Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 18,914 in Lancashire, North West.
Colne grades D overall against UK towns: better than 11% of UK towns, and #51 of 65 in Lancashire. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 19% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D): 49.5 violent and sexual offences and 21.2 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 12%. The median home sold for £140,000 in the last three years, 3.4 times what households in the Pendle council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Colne 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 Colne is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 41 buildings inside Colne’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
51% 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 Colne.
For its size, Colne records more crime per resident than 88% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Reported offences in the town came to 1,867 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 539. There were 40 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both Lancashire’s towns (17.2) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences accounted for 48% 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.
Some 4,225 pupils attend Colne’s seven primaries and three secondaries. Laneshaw Bridge Primary’s results beat 87% of schools in England like it. Of its 12 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 7 primary schools: 61% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colne Lord Street SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 327 | B− |
| Colne Park High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 989 | C |
| Laneshaw Bridge PrimaryTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 204 | A |
78% of Colne’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below both Lancashire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). The nearest A&E to Colne is Airedale General Hospital, 8.8 miles away. Disability touches 21% of the town’s population. Also worth knowing: 2 GP practices serve the town; 59% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Colne | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.5% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 1 of them, Grade I 1. Colne’s listed buildings include the Church of St Bartholomew, Grade I. It counts 41 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. Conservation areas cover 13% of the town’s land, above Lancashire’s towns (2%) and England’s towns (7%) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 17% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Income per household averages £39K a year, before tax. About 30% of its commuters stay in Colne for work. This Lancashire town counts 0.9 jobs per working resident. 17% of workers worked mainly from home, below Lancashire’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (31%) alike.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Private rents average £670 a month across the Pendle council area. Three in five households own their home, below Lancashire’s towns (65%) and close to England’s towns (61%). The median sale, £140,000, comes from 829 standard sales inside Colne’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £310,000 | 79 |
| Semi-detached | £195,000 | 145 |
| Terraced | £120,000 | 562 |
| Flat or maisonette | £100,000 | 43 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Half the people of Colne are older than 42. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 10% of residents, below both Lancashire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Under 15: 18% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Colne | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.2% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 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 Colne. Best known first.
MuseumPendle Heritage Centre600 m outside town, to the west · 100K visitors a year
CastleCastercliff600 m outside town, to the south
MuseumBancroft Mill4.8 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumQueen Street Mill Textile Museum3.9 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumBritish in India800 m outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumThe Aisled Barn1.6 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
41 listed buildings in Colne, 1 of them Grade I.
Colne Waterside Bridge: Photo: Trappedinburnley · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fold Farmhouse: Photo: Trappedinburnley · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Town Hall: Photo: Alexander P Kapp · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Spergarth Cottage and Winewall House: Photo: Trappedinburnley · CC BY-SA 4.0
16 notable people were born in Colne.
Wallace Hartley: Wallace Henry Harvey, Public domain · Jeff Smith: Harry Pot for Anefo ]], CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Andrew Likierman: Bjoertvedt, CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colne | 18,914 | — | D | B+ | D | D |
| Foulridge | 1,212 | 1.2 | — | C | B+ | B |
| Trawden | 1,204 | 1.6 | — | C+ | C | B |
| Barrowford | 5,887 | 2.2 | C+ | B | C+ | A− |
| Nelson | 33,808 | 2.2 | C− | B+ | D | D |
| Brierfield | 10,723 | 3.5 | D | B | D | C− |
| Fence | 1,585 | 4 | — | C− | A | A− |
| Earby | 4,416 | 4 | C | B | B− | C |
Foulridge, Trawden and Fence have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Its Grade I building is Church of St Bartholomew.
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 £100,000, terraced houses £120,000, semi-detached houses £195,000 and detached houses £310,000.
Band D council tax in Colne is £2,753 for 2026–27, more than in 98% 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
Colne is a built-up area of 18,914 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.