Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 52,646 in Lancashire, North West.
Lancaster grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 39% of UK towns, and #31 of 65 in Lancashire. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 34% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D): 39.3 violent and sexual offences and 22.6 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 45%. The median home sold for £180,000 in the last three years, 4.1 times what households in the Lancaster council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Lancaster 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 Lancaster is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 323 buildings inside Lancaster’s built-up area, 4 of them Grade I, and 3 scheduled monuments.
29% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 4 old photos and postcards going back to 1800.
Two U.S. towns are named after Lancaster. The oldest, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was settled in 1730.
USUS editionLancaster, Pennsylvania, settled in 1730, takes its name from this large town.
Also named after Lancaster:Lancaster, NH3,218
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Lancaster. Best known first.
CastleLancaster Castlein town
CathedralLancaster Cathedralin town
MuseumJudges' Lodgings Museumin town
MuseumLancaster City Museumin town
MuseumLancaster Maritime Museumin townHistoric siteHistoric siteAshton Memorialin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Lancaster.
That puts Lancaster above both Lancashire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Under-15s account for 16% of the population. Lancaster has a median age of 35.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Lancaster | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 21% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 14% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.1% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 24% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Lancashire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Lancaster Girls' Grammar School’s results beat 97% of schools in England like it. Three of its 21 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moorside Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 570 | B+ |
| Ripley St Thomas Church of England AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,755 | B+ |
| Lancaster Royal Grammar SchoolTop results in townSecondary | Secondary | 1,294 | A+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 27% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
On this, Lancaster is above both Lancashire’s towns (49%) and England’s towns (45%). 63% of commuters drove to work at the census.
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.
Lancaster has 323 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 4 Grade I, 23 Grade II*. Lancaster’s listed buildings include Ashton Memorial, Grade I. Lancaster has 61 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, above Lancashire’s towns (15) and close to England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Homes saw 22.6 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, above both Lancashire’s towns (9.8) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 4,477 crimes inside Lancaster’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 1,301 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 43% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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
Women here live to 81.8 on average and men to 76.7 (2019–23). One GP practice serves the town; 75% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 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 | Lancaster | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
In the comparison, Lancaster comes above both Lancashire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%). 58% of households own their home.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £390,000 | 207 |
| Semi-detached | £217,000 | 586 |
| Terraced | £160,000 | 840 |
| Flat or maisonette | £125,000 | 305 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
323 listed buildings in Lancaster, 4 of them Grade I.
Lancaster Castle: Photo: The wub · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ashton Memorial: Photo: Mark Longair from London, United Kingdom · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Priory and Parish Church of St Mary: Photo: Alexander P Kapp · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mill Hall, Moor Lane Mill North: Photo: Dave Bevis · CC BY-SA 2.0
119 notable people were born in Lancaster.
Richard Owen: Lock and Whitfield, published by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington (see [1], Public domain · Scott McTominay: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · John Ambrose Fleming: JDR, Public domain · Joe Abercrombie: Sizzlipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · James Beattie: Chris Whittaker, CC BY-SA 3.0 · John Waite: PaulHamaker, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster | 52,646 | — | C+ | B− | D | C− |
| Morecambe | 32,745 | 2.6 | D− | C+ | D | D |
| Halton | 2,652 | 2.7 | B− | D | A− | A |
| Bailrigg | 4,788 | 2.8 | A | D | A+ | B |
| Bolton-le-Sands | 6,728 | 3.4 | B | D | A | A− |
| Overton | 1,016 | 3.5 | — | C | C+ | C− |
| Heysham | 16,593 | 3.6 | D | C+ | C− | D |
| Galgate | 2,085 | 3.9 | — | C | B+ | B |
Overton and Galgate have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Lancaster Castle. It also has 3 scheduled monuments.
About the middle for its size: 55% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades D.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Large town in Lancashire, England
Lancaster is a built-up area of 52,646 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.