Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 10,915 in Lancashire, North West.
Barnoldswick grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 36% of UK towns, and #33 of 65 in Lancashire. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 23% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is schools (D): primary results beat 35% of towns in England; secondary results beat 2% of towns in England. The median home sold for £150,000 in the last three years, 3.7 times what households in the Pendle council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Barnoldswick 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 Barnoldswick is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 16 buildings inside Barnoldswick’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
57% 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 Barnoldswick.
Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 35, and just over a fifth of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Barnoldswick’s four primaries and one secondary have 1,350 pupils between them. At the town’s 4 primary schools, 59% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnoldswick Church of England Controlled Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 342 | B |
| West Craven High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 528 | D− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 20% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Home was the main workplace for a fifth of workers at the census. The car took three quarters of commuters, between Lancashire’s towns (78%) and England’s towns (70%). Income per household averages £42K a year, before tax. Also worth knowing: of the commuters living in Barnoldswick, 28% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 77% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Barnoldswick is Airedale General Hospital, 9.2 miles away. Life expectancy here is 82 for women and 79.4 for men (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Barnoldswick | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.5% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Council and housing-body homes hold 8% of households. Private rents average £670 a month across the Pendle council area. The median sale, £150,000, comes from 591 standard sales inside Barnoldswick’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £310,000 | 69 |
| Semi-detached | £243,000 | 108 |
| Terraced | £135,000 | 403 |
| Flat or maisonette | £92,000 | 11 |
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.
Conservation areas cover 17% of Barnoldswick’s land, above both Lancashire’s towns (2%) and England’s towns (7%). Historic England’s list names 16 listed buildings here: 2 Grade II*. This Lancashire town has 15 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 17.4 reports per 1,000, near Lancashire’s towns (17.2) and higher than England’s towns (7.8). The 12 months to August 2026 brought 431 recorded crimes inside Barnoldswick’s built-up area, and 125 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 53% of recorded crime.
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.
Young adults of 15 to 24 are a tenth of the population. Half of Barnoldswick is older than 43.4, half younger. People 65 and over make up 21% of the town, above Lancashire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%) alike.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Barnoldswick | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.8% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.8% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 24% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Lancashire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
16 listed buildings in Barnoldswick.
Fosters Arms Public House: Photo: Dr Neil Clifton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bridge Holme Laithe: Photo: Roger Templeman · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnoldswick | 10,915 | — | C+ | B | B− | C |
| Earby | 4,416 | 1.8 | C | B | B− | C |
| Foulridge | 1,212 | 3 | — | C | B+ | B |
| Colne | 18,914 | 4.2 | D | B+ | D | D |
| Barrowford | 5,887 | 4.9 | C+ | B | C+ | A− |
| Trawden | 1,204 | 5.6 | — | C+ | C | B |
| Gargrave | 1,502 | 5.6 | — | C+ | A | A− |
| Nelson | 33,808 | 5.7 | C− | B+ | D | D |
Foulridge, Trawden and Gargrave 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 £150,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £92,000, terraced houses £135,000, semi-detached houses £243,000 and detached houses £310,000.
Band D council tax in Barnoldswick is £2,630 for 2026–27, more than in 91% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Lancashire, England
Barnoldswick is a built-up area of 10,915 people, in the Pendle 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.
