Hightown’s story
2 listed buildings
Historic England lists them inside Hightown’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
HightownMerseyside
A village of 2,018 in Merseyside, North West. 15% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: S Parish · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
2,018
Census 2021 · Sefton council
Median home
£340K
74 sales in 3 years
Median age
56.6
32% are 65+ · Merseyside 19%
Degree level
42%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
15%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Hightown a good place to live?
Hightown has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. 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 cost of living (D−): median sale £340,000, 7.5 years of area income; rent £938 a month.
What makes Hightown stand out
The 3 things Hightown does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
15% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
Residents 65 and over
Who lives here
32% are 65 or over
Against 18% across England’s towns
Own outright
Housing
59% own outright
of households own their home with no mortgage (England’s towns 32%)
How Hightown grades
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Hightown is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Cost of livingD−Open →Hazard riskAOpen →SafetyA−Open →Jobs & incomeMean household income £51,084; 1.2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefitsA−Open →HealthLife expectancy 80.5 for men, 82.8 for womenC+Open →WalkabilityBOpen →SchoolsPrimary results beat 58% of towns in England; secondary results beat 50% of towns in EnglandBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
History2 listed buildingsC−Open →Outdoors44% live within 400 m of a park; 1.7 ha of public green space per 1,000 residentsCOpen →Civic life1 local charities per 1,000 residents; 0% live within 1 km of a libraryDOpen →
How TownRatings grades towns →
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Hightown.
Who lives here
An older town: 32% of people in Hightown are 65 or over, more than in both Merseyside’s towns and England’s towns
People aged 15 to 24 make up 6.9% of the town, below both Merseyside’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%). 11% of residents are children under 15. Ages in Hightown split evenly at 56.6: half are older, half younger. Degrees are held by 42% of adults.
56.6median age
HightownMerseysideEngland
Ages · share of residents
32%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications12%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar15%
Degree level42%
Women and men · all residents
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.
| Hightown | Merseyside | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 11% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 6.9% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 32% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 32% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 5.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 42% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Merseyside and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
HousingCost of living grade D−
Hightown is a town of owners: 92% of households own their home, above Merseyside’s towns and England’s towns
The private rented sector houses 7% of households. 1% live in social housing, below Merseyside’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. From September 2023 to August 2026, 74 homes sold inside Hightown’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £340,000.
£340Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Hightown£340K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £404,000 | 50 |
| Semi-detached | £275,000 | 21 |
92%
of households own their home · England 61%
7%
rent privately · England 21%
£938
average private rent a month, Sefton council area
£2,597
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Safety
Violence is recorded less often in Hightown than in Merseyside’s towns or across England’s towns: 10.3 per 1,000 residents a year
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 71 offences in Hightown and 31 cases of nuisance behaviour. Of all the crimes, 28% were violence and sexual offences. Homes saw 9.3 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, below Merseyside’s towns (10.6) and close to England’s towns (9.4).
10.3violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearA−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 70% of the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people: less crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Damage & arson22
Violence & sexual20
Public order8
Burglary5
Shoplifting4
Vehicle crime4
Other theft3
Drugs2
Anti-social31
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.
10.3
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
9.3
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
8.6
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
71
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
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.
History
Hightown’s listed buildings: 2, all Grade II
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, below Merseyside’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. One scheduled monument lies in Hightown. This Merseyside town has 10 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents.
2listed buildingsC−History Grade
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I0
Grade II*0
Grade II2
1
scheduled monument
0
registered parks and gardens
13%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
10
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Health
In Hightown, 83% say their health is good or very good, against 78% in Merseyside’s towns and 82% in England’s towns
The nearest A&E to Hightown is University Hospital Aintree, 6.5 miles away. At the census, 18% of people here had a disability, lower than Merseyside’s towns (22%) and near England’s towns (17%). 5.3% of residents report bad or very bad health. 2 GP practices serve the town; 56% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
83%good or very good healthC+Health Grade
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 83%Fair 12%Bad or very bad 5%
| Census 2021 | Hightown | Merseyside | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.3% | 7.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 22% | 17% |
80.5
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
82.8
life expectancy at birth, women
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A−
Under 5 km to work: 18% in Hightown, fewer than in both Merseyside’s towns and England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 42% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
82% of commuters drove, above Merseyside’s towns (71%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Home was the main workplace for 42% of workers at the census. Work in town: 2% of resident commuters. The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 1.2%.
15%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving82%
Train8%
On foot3%
Bicycle3%
18%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
42%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£51K
mean household income, before tax
1.2%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
B
Walkability: more walkable than 56% of UK towns
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Hightown
13pages on Hightown
The big questions
SafetyA−10.3 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Cost of livingD−Median home £340K · rent £938 a monthHousing19 sold in 12 months · busiest street Mark RoadSchoolsBHealthC+Life expectancy 80.5 (men), 82.8 (women)Work & commuteA−54% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazardsA0% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Out and about
Hightown’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
FormbyCrosbyLitherlandLydiateMaghullBootleAintreeHightown
Questions about Hightown
Does Hightown flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
About Hightown
Village in Merseyside, England
Hightown is a built-up area of 2,018 people, in the Sefton 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
- Population
- 2,018 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Sefton
- County
- Merseyside
- Region
- North West
- Area
- 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km²)
- ONS code
- E63001208
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.