Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 29,082 in Merseyside, North West.
Heswall grades A− overall against UK towns: better than 76% of UK towns, and #4 of 25 in Merseyside. Its strongest subject is safety (A−): 14.3 violent and sexual offences and 5.5 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Its weakest is cost of living (D): median sale £302,500, 6.6 years of area income; rent £859 a month.
The 3 things Heswall 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 Heswall is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 14 buildings inside Heswall’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
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 Heswall.
The under-15s are 14% of the population here. Nearly a tenth of the population is aged 15 to 24, lower than both Merseyside’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%). Typical age in Heswall: 52.2, the median. Degrees are held by 43% of adults.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
| Heswall | Merseyside | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.4% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 31% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.5% | 5.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 43% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Merseyside and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 8 primary schools: two thirds of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Three of its 10 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Between them, eight primaries and one secondary teach 2,871 pupils in Heswall.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnston Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 299 | A |
| Pensby High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 915 | B− |
| Thingwall Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 197 | A |
6% of households live in social housing. Private renters make up nearly one in ten households, lower than both Merseyside’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (21%). Half of the 1,289 standard sales inside Heswall’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £302,500.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £505,000 | 453 |
| Semi-detached | £272,500 | 652 |
| Terraced | £215,000 | 66 |
| Flat or maisonette | £165,000 | 118 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
825 crimes and 102 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Heswall’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 3 reports per 1,000, below Merseyside’s towns (8.2) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences made up 52% of the total.
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.
Homes from before 1919 make up 8% of the total, below Merseyside’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. Grade II* covers 3 of them. Heswall has one scheduled monument.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
At the census, 82% of people in Heswall called their health good or very good, about level with England’s towns (82%) and above Merseyside’s towns (78%). Disability touches 18% of the town’s population. 3 GP practices serve the town; 71% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Heswall | Merseyside | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 7.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 22% | 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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
There are 0.5 jobs in Heswall for each resident in work. The car took 85% of commuters, above Merseyside’s towns (71%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. 27% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. Work in town: 13% of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Heswall. Best known first.
GardenBirkenhead Park4.7 km outside town, to the northeast
Historic houseThornton Manor1.4 km outside town, to the east
MuseumWilliamson Art Gallery & Museum4.1 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumHadlow Road Station4.7 km outside town, to the southeastAttractionAttractionBrimstage Hall1.8 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
14 listed buildings in Heswall.
Old Windmill: Photo: Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Oldfield Farmhouse: Photo: Rodhullandemu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lloyds Bank: Photo: Rodhullandemu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Irby Hall: Photo: Rodhullandemu · CC BY-SA 4.0
18 notable people were born in Heswall.
John Peel: JP_BBC.jpg: Arno Matthias derivative work: January, Public domain · Ian Botham: Nic Redhead, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ian Astbury: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · Stephen Hough: Quincena Musical, CC BY 2.0 · Andy McCluskey: Marnie Joyce from New York City, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Jim Bowen: Mudhappy, CC BY 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heswall | 29,082 | — | A− | D | A− | B+ |
| Greasby | 9,175 | 2.8 | A | C− | A | B+ |
| Caldy | 1,227 | 3.1 | — | D− | A | A+ |
| Birkenhead | 109,854 | 3.5 | D | B− | D | D− |
| Neston | 14,963 | 3.7 | B | C | B | B |
| West Kirby | 13,383 | 3.9 | A | D | B+ | A− |
| Bebington | 57,607 | 4.2 | B− | C | B− | C |
| Meols | 5,023 | 4.9 | A− | D | A | B |
Caldy has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Primary schools stand out: Key Stage 2 results beat 80% of towns in England. Secondary results are closer to the middle, beating 59%.
Large town in Merseyside, England
Heswall is a built-up area of 29,082 people, in the Wirral 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.