Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 26,224 residents, it is a large town in Lancashire, North West.
Residents’ health trails most towns: life expectancy is 73.9 for men and 80.1 for women. At D overall, Fleetwood ranks #60 of 65 in Lancashire. On that grade it does better than 5% of UK towns. Crime runs high: 54.4 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 17.8 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 89%. Walkability is its strong suit: a quarter of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Buying the median home, at £136,000, takes 3.3 years of household income in the Wyre council area. It lags on jobs & income as well (D): households earn a mean £36,394 a year, and 5.6% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · claimants, DWP.
The 3 things Fleetwood 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 Fleetwood is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 46 buildings inside Fleetwood’s built-up area.
27% 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 1926.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Fleetwood.
3 GP practices serve the town; 78% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Of the 110 towns in Lancashire, Fleetwood has the second-largest share in bad or very bad health: 9.1%. 74% of people in Fleetwood rate their own health good or very good. Women here live to 80.1 on average and men to 73.9 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Fleetwood | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 74% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 9.1% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 26% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
52% of pupils at the town’s 7 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). St. Mary's Catholic Primary School, Fleetwood’s results beat 81% of schools in England like it. GCSE results at the town’s 2 secondary schools: 36% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 41.1. Of its 9 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fleetwood Flakefleet Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 421 | D |
| Fleetwood High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,025 | D |
| St. Mary's Catholic Primary School, FleetwoodTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 133 | A− |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Police figures for Fleetwood’s built-up area: 2,629 crimes and 677 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 37.3 reports per 1,000, higher than both Lancashire’s towns (17.2) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences accounted for just over half 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 18% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
18% of workers worked mainly from home, lower than both Lancashire’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (31%). Work in town: 37% of resident commuters. Fleetwood counts 1 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Historic England’s list names 46 listed buildings in Fleetwood, every one Grade II. The town has 2 registered historic parks and gardens. Of the town’s land, 10% lies in conservation areas, above Lancashire’s towns (2%) and England’s towns (7%) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
24% rent privately, higher than both Lancashire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%). Behind the median of £136,000: 899 standard sales inside Fleetwood’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026. Home ownership stands at nearly three in five households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £237,750 | 150 |
| Semi-detached | £165,000 | 287 |
| Terraced | £110,000 | 403 |
| Flat or maisonette | £72,450 | 59 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Young adults of 15 to 24 are just over one in ten residents, lower than both Lancashire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over. Fleetwood has a median age of 44.4.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Fleetwood | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 20% | 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 Fleetwood. Best known first.
MuseumFleetwood Museumin townTheme parkTheme parkChildren's Corner1.5 km outside town, to the southAttractionAttractionFarmer Parrs Animal World100 m outside town, to the southHistoric houseHistoric houseParrox Hall1.8 km outside town, to the eastAttractionAttractionMarsh Mill1.9 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
46 listed buildings in Fleetwood.
Lower Lighthouse: Photo: Tom Richardson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Roman Catholic Church of St Mary: Photo: Stevew2022 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Mount Pavilion: Photo: Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Victoria Public House: Photo: Belovedfreak · CC BY-SA 3.0
35 notable people were born in Fleetwood.
John Adshead: New Zealand Government, Office of the Governor-General, CC BY 4.0 · Stuart Chatwood: Dversion, Public domain · John Robb: Phil King, CC BY 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fleetwood | 26,224 | — | D | B | D | D |
| Cleveleys | 11,121 | 2.3 | C− | B− | C | C− |
| Preesall and Knott End-on-Sea | 4,679 | 2.4 | D− | C+ | C | C |
| Thornton | 19,263 | 2.9 | C | B− | C+ | C |
| Stalmine | 1,193 | 3.3 | — | D | A− | C |
| Hambleton | 2,428 | 4 | — | C− | B | C |
| Carleton | 4,793 | 4.3 | B | D | A− | B |
| Pilling | 1,699 | 5 | — | D | A | C+ |
Stalmine, Hambleton and Pilling 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 £136,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £72,450, terraced houses £110,000, semi-detached houses £165,000 and detached houses £237,750.
GCSE results trail 83% of towns in England, and primary results trail 89% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Large town in Lancashire, England
Fleetwood is a built-up area of 26,224 people, in the Wyre 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.