Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,652 in Lancashire, North West.
Halton grades B− overall against UK towns: better than 53% of UK towns, and #21 of 65 in Lancashire. Its strongest subject is health (A): life expectancy 82.5 for men, 85.6 for women. Its weakest is cost of living (D): median sale £269,000, 6.1 years of area income; rent £823 a month.
The 3 things Halton 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 Halton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 21 buildings inside Halton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*, and 2 scheduled monuments.
16% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Halton. Best known first.
CastleLancaster Castle3.6 km outside town, to the southwest
CathedralLancaster Cathedral3.4 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumJudges' Lodgings Museum3.5 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumLancaster City Museum3.5 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumLancaster Maritime Museum3.2 km outside town, to the southwestCastleCastleMotte and Bailey100 m outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Halton.
That puts Halton above both Lancashire’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%). Private renters make up 10% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £350,000 | 43 |
| Semi-detached | £247,500 | 37 |
| Terraced | £239,000 | 33 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Wilfrid's Cof E Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 225 | C+ |
On this, Halton is above both Lancashire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). Halton has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 2.9 miles away. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Halton | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.1% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
In the comparison, Halton comes below both Lancashire’s towns (24.5) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 104 crimes inside Halton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 27 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Halton records less crime per resident than 84% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For Halton, that is above both Lancashire’s towns (2%) and England’s towns (7%). Halton has 79 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents. Halton has 21 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 1 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Halton sits below both Lancashire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (27%) on this measure. The car carried 85% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
8.4% of residents are 15 to 24, below both Lancashire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Those 65 and older account for 23% of residents. Half the people of Halton are older than 44.8.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Halton | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.4% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.9% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 21% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 42% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Lancashire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
21 listed buildings in Halton.
High cross in St Wilfrid's churchyard, Halton: Photo: BarriePrice100 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tower House and Former Stables and Barn Adjoining: Photo: BarriePrice100 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · White Lion Hotel and Coach House Adjoining to North-East: Photo: BarriePrice100 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Church of St. Wilfrid: Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halton | 2,652 | — | B− | D | A− | A |
| Caton | 2,552 | 1.8 | B+ | D | A− | A |
| Bolton-le-Sands | 6,728 | 2 | B | D | A | A− |
| Lancaster | 52,646 | 2.7 | C+ | B− | D | C− |
| Carnforth | 5,852 | 3.3 | C | C+ | C+ | C+ |
| Morecambe | 32,745 | 4 | D− | C+ | D | D |
| Warton (Lancaster) | 1,801 | 4.7 | — | D | A | B− |
| Bailrigg | 4,788 | 4.9 | A | D | A+ | B |
Warton (Lancaster) has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.2 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Police recorded 104 crimes inside Halton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 49% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
GCSE results trail 81% of towns in England, and primary results trail 69% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Lancashire council.
Town in Lancashire, England
Halton is a built-up area of 2,652 people, in the Lancaster 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.