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View from Tower of Liverpool CathedralLiverpool, #1 on this list · Photo: Christine Matthews · CC BY-SA 2.0
Merseyside rankings · Walkability

Most walkable towns in Merseyside

Liverpool ranks first on walkability among Merseyside’s 25 towns of 2,500+; 11 of the 25 grade A− or better against UK towns.

The Walkability Grade: the share of commuters who walked, cycled or took public transport to work at the 2021 Census (taken in lockdown). The rank across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland sits beside each letter. How grades work

#1

Liverpool

506,564 people
A+

Better than 98% of UK towns·#74 of 2,515 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

#2

Bootle

53,722 people
A+

Better than 96% of UK towns·#125 of 2,515 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

#3

Litherland

18,752 people
A

Better than 92% of UK towns·#258 of 2,515 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

All 25 towns, ranked

Walkability grade, best first; ranks are the county ranks on each town’s page (T = tied). Military garrison towns and university campuses keep their grades but aren’t ranked. Each rank across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland links to the national list.

Every town in Merseyside →

25 towns.

#TownGrade · UK rankCompared with UK towns
1Liverpool506,564 peopleA+#74 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 98% of UK towns
2Bootle53,722 peopleA+#125 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 96% of UK towns
3Litherland18,752 peopleA#258 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 92% of UK towns
4Hoylake5,311 peopleA#280 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 91% of UK towns
5Crosby50,218 peopleA#365 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 89% of UK towns
6Birkenhead109,854 peopleA#413 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 88% of UK towns
7Kirkby45,559 peopleA#432 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 87% of UK towns
8Huyton with Roby59,844 peopleA#473 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 86% of UK towns
9Wallasey85,619 peopleA−#505 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 85% of UK towns
10Southport94,438 peopleA−#636 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 81% of UK towns
11Prescot39,227 peopleA−#645 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 81% of UK towns
12West Kirby13,383 peopleB+#998 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 70% of UK towns
13Formby22,892 peopleB+#1,034 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 69% of UK towns
14Bebington57,607 peopleB+#1,041 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 69% of UK towns
15St Helens107,684 peopleB+#1,167 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 65% of UK towns
16Maghull20,367 peopleB#1,418 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 57% of UK towns
T17Aintree6,212 peopleB#1,454 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 56% of UK towns
T17Newton-le-Willows24,651 peopleB#1,454 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 56% of UK towns
19Meols5,023 peopleB−#1,594 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 51% of UK towns
20Haydock16,143 peopleB−#1,670 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 48% of UK towns
21Heswall29,082 peopleC+#1,922 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 38% of UK towns
22Greasby9,175 peopleC+#1,961 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 36% of UK towns
23Lydiate6,516 peopleC+#1,970 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 36% of UK towns
24Rainford5,573 peopleC−#2,257 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 22% of UK towns
25Billinge4,963 peopleD#2,399 of 2,515 nationallybetter than 12% of UK towns
Quick answers

Questions people ask

What is the most walkable town in Merseyside?

Liverpool ranks first on walkability among 25 towns, with an A+: better than 98% of UK towns. Bootle and Litherland follow.

How are these towns ranked?

The Walkability Grade: the share of commuters who walked, cycled or took public transport to work at the 2021 Census (taken in lockdown). The letter and rank are the same as on each town’s page. How grades work.

Why isn’t my town on this list?

Garrison towns and university campuses aren’t ranked, and towns without the figures this grade needs are counted above. The list covers Merseyside’s towns of 2,500+ with the figure. Smaller places show it on their own pages; every town in Merseyside is on the county page.

Go deeper

More Merseyside lists

Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.

All Merseyside rankings →
Best places to live25 towns · #1 GreasbyMost affordable towns25 towns · #1 BirkenheadSafest towns25 towns · #1 GreasbyTowns with the best schools25 towns · #1 HoylakeHealthiest towns25 towns · #1 West KirbyBest towns for jobs & income25 towns · #1 MeolsTowns with the lowest flood risk25 towns · #1 Aintree and 4 moreBest towns for the outdoors25 towns · #1 LitherlandMost historic towns25 towns · #1 SouthportTowns with the most civic life25 towns · #1 RainfordTowns with the highest household incomes25 towns · #1 FormbyDescribed, no lettersTowns with the lowest council tax25 towns · #1 Haydock and Newton-le-WillowsDescribed, no lettersTowns with the mildest winters25 towns · #1 HoylakeDescribed, no lettersTowns with the warmest summers25 towns · #1 St HelensDescribed, no lettersTowns with the coolest summers25 towns · #1 FormbyDescribed, no lettersTowns with the fewest frosts25 towns · #1 MeolsDescribed, no lettersDriest towns25 towns · #1 Hoylake and MeolsDescribed, no lettersWettest towns25 towns · #1 BillingeDescribed, no letters
County by county

Most walkable towns, county by county

AberdeenshireBedfordshireBerkshireBuckinghamshireCambridgeshireCheshireClwydCornwallCounty DurhamCumbriaDerbyshireDevonDorsetDyfedEast Riding of YorkshireEast SussexEssexFifeGloucestershireGreater ManchesterGwentHampshireHertfordshireHighlandKentLancashireLeicestershireLincolnshireLondonMerseysideMid GlamorganNorfolkNorth LanarkshireNorth YorkshireNorthamptonshireNorthumberlandNottinghamshireOxfordshireShropshireSomersetSouth LanarkshireSouth YorkshireStaffordshireSuffolkSurreyTyne and WearWarwickshireWest GlamorganWest MidlandsWest SussexWest YorkshireWiltshireWorcestershire

Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · 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.