Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Lancashire, North West has a population of 4,388. Secondary school results beat 88% of towns in England.
A solid town with one catch. Where it does best is jobs & income (A+): households earn a mean £60,599 a year, and 1.3% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. With an A− overall, Whittle-le-Woods sits #7 of 65 in Lancashire. Nationally, it does better than just over four fifths of UK towns. Homes sell for a median £300,000, about 6.1 years of what households in the Chorley council area earn. It is hard to get around without a car: 9% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Whittle-le-Woods 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 Whittle-le-Woods is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 18 buildings inside Whittle-le-Woods’s built-up area.
17% 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 Whittle-le-Woods.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Short trips to work, under 5 km: 36%, lower than both Lancashire’s towns (49%) and England’s towns (45%). The census counted 38% of workers working mainly from home. Of the commuters living in Whittle-le-Woods, 3% work in the town itself. Each working resident is matched by 0.4 jobs here.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Attainment 8 at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km averages 54.4, and 57% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. The one school in town appears below. Key Stage 2 results at the 28 primary schools within 3 km: 62% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 240 | A |
Whittle-le-Woods has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 0.6 miles away. 86% of Whittle-le-Woods’ residents described their health as good or very good at the census, higher than both Lancashire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). Disability touches 14% of Whittle-le-Woods’ population.
| Census 2021 | Whittle-le-Woods | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.6% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
The owner-occupied share of households is 84%. Social housing holds 7% of households, below both Lancashire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (18%). 181 standard sales inside Whittle-le-Woods’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £300,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £426,500 | 95 |
| Semi-detached | £213,500 | 46 |
| Terraced | £197,000 | 38 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 62% of recorded crime. Police recorded 167 crimes inside Whittle-le-Woods’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 67 reports of anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 14.6 reports per 1,000, lower than Lancashire’s towns (17.3) yet higher than England’s towns (7.8).
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
17% of its homes were built before 1919, lower than Lancashire’s towns (23%) yet higher than England’s towns (16%). For its size, Whittle-le-Woods has 41 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Half of Whittle-le-Woods is older than 45.1, half younger. 11% of residents are 15 to 24, below both Lancashire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Over-65s are 17% of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Whittle-le-Woods | Lancashire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 33% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 11% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 43% | 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 Whittle-le-Woods. Best known first.
MuseumAstley Hall1.6 km outside town, to the south
MuseumBritish Commercial Vehicle Museum3.3 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumSouth Ribble Museum & Exhibition Centre3.3 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
18 listed buildings in Whittle-le-Woods.
The Roebuck: Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Former Canal Bridge: Photo: Ian Taylor · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Shaw Hill: Photo: Margaret Clough · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St John the Evangelist: Photo: Alexander P Kapp · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whittle-le-Woods | 4,388 | — | A− | B | B− | B+ |
| Euxton | 17,519 | 1.6 | A | A | B | B− |
| Chorley | 39,539 | 2.4 | B− | A | D | D |
| Leyland | 39,281 | 2.6 | C+ | A | C− | C− |
| Brinscall | 1,332 | 2.9 | — | B | A− | A− |
| Bamber Bridge | 40,359 | 3 | C+ | A | C | C |
| Farington Moss | 2,692 | 3.3 | B | B+ | C+ | C+ |
| Gregson Lane | 2,073 | 3.3 | — | A | A− | B+ |
Brinscall and Gregson Lane have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get 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.
Primary results are closer to the middle, beating 55%. One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Lancashire council.
Town in Lancashire, England
Whittle-le-Woods is a built-up area of 4,388 people, in the Chorley 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.