrington War Memorial: Photo: Alexander P Kapp · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Railway Viaduct: Photo: Alexander P Kapp · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St John the Baptist: Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St James: Photo: Tim Green from Bradford · CC BY 2.0
54 notable people were born in Accrington.
Jon Anderson: Stéphane Gallay, CC BY 2.0 · Harrison Birtwistle: MITO SettembreMusica, CC BY 2.0 · Ron Hill: Bert Verhoeff for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Julie Hesmondhalgh: Harry (Howard) Potts, CC BY 2.0 · David Lloyd: Pedro Stephano, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accrington | 34,897 | — | D− | B+ | D− | D− |
| Church | 5,030 | 0.8 | D− | B+ | D− | D |
| Oswaldtwistle | 10,810 | 1.5 | D | B | D | D |
| Huncoat | 1,258 | 1.6 | — | B− | C+ | C− |
| Clayton-le-Moors | 7,969 | 1.9 | D | B | D | D |
| Rishton | 6,653 | 2.3 | D | B | D | D |
| Great Harwood | 11,022 | 2.8 | D | B | D | C− |
| Hapton | 2,240 | 2.9 | — | B | B− | C+ |
Huncoat and Hapton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £127,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £73,500, terraced houses £94,000, semi-detached houses £175,000 and detached houses £270,000.
GCSE results trail 81% of towns in England, and primary results trail 97% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Large town in Lancashire, England
Accrington is a built-up area of 34,897 people, in the Hyndburn 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.