Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 45,559 in Merseyside, North West.
Kirkby grades D− overall against UK towns: behind almost every UK town. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 24% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is health (D−): life expectancy 75.3 for men, 78.3 for women. The median home sold for £162,500 in the last three years, 4 times what households in the Knowsley council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Kirkby 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 Kirkby is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 24 buildings inside Kirkby’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
1% 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 Kirkby.
The age that splits Kirkby in two is 37.9. Retirement age and beyond: 15% of residents are 65 or older. 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Kirkby | Merseyside | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 30% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 5.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 20% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Merseyside and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Secondary results at the town’s 2 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 37.7, with 29% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Of its 14 schools, two are shown below, each with the reason. 53% of pupils at the town’s 11 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwood Community Primary School (With Designated Special Provision)Largest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 471 | C− |
| All Saints Catholic High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,129 | C− |
24% of residents in Kirkby live with a disability. At the census, 76% of people in Kirkby called their health good or very good, below Merseyside’s towns (78%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. Women here live to 78.3 on average and men to 75.3 (2019–23). 4 GP practices serve the town; just over four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Kirkby | Merseyside | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 9.5% | 7.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 24% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
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.
Jobs per working resident: 1.1. Household income came to £38K a year before tax, below Merseyside’s towns (£48K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike. Home was the main workplace for nearly a fifth of workers at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 1 of them. Kirkby counts 24 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 1 Grade II*. It has 5 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, close to Merseyside’s towns (11) and below England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violence and sexual offences were 48% of the crimes. Kirkby logged 3,949 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 566 complaints of anti-social conduct. Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Kirkby has more crime per resident than 75% of them.
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.
17% rent privately, lower than both Merseyside’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (21%). The owner-occupied share of households is 55%. Only one of the 25 towns in Merseyside costs less to buy into than Kirkby, whose median sale is £162,500.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £265,000 | 223 |
| Semi-detached | £167,000 | 521 |
| Terraced | £130,000 | 396 |
| Flat or maisonette | £67,000 | 37 |
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 Kirkby. Best known first.
Historic houseCroxteth Hall2.1 km outside town, to the southWildlife parkWildlife parkKnowsley Safari3.2 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumPrescot Museum4.6 km outside town, to the southeastAttractionAttractionCroxteth Park Miniature Railway2.3 km outside town, to the southZooZooCroxteth Park Farm2.3 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
24 listed buildings in Kirkby.
The Railway Public House and Langtree Cottage: Photo: Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Waverley House (Kirkby Conservative Club): Photo: Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Vicarage: Photo: Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dovecote: Photo: Gary Rogers · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkby | 45,559 | — | D− | C− | D | D− |
| Aintree | 6,212 | 2.1 | C+ | D | C+ | C+ |
| Knowsley | 2,345 | 2.7 | — | D− | C | D− |
| Maghull | 20,367 | 2.8 | C | D | C+ | B− |
| Lydiate | 6,516 | 3.7 | B | D | A | B |
| Bootle | 53,722 | 4 | D− | C+ | D− | D− |
| Rainford | 5,573 | 4.4 | C+ | D | B+ | B− |
| Litherland | 18,752 | 4.6 | D | C | C− | D− |
Knowsley has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 94% of towns in England, and primary results trail 85% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £162,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £67,000, terraced houses £130,000, semi-detached houses £167,000 and detached houses £265,000. Household incomes are lower than in 97% of UK towns, so cost of living grades C−.
Large town in Merseyside, England
Kirkby is a built-up area of 45,559 people, in the Knowsley 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.