Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
24,651 people call this large town in Merseyside, North West home.
Several subjects drag its grade down. Health outcomes fall short of most towns: life expectancy is 76.4 for men and 80.4 for women. Safety is weaker too (C−) — police record 40.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 13.5 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 30%. Its best grade is for hazard risk (B+). Homes sell for a median £203,500, about 4.8 years of what households in the St. Helens council area earn. The overall grade lands at D, better than 7% of UK towns. That places it #20 of 25 in Merseyside.
Figures: flood risk, Environment Agency · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 2 things Newton-le-Willows 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 Newton-le-Willows is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 16 buildings inside Newton-le-Willows’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
16% 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 Newton-le-Willows.
A fifth of residents have a disability, lower than Merseyside’s towns (22%) yet higher than England’s towns (17%). 3 GP practices serve the town; 72% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 6.7% of the town.
| Census 2021 | Newton-le-Willows | Merseyside | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.7% | 7.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Attainment 8 at the 6 secondary schools within 3 km averages 43.7, and just over two in five pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. St Peter's CofE Primary School’s results beat 87% of schools in England like it. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 6 primary schools: 58% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newton-le-Willows Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 563 | C− |
| St Peter's CofE Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 226 | A |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Police figures for Newton-le-Willows’s built-up area: 1,893 crimes and 167 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences were 48% of the crimes. For its size, Newton-le-Willows records more crime per resident than 70% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
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.
25% live in social housing, higher than both Merseyside’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £807 a month across the St. Helens council area. Half of the 858 standard sales inside Newton-le-Willows’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £203,500.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £330,000 | 179 |
| Semi-detached | £215,000 | 323 |
| Terraced | £165,000 | 307 |
| Flat or maisonette | £110,000 | 49 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 2 of them. Per 10,000 residents, Newton-le-Willows counts 6 listed buildings, below Merseyside’s towns (11) and England’s towns (39) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 28% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Just over a third of commuters travelled under 5 km, below Merseyside’s towns (45%) and England’s towns (45%) alike, and on top of that at the census, 15% of commuters got to work without a car. Work in town: 14% of resident commuters. The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 3.3%.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The under-15s are 19% of the population here. The median resident of Newton-le-Willows is 38.1 years old. Those 65 and older account for 15% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Newton-le-Willows | Merseyside | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 31% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 5.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Merseyside and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Newton-le-Willows. Best known first.
Theme parkGulliver's World3.7 km outside town, to the south
MuseumNorth West Museum of Road Transport4.6 km outside town, to the west
MuseumWorld of Glass4.8 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumRAF Burtonwood Heritage Centre3.6 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
16 listed buildings in Newton-le-Willows.
Entrance Archway to Cancello: Photo: Rodhullandemu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bradley Lock: Photo: Rodhullandemu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bradley Swing Bridge: Photo: Rodhullandemu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · United Reformed Chapel: Photo: Rodhullandemu · CC BY-SA 4.0
25 notable people were born in Newton-le-Willows.
Rick Astley: Wjack12, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rodney Robert Porter: MRC National Institute for Medical Research, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Robin Herd: Raimund Kommer, CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newton-le-Willows | 24,651 | — | D | C | C− | D |
| Burtonwood | 3,504 | 1.6 | B+ | A | B+ | D |
| Haydock | 16,143 | 1.9 | D | C+ | C | D |
| Winwick | 2,062 | 2.1 | — | C+ | D− | C− |
| Ashton-in-Makerfield | 26,367 | 2.8 | — | B+ | — | C− |
| Golborne | 25,563 | 2.8 | — | B | — | C− |
| Croft | 1,520 | 3.6 | — | C+ | A | A− |
| Billinge | 4,963 | 4.1 | B− | C− | B+ | C+ |
Winwick and Croft have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Ashton-in-Makerfield and Golborne have no Safety Grade: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish to police.uk. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 65% of towns in England, and primary results trail 70% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £203,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £110,000, terraced houses £165,000, semi-detached houses £215,000 and detached houses £330,000. Household incomes are lower than in 75% of UK towns, so cost of living grades C.
Large town in Merseyside, England
Newton-le-Willows is a built-up area of 24,651 people, in the St. Helens 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.