Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 20,489 in Lancashire, North West. 44% of households own their home with no mortgage.
Where it does best is cost of living (A−) — homes sell for a median £223,175, about 4.5 times local household income. With an A− overall, Penwortham sits #5 of 65 in Lancashire. Nationally, it does better than 81% of UK towns. It is strong on schools as well: primary results beat 56% of towns in England; secondary results beat 85% of towns in England. Hazards are a real consideration: nearly one in ten homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for safety, B− for health and B for walkability.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Penwortham 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 Penwortham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 12 buildings inside Penwortham’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
8% 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 Penwortham.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 1 of them. 8% of its homes were built before 1919, below Lancashire’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. Listed buildings per head: 6 for every 10,000 residents of Penwortham.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Below are three of its 12 schools, each with why it was picked. Howick Church Endowed Primary School’s results beat 94% of schools in England like it. Between them, nine primaries and three secondaries teach 4,275 pupils in Penwortham.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitefield Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 338 | B− |
| All Hallows Catholic High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 911 | A− |
| Howick Church Endowed Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 103 | A |
816 standard sales inside Penwortham’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £223,175. It is the 24th most expensive of 65 towns of 2,500+ in Lancashire.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £337,600 | 197 |
| Semi-detached | £219,000 | 464 |
| Terraced | £159,975 | 112 |
| Flat or maisonette | £126,000 | 43 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · 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.
About just over a tenth of its commuters stay in Penwortham for work. At the census, 15% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below Lancashire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (27%) alike. This Lancashire town counts 0.3 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Penwortham logged 944 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 266 complaints of anti-social conduct. Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Penwortham has less crime per resident than 77% of them. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 15.9 reports per 1,000, below Lancashire’s towns (17.3) but above England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were 57% of the crimes.
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.
3 GP practices serve the town; 83% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Men in Penwortham can expect to live to 81.3, women to 85.1 (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Penwortham is Royal Preston Hospital, 3.5 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Penwortham | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.8% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 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.
One measure of family life: 17% of residents are under 15. Line up the people of Penwortham by age and the one in the middle is 46.5. The 65-and-over age group makes up 24% of residents. 36% of adults hold a degree, above Lancashire’s towns (29%) and England’s towns (34%) alike.
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.
| Penwortham | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.6% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 36% | 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 Penwortham. Best known first.
MuseumHarris Museum1.4 km outside town, to the northeast
CathedralSyro-Malabar Cathedral of St Alphonsa, Preston1.9 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumMuseum of Lancashire2 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumBritish Commercial Vehicle Museum3.9 km outside town, to the south
MuseumRibble Steam Railway900 m outside town, to the northwest
MuseumLancashire Infantry Museum3.4 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
12 listed buildings in Penwortham.
Fleece Inn and Attached Cottage and Workshop: Photo: Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Penwortham Hall (Incorporating Penwortham Lodge): Photo: Martinevans123 · CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penwortham | 20,489 | — | A− | A− | B− | B− |
| Hutton | 2,140 | 1.6 | — | B+ | B− | A− |
| Preston | 94,502 | 2.2 | C− | B+ | D− | D |
| Farington Moss | 2,692 | 2.4 | B | B+ | C+ | C+ |
| Longton | 10,912 | 2.6 | A+ | B+ | A− | B+ |
| Bamber Bridge | 40,359 | 2.8 | C+ | A | C | C |
| Fulwood | 34,693 | 2.9 | B | B− | C | C |
| Cottam | 5,507 | 3.4 | C+ | C | C− | B |
Hutton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades B−.
Secondary schools stand out: GCSE results beat 85% of towns in England. Primary results are closer to the middle, beating 56%.
Large town in Lancashire, England
Penwortham is a built-up area of 20,489 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.