Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 4,788 people, lies in Lancashire, North West.
Bailrigg does the important things well, at a cost. Recorded crime is low: 4.7 violent and sexual offences and 2.5 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. The local economy does well: mean household income £52,587; 0.2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. What holds it back is cost of living (D): rent £823 a month. All told, that adds up to an A overall, better than 93% of UK towns.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP. Bailrigg is a university campus: most residents are students, so it keeps its grades but isn’t ranked against other towns.
The 3 things Bailrigg 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 Bailrigg is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 6 buildings inside Bailrigg’s built-up area.
28% 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 Bailrigg. Best known first.
Art galleryPeter Scott Galleryin town
CastleLancaster Castle3.6 km outside town, to the north
CathedralLancaster Cathedral3.2 km outside town, to the north
MuseumLancaster City Museum3.5 km outside town, to the north
MuseumJudges' Lodgings Museum3.6 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseThurnham Hall2.5 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bailrigg.
People aged 15 to 24 make up 90% of the town, above both Lancashire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Over-65s are 1.6% of the population. Bailrigg has a median age of 18.9 years. Degrees are held by 17% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Bailrigg | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 1.3% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 90% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 5.4% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 1.7% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 1.6% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 1.6% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 1.1% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 75% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 17% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Lancashire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Police recorded 83 crimes inside Bailrigg’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 13 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Bailrigg records less crime per resident than 100% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. There were 4.4 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), lower than both Lancashire’s towns (17.3) and England’s towns (7.8). Of all the crimes, 22% 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 40% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Working mainly from home: two in five workers, above Lancashire’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (31%) alike. Nearly a quarter of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. About 10% of its commuters stay in Bailrigg for work. The census found 41% of commuters going to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The social rented sector houses 4% of households. Private renters make up 17% of households, lower than both Lancashire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%). That is the middle of 8 standard sales inside Bailrigg’s built-up area over three years, against £277,000 in the typical UK town.
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 83% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Of the 110 towns in Lancashire, Bailrigg has the smallest share in bad or very bad health: 0.7%. Add to that, 13% of residents in Bailrigg live with a disability.
| Census 2021 | Bailrigg | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 93% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 0.7% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 20% | 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.
Bailrigg has 6 listed buildings on Historic England’s list, all Grade II. Scaled to its population, Bailrigg has 13 listed buildings per 10,000 people, below Lancashire’s towns (16) and England’s towns (39) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bailrigg | 4,788 | — | A | D | A+ | B |
| Galgate | 2,085 | 1.2 | — | C | B+ | B |
| Lancaster | 52,646 | 2.8 | C+ | B− | D | C− |
| Overton | 1,016 | 3.1 | — | C | C+ | C− |
| Halton | 2,652 | 4.9 | B− | D | A− | A |
| Morecambe | 32,745 | 5 | D− | C+ | D | D |
| Heysham | 16,593 | 5.1 | D | C+ | C− | D |
| Caton | 2,552 | 5.4 | B+ | D | A− | A |
Galgate and Overton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results beat 76% of towns in England, and primary results beat 83% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Places are handled by Lancashire council.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Lancashire, England
Bailrigg is a built-up area of 4,788 people, in the Lancaster 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.