Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 10,121 in Lancashire, North West.
Padiham grades D overall against UK towns: better than 7% of UK towns, and #55 of 65 in Lancashire. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 20% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D−): 56.6 violent and sexual offences and 25.4 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 5%. The median home sold for £110,000 in the last three years, 2.8 times what households in the Burnley council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Padiham 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 Padiham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 31 buildings inside Padiham’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I.
51% 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 Padiham.
Violence and sexual offences made up 54% of the total. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 44.6 reports per 1,000, above both Lancashire’s towns (17.2) and England’s towns (7.8). Also worth knowing: a year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 1,148 offences in Padiham and 335 cases of nuisance behaviour.
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.
At the town’s 4 primary schools, 55% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are two of its 6 schools, each with why it was picked. GCSE results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: 35% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 38.3.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Padiham St Leonard's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 312 | C+ |
| Shuttleworth CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,072 | C− |
The nearest A&E to Padiham is Royal Blackburn Hospital, 7.5 miles away. At the census, 76% of people in Padiham called their health good or very good, lower than both Lancashire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). Disability touches nearly a quarter of the town’s population. One GP practice serves the town; 72% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Padiham | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.8% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 24% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Padiham’s 31 listed buildings on Historic England’s list, Grade I counts 2 and Grade II* 1. The town’s listed buildings include Gawthorpe Hall and Surrounding Balustrade, Grade I. It has one registered historic park or garden.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 16% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Household income came to £39K a year before tax, below both Lancashire’s towns (£48K) and England’s towns (£55K). Jobs per working resident: 0.8. Work in town: 13% of resident commuters. 41% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Social housing holds a fifth of households. Owners make up 52% of households, lower than both Lancashire’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%). Only one of the 65 towns in Lancashire costs less to buy into than Padiham, whose median sale is £110,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £260,000 | 22 |
| Semi-detached | £167,750 | 84 |
| Terraced | £96,000 | 347 |
| Flat or maisonette | £64,000 | 19 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
20% are under 15, higher than both Lancashire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are a tenth of the population. Padiham has a median age of 40.3 years.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Padiham | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 25% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.2% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 22% | 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 Padiham. Best known first.
MuseumWeavers' Triangle3.4 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumGawthorpe Textiles Collectionin townHistoric houseHistoric houseMartholme2.8 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
31 listed buildings in Padiham, 2 of them Grade I.
Stockbridge House: Photo: Trappedinburnley · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Church of St Leonard: Photo: Cj1340 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Town Hall: Photo: Austen Redman · CC BY-SA 2.5 · National Westminster Bank: Photo: Dr Neil Clifton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
25 notable people were born in Padiham.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Padiham | 10,121 | — | D | A− | D− | D |
| Hapton | 2,240 | 1.2 | — | B | B− | C+ |
| Read | 2,049 | 1.8 | — | A− | A | A |
| Huncoat | 1,258 | 2.3 | — | B− | C+ | C− |
| Sabden | 1,582 | 2.6 | — | A | B− | A− |
| Burnley | 78,266 | 2.6 | D | B+ | D− | D |
| Clayton-le-Moors | 7,969 | 3.3 | D | B | D | D |
| Fence | 1,585 | 3.4 | — | C− | A | A− |
Hapton, Read, Huncoat, Sabden and Fence 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 £110,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £64,000, terraced houses £96,000, semi-detached houses £167,750 and detached houses £260,000.
That is 1.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Gawthorpe Hall and Surrounding Balustrade.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Lancashire, England
Padiham is a built-up area of 10,121 people, in the Burnley 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.
