Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 19,263 in Lancashire, North West.
Thornton grades C overall against UK towns: better than 34% of UK towns, and #35 of 65 in Lancashire. Its weakest is health (C): life expectancy 79.5 for men, 82.7 for women.
The 3 things Thornton 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 Thornton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 7 buildings inside Thornton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
7% 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 Thornton.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Thornton has 7 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade II*. 7% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Some 2,067 pupils attend Thornton’s five primaries and one secondary. Stanah Primary School’s results beat 87% of schools in England like it. Attainment 8 at the 7 secondary schools within 3 km averages 43.7, and 41% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stanah Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 369 | A |
| Millfield SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 877 | B |
One measure of family life: 15% of residents are under 15. People aged 15 to 24 make up nearly a tenth of the town, lower than both Lancashire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Half the people of Thornton are older than 48.8. Degrees are held by 27% of adults.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
| Thornton | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.2% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Lancashire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
78% of Thornton’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below Lancashire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. 3 GP practices serve the town; nearly nine in ten patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Men in Thornton can expect to live to 79.5, women to 82.7 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Thornton | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.5% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 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.
Of all the crimes, 53% were violence and sexual offences. Police figures for Thornton’s built-up area: 1,043 crimes and 261 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence came to 27.6 per 1,000 residents a year, above Lancashire’s towns (24.3) and England’s towns (22) alike.
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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 26% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For every resident in work, Thornton has 0.5 jobs. 85% of commuters drove, above Lancashire’s towns (78%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Income per household averages £42K a year, before tax. About 13% of its commuters stay in Thornton for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The private rented sector houses 17% of households. 4% live in social housing, below Lancashire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £743 a month across the Wyre council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £270,000 | 248 |
| Semi-detached | £172,250 | 554 |
| Terraced | £140,000 | 160 |
| Flat or maisonette | £93,500 | 59 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Thornton. Best known first.
ZooBlackpool Zoo5 km outside town, to the south
MuseumFleetwood Museum3.3 km outside town, to the northTheme parkTheme parkChildren's Corner1.5 km outside town, to the westAttractionAttractionFarmer Parrs Animal World1 km outside town, to the northwestHistoric houseHistoric houseParrox Hall3.6 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
7 listed buildings in Thornton.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church: Photo: Bob Jenkins · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Trunnah Farmhouse: Photo: Seasider53 · CC BY 4.0 · Thornton Cleveleys War Memorial: Photo: Gerald England · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Raikes Farmhouse: Photo: Bob Jenkins · CC BY-SA 2.0
4 notable people were born in Thornton.
Hannah Godfrey: Katie Chan, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornton | 19,263 | — | C | B− | C+ | C |
| Cleveleys | 11,121 | 1.3 | C− | B− | C | C− |
| Carleton | 4,793 | 1.5 | B | D | A− | B |
| Hambleton | 2,428 | 1.9 | — | C− | B | C |
| Poulton-le-Fylde | 12,792 | 2.5 | B− | C− | C | B |
| Stalmine | 1,193 | 2.6 | — | D | A− | C |
| Fleetwood | 26,224 | 2.9 | D | B | D | D |
| Preesall and Knott End-on-Sea | 4,679 | 3.7 | D− | C+ | C | C |
Hambleton and Stalmine have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
By type: flats £93,500, terraced houses £140,000, semi-detached houses £172,250 and detached houses £270,000.
About the middle for its size: 35% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C+.
Town in Lancashire, England
Thornton is a built-up area of 19,263 people, in the Wyre 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.