Blackpool grades D− overall against UK towns: behind almost every UK town. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 25% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D−): 79.1 violent and sexual offences and 26.3 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 1%. The median home sold for £140,000 in the last three years, 4 times what households in the Blackpool council area earn in a year.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Blackpool is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Blackpool.
Safety
Blackpool has more crime per resident than 99% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 52.5 reports per 1,000, higher than both Lancashire’s towns (17.2) and England’s towns (7.8). Police recorded 21,597 crimes inside Blackpool’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 5,677 reports of anti-social behaviour.
79.1violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearD−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 1% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: more crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual11,313
Damage & arson1,873
Other theft1,650
Public order1,622
Shoplifting1,300
Vehicle crime877
Burglary724
Drugs712
Anti-social5,677
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.
79.1
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
26.3
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
52.5
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
SchoolsD
Exam results at Blackpool’s schools trail 85% of towns in England
At the town’s 32 primary schools, 56% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are three of its 44 schools, each with why it was picked. Kincraig Primary School’s results beat 98% of schools in England like it. GCSE results at the town’s 8 secondary schools: 37% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 40.3.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 44 schools →
Health
More people in Blackpool say their health is bad than in Lancashire’s towns or across England’s towns: 9%
Women here live to 79.2 on average and men to 74.3 (2019–23). At the census, 25% of people here had a disability, above both Lancashire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (17%). 16 GP practices serve the town; three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
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.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
Benefit claims run higher in Blackpool, 5.8% of 16 to 64s, than in Lancashire’s towns or across England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 21% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Just over a fifth of workers worked mainly from home at the census. Of the commuters living in Blackpool, 68% work in the town itself. There are 1.1 jobs in Blackpool for each resident in work. Also worth knowing: household income came to £36K a year before tax, below Lancashire’s towns (£48K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
HousingCost of living grade C−
More households rent privately in Blackpool than in Lancashire’s towns or across England’s towns: 31%
58% of households are owner-occupiers. Social housing holds one in ten households, below Lancashire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. The median sale, £140,000, comes from 6,187 standard sales inside Blackpool’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
£140Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Blackpool£140K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£260,000
774
Semi-detached
£159,600
2,664
Terraced
£115,000
2,167
Flat or maisonette
£82,125
582
58%
of households own their home · England 61%
31%
rent privately · England 21%
£723
average private rent a month, Blackpool council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
History
Blackpool’s heritage list runs to 51 buildings, 1 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 26% of the total. Blackpool’s listed buildings include the Tower Buildings, Grade I. Per 10,000 residents, Blackpool counts 3 listed buildings.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
Degrees are less common in Blackpool than in Lancashire’s towns or across England’s towns: 23% of adults
Those aged 15 to 24 account for one in ten residents. Children under 15 make up 16%, below Lancashire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. At 44, the median resident of Blackpool sits in the middle of the age range. People 65 and over make up 21% of the town.
44median age
BlackpoolLancashireEngland
Ages · share of residents
21%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications24%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level23%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
David Thewlis: David_Thewlis_at_San_Sebastian_Filmfestival_2008.jpg: Andreas Tai derivative work: RanZag, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Michael Smith: File:Michael Smith party at Mary Vickers's house.1994, F-109-7-0-0-10 001.jpg: SCWIST Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology derivative work: Michał Sobkowski, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Robert Smith: Bill Ebbesen, CC BY-SA 3.0 · John Mahoney: liz bustamante from chicagoland, CC BY 2.0 · Jenna Coleman: Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0 · Cynthia Lennon: Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0
Staining and Hambleton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Blackpool
Is Blackpool safe?
Police recorded 21,597 crimes inside Blackpool’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 52% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Is Blackpool expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £140,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £82,125, terraced houses £115,000, semi-detached houses £159,600 and detached houses £260,000. Household incomes are lower than in 99% of UK towns, so cost of living grades C−.
Are schools in Blackpool good?
GCSE results trail 83% of towns in England, and primary results trail 77% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Does Blackpool flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
About Blackpool
City in Lancashire, England
Blackpool is a built-up area of 149,087 people, in the Blackpool 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
Population
149,087 (Census 2021)
Council
Blackpool (mostly)
County
Lancashire
Region
North West
Area
13.6 sq mi (35.4 km²)
ONS code
E63000792
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.
