Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 4,543 residents and lies in Lancashire, North West.
A strong record with one exception. Eccleston grades A overall, better than 94% of UK towns, and ranks #2 of 65 in Lancashire. Its best grade is for schools: primary results beat 96% of towns in England; secondary results beat 94% of towns in England. It is strong on jobs & income as well: mean household income £50,789; 1.2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The drawback is walkability: 8% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. At a median £275,000, a home costs 5.6 times the yearly income of households in the Chorley council area. Hazard risk is weaker too (C+): 0.7% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Eccleston 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 Eccleston is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 15 buildings inside Eccleston’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade II*.
15% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1793.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Eccleston.
At the town’s 2 primary schools, 75% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Eccleston Primary School’s results beat 90% of schools in England like it. GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 63% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 56.2. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eccleston Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 204 | A |
| Eccleston St Mary's Church of England Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 148 | A− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 31% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Jobs per working resident: 0.4. The car took 90% of commuters, above both Lancashire’s towns (78%) and England’s towns (70%). About 7% of its commuters stay in Eccleston for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
A disability affects 15% of people in Eccleston. At the census, 85% of people in Eccleston called their health good or very good, higher than both Lancashire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). There is no GP practice in the town: the nearest is 2.4 miles off. Women here live to 84.5 on average and men to 82.3 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Eccleston | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.5% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
There were 12.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), lower than Lancashire’s towns (17.3) yet higher than England’s towns (7.8). The 12 months to August 2026 brought 130 recorded crimes inside Eccleston’s built-up area, and 35 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Eccleston records less crime per resident than nearly four fifths of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Violence and sexual offences accounted for three fifths 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.
Social housing holds 5% of households. 11% rent privately, below both Lancashire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%). 210 standard sales inside Eccleston’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £275,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £392,000 | 91 |
| Semi-detached | £240,000 | 86 |
| Terraced | £188,975 | 32 |
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.
Grade II* covers 3 of them. Relative to its size, Eccleston keeps 33 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
16% are under 15, lower than both Lancashire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 8.9% of the town. Ages in Eccleston split evenly at 48.9: half are older, half younger. Degrees are held by just over a third of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Eccleston | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.9% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.7% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 35% | 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 Eccleston. Best known first.
MuseumAstley Hall4.7 km outside town, to the east
MuseumBritish Commercial Vehicle Museum4.9 km outside town, to the northAttractionAttractionCedar Farm3.4 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumSouth Ribble Museum & Exhibition Centre4.4 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
15 listed buildings in Eccleston.
Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Photo: Galatas · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Parr Hall: Photo: Kevin Waterhouse · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
4 notable people were born in Eccleston.
John Rigby: Matthew, CC BY-SA 4.0 · John Finch: Roberta Estes, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eccleston | 4,543 | — | A | B+ | B+ | B+ |
| Charnock Richard | 1,098 | 2.4 | — | B+ | D | B |
| Wymott | 2,092 | 2.5 | — | A− | B | C− |
| Croston | 2,793 | 2.6 | A− | B+ | B | C+ |
| Euxton | 17,519 | 2.9 | A | A | B | B− |
| Coppull | 8,303 | 3 | B− | A | B− | C− |
| Leyland | 39,281 | 3.5 | C+ | A | C− | C− |
| Chorley | 39,539 | 3.8 | B− | A | D | D |
Charnock Richard and Wymott have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Among the strongest in England: GCSE results beat 94% of towns in England, and primary results beat 96% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Eccleston 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
Eccleston is a built-up area of 4,543 people, in the Chorley 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.
