Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
10,912 people call this town in Lancashire, North West home.
Mostly strong, with a single weak spot. Its best grade is for schools — primary results beat 97% of towns in England; secondary results beat 72% of towns in England. Households here earn well: households earn a mean £53,542 a year, and 1.3% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. What counts against it is walkability (C−) — 10% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. It also trails on hazard risk (C−) — 2.1% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £269,750, 5.5 times what households in the South Ribble council area earn in a year. All told, that adds up to an A+ overall and a rank of #1 of 65 in Lancashire. Nationally, it does better than 95% of UK towns.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Longton 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 Longton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 9 buildings inside Longton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Longton, Kansas, is named after Longton.
Longton, Kansas, settled in 1870, takes its name from this town.
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.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Longton.
Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 5 primary schools: 77% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Attainment 8 at the 6 secondary schools within 3 km averages 49.4, and just over half of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Some 943 pupils attend Longton’s five primaries.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Oswald's Catholic Primary School, LongtonLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 246 | A− |
| New Longton All Saints CofE Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 217 | A+ |
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 12.4 reports per 1,000, between Lancashire’s towns (17.3) and England’s towns (7.8). Property crime (burglary and damage) runs at 5.6 per 1,000 residents a year. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 267 recorded crimes inside Longton’s built-up area, and 88 reports of anti-social behaviour. Per 1,000 residents, 14 violent crimes are recorded each year.
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, nearly nine in ten commuters went by car. Longton counts 0.4 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.
The pre-1919 share of homes is 14%. Scaled to its population, that is 8 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in Longton.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Just over one in ten households rent privately. Social housing holds 5% of households, lower than both Lancashire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £805 a month across the South Ribble council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £394,000 | 190 |
| Semi-detached | £233,000 | 221 |
| Terraced | £181,500 | 38 |
| Flat or maisonette | £118,500 | 8 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
3 GP practices serve the town; 84% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Longton is Royal Preston Hospital, 5.6 miles away. Asked at the census, just over four in five residents of Longton said they were in good or very good health.
| Census 2021 | Longton | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · 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.
9.1% of the population is aged 15 to 24, below both Lancashire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Ages in Longton split evenly at 50.9: half are older, half younger. Also worth knowing: among adults, 35% have a degree.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
| Longton | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.1% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.2% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 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 Longton. Best known first.
MuseumHarris Museum4.1 km outside town, to the northeast
CathedralSyro-Malabar Cathedral of St Alphonsa, Preston4.6 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumBritish Commercial Vehicle Museum3.6 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumMuseum of Lancashire4.8 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumRibble Steam Railway3.3 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumSouth Ribble Museum & Exhibition Centre3.9 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longton | 10,912 | — | A+ | B+ | A− | B+ |
| Hutton | 2,140 | 1 | — | B+ | B− | A− |
| Penwortham | 20,489 | 2.6 | A− | A− | B− | B− |
| Tarleton and Hesketh Bank | 8,756 | 3 | B+ | C+ | A− | B+ |
| Clifton | 1,022 | 3.3 | — | C+ | C+ | B |
| Farington Moss | 2,692 | 3.3 | B | B+ | C+ | C+ |
| Wymott | 2,092 | 3.5 | — | A− | B | C− |
| Freckleton | 4,478 | 3.9 | C+ | B− | B− | C |
Hutton, Clifton and Wymott have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Police recorded 267 crimes inside Longton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 51% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Secondary results beat 72%.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Lancashire, England
Longton is a built-up area of 10,912 people, in the South Ribble 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.