Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 434 people, this village lies in Lancashire, North West.
Towns under 1,000 residents aren’t graded, so Hornby has no grades; its figures are still real. Over-65s are 46% of the population. Its listed buildings number 25, with 1 at Grade I. 12% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
The 3 things Hornby does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Hornby’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
37% 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 Hornby.
8.2% of residents are 15 to 24, below Lancashire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Children under 15 make up 9.6% of residents. Typical age in Hornby: 62.4, the median. Among adults, 44% have a degree.
54% women, 46% men
About 87 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.
| Hornby | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 9.6% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.2% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 13% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 46% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.1% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 44% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Lancashire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
49% of pupils at the 4 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its only school is listed below. The town’s primary school has 16 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hornby St Margaret's Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 16 | C− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 86% of commuters, above Lancashire’s towns (78%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. About 6% of its commuters stay in Hornby for work. This Lancashire town counts 0.9 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
68% of households are owner-occupiers. Social housing holds 11% of households, below both Lancashire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (18%). Private renters make up 17% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £450,000 | 11 |
| Terraced | £207,500 | 6 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Burglary and damage came to 7.7 per 1,000 residents a year, below Lancashire’s towns (9.8) and England’s towns (9.4) alike. Police figures for Hornby’s built-up area: 16 crimes and 4 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences made up 25% of the total.
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 nearest A&E to Hornby is Royal Lancaster Infirmary, 9 miles away. Seeing a GP means leaving Hornby: the nearest practice is 5.2 miles away. 5.8% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, lower than Lancashire’s towns (6.3%) yet higher than England’s towns (5.2%).
| Census 2021 | Hornby | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.8% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Hornby’s listed buildings include the Church of St Margaret, Grade I. Homes from before 1919 make up 37% of the total, higher than both Lancashire’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (16%). At the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 1 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Hornby. Best known first.
CastleHornby Castle200 m outside town, to the east
CastleThurland Castle4.7 km outside town, to the northeastFortFortCastle Stede600 m outside town, to the northPhotos: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hornby | 434 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Caton | 2,552 | 4 | B+ | D | A− | A |
| High Bentham | 1,701 | 5.2 | — | B | A | B+ |
| Halton | 2,652 | 5.4 | B− | D | A− | A |
| Carnforth | 5,852 | 5.5 | C | C+ | C+ | C+ |
| Warton (Lancaster) | 1,801 | 5.7 | — | D | A | B− |
| Burton-in-Kendal | 1,341 | 6 | — | D− | A+ | A+ |
| Kirkby Lonsdale | 1,965 | 6.5 | — | D− | B+ | A |
High Bentham, Warton (Lancaster), Burton-in-Kendal and Kirkby Lonsdale have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 23.6 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Margaret. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Band D council tax in Hornby is £2,515 for 2026–27, more than in 68% 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.
Village in Lancashire, England
Hornby is a built-up area of 434 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.