Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The village, home to 1,112 people, lies in North Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Masham’s standout strength is health — life expectancy 82.6 for men, 86.1 for women. Schools lag: primary results beat 8% of towns in England. The median home sold for £400,000, 6.9 times what households in the Harrogate council area earn in a year. Hazard risk is weaker too (D): 6.9% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for safety and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · claimants, DWP. Below 2,500 residents there is no overall grade, so Masham has its subject grades alone.
ONS publishes one rent for all of North Yorkshire, so this town's Cost Grade uses house prices and council tax only.
The 3 things Masham 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 Masham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Below 2,500 residents there is no overall grade, so Masham has its subject grades alone.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Masham’s built-up area, along with 2 scheduled monuments.
32% 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 Masham.
6.5% of the population is aged 15 to 24, lower than both North Yorkshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). The middle age in Masham is 56.4.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
| Masham | North Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 6.5% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 16% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 36% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.6% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 33% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · North Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the one primary school within 3 km: 50% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The town has one school, shown below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masham CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | – | C− |
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. Historic England’s list names 65 listed buildings in Masham: 1 Grade II*. The pre-1919 share of homes is 32%. Conservation areas cover 46% of the town’s land, higher than both North Yorkshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 27% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Household income came to £50K a year before tax, close to North Yorkshire’s towns (£52K) and below England’s towns (£55K). 39% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. Work in town: just over a third of resident commuters. At the census, 30% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
A disability affects 20% of people in Masham. Seeing a GP means leaving Masham: the nearest practice is 3.9 miles away. Asked at the census, 78% of residents of Masham said they were in good or very good health. The nearest A&E to Masham is Harrogate District Hospital, 16.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Masham | North Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.6% | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Half of the 77 standard sales inside Masham’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £400,000. 18% rent privately, below both North Yorkshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%). Private rents average £849 a month across the North Yorkshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £526,495 | 38 |
| Semi-detached | £309,997 | 20 |
| Terraced | £237,000 | 18 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violence and sexual offences were 73% of the crimes. Police recorded 56 crimes inside Masham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 7 reports of anti-social behaviour. Per 1,000 residents, 22.5 violent crimes are recorded each year.
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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Masham. Best known first.
CastleSnape Castle4.9 km outside town, to the northeast
GardenHackfall3.2 km outside town, to the south
GardenSwinton Estate1.3 km outside town, to the southwestGardenGardenHimalayan Garden & Sculpture Park2.8 km outside town, to the southAttractionAttractionDruid's Temple4.8 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masham | 1,112 | — | — | C | B | A |
| Bedale | 3,289 | 5.3 | A− | B | C | B |
| Aiskew | 1,759 | 5.9 | — | B | B+ | B |
| Leeming Bar | 1,063 | 7.1 | — | A− | C− | B+ |
| Leeming | 1,712 | 7.5 | — | B+ | A+ | A |
| Ripon | 16,593 | 8 | A− | A− | B− | C+ |
| Leyburn | 2,414 | 9.1 | — | C+ | A | B+ |
| Pateley Bridge | 1,343 | 10 | — | A− | B− | A− |
Aiskew, Leeming Bar, Leeming, Leyburn and Pateley Bridge have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Primary results trail 92% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by North Yorkshire council.
That is 24 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Village in North Yorkshire, England
Masham is a built-up area of 1,112 people, in the Harrogate 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.