Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,653 in Lancashire, North West.
Rishton grades D overall against UK towns: better than 14% of UK towns, and #49 of 65 in Lancashire. Its strongest subject is hazard risk (A): 0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its weakest is safety (D): 43.9 violent and sexual offences and 19.5 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 8%. The median home sold for £136,250 in the last three years, 3.5 times what households in the Hyndburn council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Rishton 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 Rishton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 1 building inside Rishton’s built-up area.
53% 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 Rishton.
Police recorded 491 crimes inside Rishton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 96 reports of anti-social behaviour. There were 28.4 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both Lancashire’s towns (17.2) and England’s towns (7.8). Of all the crimes, 56% were 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.
Attainment 8 at the 6 secondary schools within 3 km averages 41.1, and 35% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. At the town’s 3 primary schools, 61% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 188 | B− |
| The Hyndburn AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 641 | D |
At the census, 6.8% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above Lancashire’s towns (6.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. Asked at the census, 79% of residents of Rishton said they were in good or very good health. Women here live to 82.1 on average and men to 77.7 (2019–23). One GP practice serves the town; nearly three in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Rishton | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.8% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For its size, Rishton has the second fewest listed buildings of the towns in Lancashire. The town has 1 listed building on Historic England’s list, all Grade II.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
9% of households rent from a council or housing body. Private rents average £648 a month across the Hyndburn council area. The median sale, £136,250, comes from 302 standard sales inside Rishton’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £269,000 | 37 |
| Semi-detached | £195,000 | 88 |
| Terraced | £98,000 | 177 |
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 19% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
19% of workers did their job mainly from home at the census. Of the commuters living in Rishton, 9% work in the town itself. This Lancashire town counts 1.3 jobs per working resident. At the census, 14% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below Lancashire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (27%) alike.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Typical age in Rishton: 42.7, the median. Children under 15 make up 17%, below Lancashire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Aged 15 to 24: 11% of residents.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Rishton | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.1% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 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 Rishton. Best known first.
CathedralBlackburn Cathedral3.9 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumBlackburn Museum and Art Gallery3.9 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumHaworth Art Gallery4.5 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseNorthcote Manor4.4 km outside town, to the northwestHistoric houseHistoric houseMartholme3.7 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumAccrington Dome3.2 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
5 notable people were born in Rishton.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rishton | 6,653 | — | D | B | D | D |
| Great Harwood | 11,022 | 1.3 | D | B | D | C− |
| Clayton-le-Moors | 7,969 | 1.5 | D | B | D | D |
| Church | 5,030 | 1.5 | D− | B+ | D− | D |
| Oswaldtwistle | 10,810 | 1.8 | D | B | D | D |
| Accrington | 34,897 | 2.3 | D− | B+ | D− | D− |
| Langho | 1,723 | 2.8 | — | A | B | A |
| Huncoat | 1,258 | 3 | — | B− | C+ | C− |
Langho and Huncoat have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
1 on Historic England’s list.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £136,250, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £98,000, semi-detached houses £195,000 and detached houses £269,000.
GCSE results trail 84% of towns in England, and primary results trail 52% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Town in Lancashire, England
Rishton is a built-up area of 6,653 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.
