Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
18,091 people live in this town in North Yorkshire, North East.
Guisborough’s weakest subject is safety (C−) — police record 31 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 16.6 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 56%. Natural hazards weigh more here (C−): 1.9% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Housing is within reach: homes sell for a median £190,000, about 4.4 times local household income. All told, that adds up to a B− overall and a rank of #38 of 54 in North Yorkshire. It comes out better than 45% of UK towns. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for schools and B− for walkability.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Guisborough 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 Guisborough is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 93 buildings inside Guisborough’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1801.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Guisborough.
Of all the crimes, 37% were violence and sexual offences. Guisborough logged 1,366 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 361 complaints of anti-social conduct. There were 21 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above North Yorkshire’s towns (10.3) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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.
Below are two of its 7 schools, each with why it was picked. Some 2,574 pupils attend Guisborough’s five primaries and one secondary. 63% of pupils at the town’s 5 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 392 | B− |
| Laurence Jackson SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,247 | B− |
The private rented sector houses 14% of households. Social housing holds 13% of households, below North Yorkshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £644 a month across the Redcar and Cleveland council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £315,000 | 207 |
| Semi-detached | £185,500 | 282 |
| Terraced | £120,000 | 169 |
| Flat or maisonette | £114,750 | 30 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
At the census, 80% of people in Guisborough called their health good or very good, below both North Yorkshire’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%). The nearest A&E to Guisborough is The James Cook University Hospital, 6.3 miles away. 2 GP practices serve the town; 83% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Guisborough | North Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6% | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 19% | 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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Guisborough’s listed buildings include St Mary's Priory Gatehouse (Ruins), Grade I. The national list protects one ancient monument here. The register of parks and gardens lists one here.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 21% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Working mainly from home: just over a fifth of workers, below North Yorkshire’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (31%) alike. On foot, by bike or by bus and train: that was how 14% of commuters travelled at the census. About 20% of its commuters stay in Guisborough for work. Also worth knowing: the car carried 83% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
15% are under 15, lower than both North Yorkshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Aged 15 to 24: nearly one in ten residents. Half the people of Guisborough are older than 49.
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.
| Guisborough | North Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.8% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.8% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · North Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Guisborough. Best known first.
Abbey or priory · English HeritageGisborough Priory100 m outside town, to the northeast
Historic houseWilton Castle3.9 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumTocketts Watermill1.4 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
93 listed buildings in Guisborough, 2 of them Grade I.
St Mary's Priory Ruins: Photo: Prioryman · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Church of St Nicholas: Photo: Simon Armstrong · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Market Cross and Drinking Fountain: Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Black Swan: Photo: Yarah · CC BY-SA 3.0
27 notable people were born in Guisborough.
John Gilbert Baker: Berthold Carl Seemann (1825-1871), Public domain · James Coppinger: JJ Hall from Peckham Rye, London, UK, CC BY 2.0 · Alistair Harrison: German Embassy London, CC BY 2.0 · Mark Robinson: https://www.flickr.com/photos/juddy666/, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sean Gregan: Ingy The Wingy, CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guisborough | 18,091 | — | B− | B+ | C− | C |
| Boosbeck | 1,124 | 3.3 | — | A | C | D |
| New Marske | 2,990 | 3.3 | B+ | A− | B− | B− |
| Skelton (Redcar and Cleveland) | 6,895 | 3.9 | B− | B+ | C− | C− |
| Lingdale | 1,323 | 4 | — | A | D− | D |
| Great Ayton | 4,348 | 4.2 | A− | A− | A− | A− |
| Eston | 29,625 | 4.3 | D | A | D− | D− |
| Marske-by-the-Sea | 7,576 | 4.4 | A− | A− | C+ | C+ |
Boosbeck and Lingdale have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include St Mary's Priory Gatehouse (Ruins). It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C−.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £190,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £114,750, terraced houses £120,000, semi-detached houses £185,500 and detached houses £315,000.
Town in North Yorkshire, England
Guisborough is a built-up area of 18,091 people, in the Redcar and Cleveland 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.