Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The village has 400 residents and lies in North Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
There are no grades for Middleton: with fewer than 1,000 residents, they wouldn’t be fair. The figures on this page are still real. 49% of homes were built before 1919. On the way to work, 12% walk, cycle or take a bus or train.
The 3 things Middleton does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Middleton’s built-up area.
49% 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 Middleton.
32% of residents are 65 or over, higher than both North Yorkshire’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are 10% of the population. The median resident of Middleton is 54.7 years old.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Middleton | North Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 32% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.6% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · North Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In 2026, 1.4% of 16 to 64s were claiming unemployment benefits. 37% of commuters travelled under 5 km, below North Yorkshire’s towns (48%) and England’s towns (45%) alike. At the census, 38% of workers worked mainly from home. Also worth knowing: about 3% of its commuters stay in Middleton for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
5% live in social housing, below both North Yorkshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). 16 standard sales inside Middleton’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £401,000. Private rents average £849 a month across the North Yorkshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £460,000 | 8 |
| Terraced | £268,250 | 6 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Each year, 5 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded per 1,000 residents. 5 crimes and 3 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Middleton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences accounted for three fifths of recorded crime.
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.
The nearest A&E to Middleton is Scarborough Hospital, 14.8 miles away. There is no GP practice locally: the nearest is 1.1 miles off. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 5.7% of the town.
| Census 2021 | Middleton | North Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.7% | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, 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.
Middleton’s listed buildings include the Church of St Andrew, Grade I. It counts 13 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 1 Grade I, 2 Grade II*. Conservation areas cover 58% of the town’s land, above both North Yorkshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Middleton. Best known first.
Castle · English HeritagePickering Castle1.4 km outside town, to the southeast
Heritage railwayNorth Yorkshire Moors Railway1.2 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumBeck Isle Museum1.3 km outside town, to the southeast
AttractionMumbo Jumbo4.7 km outside town, to the south
Theme parkFlamingo Land4.9 km outside town, to the south
AttractionKumali4.7 km outside town, to the southPhotos: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middleton | 400 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pickering | 7,260 | 1.2 | C | D | C+ | B− |
| Thornton-le-Dale | 1,858 | 3.5 | — | D− | A | B |
| Kirkbymoorside | 2,763 | 5.5 | C | C | C+ | A− |
| Rillington | 1,206 | 8.1 | — | D | B+ | B |
| Malton | 6,320 | 8.1 | C− | D | C+ | C |
| Norton-on-Derwent | 7,909 | 8.7 | B− | C | B | C+ |
| Helmsley | 1,345 | 10 | — | D− | B− | B+ |
Thornton-le-Dale, Rillington and Helmsley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 13.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Andrew.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £401,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £268,250 and detached houses £460,000.
Village in North Yorkshire, England
Middleton is a built-up area of 400 people, in the Ryedale 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.