Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Lancashire, North West, this town has 4,439 residents. 45% of households own their home with no mortgage.
Banks’s schools fall short: primary results beat 11% of towns in England; secondary results beat 14% of towns in England. Recorded crime is low: 18.3 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 6 home and vehicle crimes. Homes sell for a median £227,750, about 4.8 years of what households in the West Lancashire council area earn. Put together, the subjects come to a C overall, ranking #39 of 65 in Lancashire. Set against the rest, it does better than 29% of UK towns. It also trails on walkability: 8% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Banks 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 Banks is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 1 building inside Banks’s built-up area.
14% 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 Banks.
Below is one of its 2 schools, and why it was picked. At the town’s 2 primary schools, 52% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 40.8, with 34% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banks St Stephen's CofE SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 199 | B− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Every one of Banks’s 1 listed building sits at Grade II, the most common listing. 14% of homes date from before 1919. Also worth knowing: for its size, Banks has 2 listed buildings per 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 23% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Household income came to £44K a year before tax, below both Lancashire’s towns (£48K) and England’s towns (£55K). At the census, 90% of commuters went by car. Of the commuters living in Banks, 6% work in the town itself. For every resident in work, Banks has 0.3 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
14% are under 15, below Lancashire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Aged 15 to 24: 8.7% of residents. Half of Banks is older than 50.6, half younger. Graduates make up 29% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Banks | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.7% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.8% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 29% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Lancashire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the census, nearly a quarter of people here had a disability, above both Lancashire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (17%). Self-reported good health: 77% of Banks’ residents. This Lancashire town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.8 miles away. Life expectancy here is 82.9 for women and 78.3 for men (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Banks | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.7% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 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.
Police figures for Banks’s built-up area: 142 crimes and 42 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. For its size, Banks records less crime per resident than 78% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. 58% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 14.9 reports per 1,000, lower than Lancashire’s towns (17.3) yet higher than England’s towns (7.8).
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.
Private renters make up 13% of households, below Lancashire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. The social rented sector houses 10% of households. 238 standard sales inside Banks’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £227,750.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £325,000 | 87 |
| Semi-detached | £208,000 | 115 |
| Terraced | £166,000 | 19 |
| Flat or maisonette | £108,000 | 17 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Banks. Best known first.
MuseumSouthport Botanic Gardens2.1 km outside town, to the southwest
Historic houseMeols Hall2.7 km outside town, to the southwestZooZooWindmill Animal Farm4.8 km outside town, to the southeastZooZooBotanic Gardens Aviary2.3 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banks | 4,439 | — | C | B | B+ | C |
| Tarleton and Hesketh Bank | 8,756 | 3.6 | B+ | C+ | A− | B+ |
| Southport | 94,438 | 4 | C− | C− | C | C− |
| Rufford | 1,562 | 5 | — | C | A | C+ |
| Warton (Fylde) | 4,180 | 5.4 | D | C+ | C− | C |
| Freckleton | 4,478 | 5.6 | C+ | B− | B− | C |
| Croston | 2,793 | 5.9 | A− | B+ | B | C+ |
| Lytham St Anne's | 42,693 | 6.2 | B− | C | C+ | C+ |
Rufford has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 86% of towns in England, and primary results trail 89% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Banks has 2 state schools; 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
Banks is a built-up area of 4,439 people, in the West Lancashire 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.