Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 5,507 people, this town lies in Lancashire, North West. Only 9% of residents are 65 or over.
A town of contrasts. Where it falls short is safety: 37.4 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 16.1 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 14%. Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work: 8% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Households here earn well (A−): households earn a mean £59,914 a year, and 2.8% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. School results are strong: primary results beat 53% of towns in England; secondary results beat 78% of towns in England. Homes sell for a median £279,000, about 6.1 years of what households in the Preston council area earn. Overall, that makes a C+, good for #26 of 65 in Lancashire. On that grade it does better than 45% of UK towns.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Cottam 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 Cottam is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 5 buildings inside Cottam’s built-up area.
2% 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 Cottam.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
2% of homes date from before 1919. Listed buildings per head: 9 for every 10,000 residents of Cottam.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
62% of pupils at the 24 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its only school is listed below. Attainment 8 at the 6 secondary schools within 3 km averages 50.6, and 54% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cottam Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 308 | C |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Working mainly from home: just over a third of workers, higher than both Lancashire’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (31%). Just over two in five commuters travelled under 5 km to work. Of the commuters living in Cottam, 1% work in the town itself. For every resident in work, Cottam has 0.2 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
21% are under 15, above Lancashire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. The 65-and-over age group makes up nearly one in ten residents. Residents of Cottam have a median age of 35.3. Those aged 15 to 24 account for 10% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Cottam | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 33% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 9.3% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 7% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.8% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 47% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Lancashire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 28.9 reports per 1,000, higher than both Lancashire’s towns (17.2) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences accounted for 57% of recorded crime. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 368 recorded crimes inside Cottam’s built-up area, and 90 reports of anti-social behaviour.
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.
6% of households rent from a council or housing body. Owners make up just over four in five households, higher than both Lancashire’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%). Private rents average £790 a month across the Preston council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £322,050 | 329 |
| Semi-detached | £216,950 | 126 |
| Terraced | £174,200 | 60 |
| Flat or maisonette | £125,750 | 6 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
At the census, 91% of people in Cottam called their health good or very good, above both Lancashire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). A disability affects 11% of people locally. There is no GP practice in the town: the nearest is 1.5 miles off.
| Census 2021 | Cottam | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 91% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.1% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 11% | 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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Cottam. Best known first.
CathedralSyro-Malabar Cathedral of St Alphonsa, Preston4 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumHarris Museum4.1 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumMuseum of Lancashire4.6 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumRibble Steam Railway1.6 km outside town, to the south
MuseumLancashire Infantry Museum4.3 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumDuke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry Museum4.6 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottam | 5,507 | — | C+ | C | C− | B |
| Fulwood | 34,693 | 1.8 | B | B− | C | C |
| Clifton | 1,022 | 2.5 | — | C+ | C+ | B |
| Broughton | 2,468 | 2.6 | — | C− | C− | B+ |
| Preston | 94,502 | 3 | C− | B+ | D− | D |
| Barton | 1,492 | 3.2 | — | D | B+ | B+ |
| Newton-with-Scales | 1,510 | 3.4 | — | D | B− | B+ |
| Penwortham | 20,489 | 3.4 | A− | A− | B− | B− |
Clifton, Broughton, Barton and Newton-with-Scales have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
A young town. At the 2021 Census, 21% of residents were under 15 and 33% were 25 to 44, against 18% and 27% across England’s towns; only 9.3% were 65 or over.
Band D council tax in Cottam is £2,603 for 2026–27, more than in 86% 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
Cottam is a built-up area of 5,507 people, in the Preston 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.