Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
13% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. 10,810 residents make their home in this town in Lancashire, North West.
The weak point is safety (D): 48.8 violent and sexual offences and 23 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Only 11% of UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have more crime per resident. Oswaldtwistle’s overall grade is D, better than 6% of UK towns. That places it #59 of 65 in Lancashire. Health outcomes fall short of most towns: life expectancy is 75.5 for men and 80.7 for women. Homes are affordable: a typical home costs £137,750 and rent runs £648 a month.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS.
The 3 things Oswaldtwistle 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 Oswaldtwistle is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 6 buildings inside Oswaldtwistle’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
43% 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 Oswaldtwistle.
1,083 crimes and 309 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Oswaldtwistle’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. For its size, Oswaldtwistle records more crime per resident than 89% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 33.4 reports per 1,000, higher than both Lancashire’s towns (17.2) and England’s towns (7.8). Nearly half of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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.
GCSE results at the 7 secondary schools within 3 km: 35% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 41.2. St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Oswaldtwistle’s results beat 81% of schools in England like it. The town’s five primaries and one secondary have 1,711 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oswaldtwistle St Andrew's Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 302 | D |
| RhyddingsLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 610 | D− |
| St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, OswaldtwistleTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 252 | A− |
7.3% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, above Lancashire’s towns (6.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. Disability touches nearly a quarter of Oswaldtwistle’s population. There is no GP practice here: the nearest is 0.3 miles off. Asked at the census, 77% of residents of Oswaldtwistle said they were in good or very good health.
| Census 2021 | Oswaldtwistle | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.3% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
68% of households are owner-occupiers. The social rented sector houses 13% of households. Private renters make up nearly a fifth of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £260,000 | 39 |
| Semi-detached | £180,000 | 131 |
| Terraced | £120,000 | 287 |
| Flat or maisonette | £88,950 | 17 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · 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 6 listed buildings in Oswaldtwistle: 1 Grade II*. Of the town’s land, 10% lies in conservation areas, higher than both Lancashire’s towns (2%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
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.
For 51% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. 10% of commuters who live in Oswaldtwistle also work there. This Lancashire town counts 0.4 jobs per working resident. Also worth knowing: households had £38K a year before tax, below Lancashire’s towns (£48K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, above both Lancashire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). Children under 15 make up 16% of residents. Typical age in Oswaldtwistle: 45.3, the median. Those aged 15 to 24 account for 10% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Oswaldtwistle | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 9% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 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 Oswaldtwistle. Best known first.
CathedralBlackburn Cathedral3.9 km outside town, to the west
MuseumHaworth Art Gallery1.5 km outside town, to the east
MuseumBlackburn Museum and Art Gallery4.1 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumAccrington Dome1.6 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
17 notable people were born in Oswaldtwistle.
Joel Byrom: Mattythewhite, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gordon Birtwistle: Keith Edkins, CC BY-SA 3.0 · S. M. Holden: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oswaldtwistle | 10,810 | — | D | B | D | D |
| Church | 5,030 | 1.3 | D− | B+ | D− | D |
| Accrington | 34,897 | 1.5 | D− | B+ | D− | D− |
| Rishton | 6,653 | 1.8 | D | B | D | D |
| Clayton-le-Moors | 7,969 | 2.4 | D | B | D | D |
| Great Harwood | 11,022 | 3 | D | B | D | C− |
| Huncoat | 1,258 | 3 | — | B− | C+ | C− |
| Hoddlesden | 1,218 | 3.5 | — | D | A | A− |
Huncoat and Hoddlesden 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 £137,750, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £88,950, terraced houses £120,000, semi-detached houses £180,000 and detached houses £260,000.
GCSE results trail 84% of towns in England, and primary results trail 66% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Town in Lancashire, England
Oswaldtwistle is a built-up area of 10,810 people, in the Hyndburn 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.