Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,256 in North Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Dunnington grades A+ overall against UK towns: better than 95% of UK towns, and #2 of 54 in North Yorkshire. Its strongest subject is safety (A+): 5.3 violent and sexual offences and 4.1 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 £380,000, 7.1 years of area income; rent £1,199 a month.
The 3 things Dunnington 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 Dunnington is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 14 buildings inside Dunnington’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
12% 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 Dunnington.
On this, Dunnington is above both North Yorkshire’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (18%). Under-15s account for 14% of the population. Dunnington has a median age of 53.4.
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.
| Dunnington | North Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 15% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 34% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 42% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · North Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Dunnington Church of England Primary School’s results beat 79% of schools in England like it. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunnington Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 170 | A− |
Violence came to 5.3 per 1,000 residents a year, below both North Yorkshire’s towns (20.2) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 38 crimes inside Dunnington’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 12 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Dunnington records less crime per resident than 100% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 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
In the comparison, Dunnington comes above both North Yorkshire’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%). 9% of households rent privately.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £400,000 | 79 |
| Semi-detached | £325,000 | 25 |
| Terraced | £281,750 | 16 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 40% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For Dunnington, that is below both North Yorkshire’s towns (48%) and England’s towns (45%). 79% of commuters drove to work at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
83% of Dunnington’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 81% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 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.
| Census 2021 | Dunnington | North Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.5% | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Dunnington has 14 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 12% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Dunnington. Best known first.
MuseumYorkshire Air Museum2.9 km outside town, to the south
Theme parkMurton Park1.3 km outside town, to the west
Historic houseBrockfield Hall2.1 km outside town, to the northAttractionAttractionYork Maze1.9 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumCraven's Motorcycle Museum3 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumCatton Heritage Museum2.9 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 Dunnington.
Village Cross: Photo: William Metcalfe · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dunnington Lodge and Attached Stables and Coach House: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunnington | 3,256 | — | A+ | D | A+ | B+ |
| Osbaldwick | 2,313 | 2.2 | — | C− | B | B− |
| Stockton on the Forest | 1,018 | 2.4 | — | C | B− | B |
| Heslington | 1,787 | 3.2 | — | B | A+ | A− |
| Elvington | 1,271 | 3.3 | — | C− | A+ | A− |
| Stamford Bridge | 4,487 | 3.4 | A | B+ | A+ | B+ |
| Wilberfoss | 2,015 | 3.8 | — | B+ | A | B+ |
| Huntington | 12,420 | 3.9 | B− | C | B− | C+ |
Osbaldwick, Stockton on the Forest, Heslington, Elvington and Wilberfoss have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Police recorded 38 crimes inside Dunnington’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 47% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Primary results beat 90% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by York council.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £380,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £281,750, semi-detached houses £325,000 and detached houses £400,000.
Town in North Yorkshire, England
Dunnington is a built-up area of 3,256 people, in the York 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.
