Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In North Yorkshire, North East, this city has 148,232 residents.
More weak spots than strong ones. Overall, Middlesbrough earns a C−, which places it #50 of 54 in North Yorkshire. Nationally, it does better than 17% of UK towns. Its lowest grade is for safety: 70.8 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 40.1 home and vehicle crimes. Only 0% of UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more have more crime per resident. Prices are modest for what you get: a typical home costs £155,000 and rent runs £695 a month. Walkability is another plus (B+) — 19% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
The 3 things Middlesbrough 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 Middlesbrough is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 107 buildings inside Middlesbrough’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
15% 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 1881 and a map from 1902.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Middlesbrough. Best known first.
CathedralMiddlesbrough Cathedralin town
Art galleryMiddlesbrough Institute of Modern Artin town
Historic house · National TrustOrmesby Hallin town
MuseumDorman Museumin town
Historic houseAcklam Hallin town
ZooNewham Grange Leisure Farmin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Middlesbrough.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Over the year to August 2026, 25,906 offences were reported in Middlesbrough, along with 4,739 incidents of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Middlesbrough records more crime per resident than 100% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more. There were 35.7 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both North Yorkshire’s towns (10.3) and England’s towns (7.8). Of all the crimes, 38% were violence and sexual offences.
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.
At the town’s 45 primary schools, 63% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Lingfield Primary School’s results beat 96% of schools in England like it. Some 26,682 pupils attend Middlesbrough’s 45 primaries and nine secondaries.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linthorpe Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 727 | A |
| Macmillan AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,586 | C |
| Lingfield Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 228 | A+ |
21% of residents have a disability, higher than both North Yorkshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (17%), and on top of that at the census, 7.4% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. 19 GP practices serve the town; 76% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Asked at the census, nearly four in five residents of Middlesbrough said they were in good or very good health.
| Census 2021 | Middlesbrough | North Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.4% | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
55% of households own their home, lower than both North Yorkshire’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%). From September 2023 to August 2026, 4,804 homes sold inside Middlesbrough’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £155,000. Private renters make up just over a fifth of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £265,000 | 1,146 |
| Semi-detached | £160,000 | 2,107 |
| Terraced | £92,689 | 1,338 |
| Flat or maisonette | £75,000 | 213 |
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 16% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Work in town: 52% of resident commuters. For every resident in work, Middlesbrough has 1.1 jobs. Households had £43K a year before tax, below North Yorkshire’s towns (£52K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike. 55% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Middlesbrough has 7 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, lower than both North Yorkshire’s towns (59) and England’s towns (39). Its listed buildings include Acklam Hall, Grade I. At the top of the list, 3 are Grade I and 9 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Young adults of 15 to 24 are 13% of the population, and 20% are under 15, higher than both North Yorkshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Middlesbrough has a median age of 37.5. People 65 and over make up 17% of the town.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Middlesbrough | North Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 24% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.3% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · North Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
107 listed buildings in Middlesbrough, 3 of them Grade I.
Stableblock, Circa 80 Metres North-East of Ormesby Hall: Photo: Simon Armstrong · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Church of St John the Evangelist: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Empire Mecca Social Club: Photo: Chris Downer · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Clock Tower, C5M South-West of Old Town Hall: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0
365 notable people were born in Middlesbrough.
James Cook: Nathaniel Dance-Holland, Public domain · Chris Rea: Andrzej Barabasz (Chepry), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Stewart Downing: Egghead06, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Brian Clough: Hans van Dijk for Anefo, CC0 · James Arthur: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jonathan Woodgate: Jake from Manchester, UK, CC BY 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesbrough | 148,232 | — | C− | A− | D− | D |
| Stainton | 1,817 | 2.4 | — | B− | C+ | C− |
| Eston | 29,625 | 2.9 | D | A | D− | D− |
| Thornaby-on-Tees | 23,352 | 3 | C− | A | D− | D− |
| Ingleby Barwick | 23,380 | 4.3 | A+ | A− | A− | A− |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 84,824 | 4.8 | C+ | A | D− | D |
| Billingham | 33,917 | 5 | C | A | D | D |
| Great Ayton | 4,348 | 5.4 | A− | A− | A− | A− |
Stainton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £155,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £75,000, terraced houses £92,689, semi-detached houses £160,000 and detached houses £265,000.
Band D council tax in Middlesbrough is £2,547 for 2026–27, more than in 76% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
City in North Yorkshire, England
Middlesbrough is a built-up area of 148,232 people, in the Middlesbrough 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.