Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 696 people live in this village, in North Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
With fewer than 1,000 residents, Scotton is too small for fair grades, though the figures on this page are real. 8% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. It has 9 listed buildings, 0 of them Grade I. Homes sell for a median £503,500.
The 3 things Scotton does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 9 buildings inside Scotton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
31% 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 Scotton.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 43% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
43% of workers worked mainly from home at the census. Unemployment benefit claims came to 1.1% of 16 to 64s in 2026, below North Yorkshire’s towns (1.8%) and England’s towns (2.3%) alike. Average household income comes to £67K a year before tax. Work in town: 3% of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Its one school is below. GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 36% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 39.5. 95 pupils attend Scotton’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotton Lingerfield Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 95 | B+ |
13% rent privately, below North Yorkshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. Social housing holds 5% of households. Private rents average £849 a month across the North Yorkshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £595,000 | 19 |
| Semi-detached | £475,000 | 7 |
| Terraced | £275,000 | 10 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Of all the crimes, 57% were violence and sexual offences. Violent crime runs at 5.8 per 1,000 residents a year. Police recorded 7 crimes inside Scotton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 0.5 reports per 1,000, below both North Yorkshire’s towns (10.4) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
Disability touches 15% of Scotton’s population. The town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.7 miles away. At the census, 83% of people in Scotton called their health good or very good, above North Yorkshire’s towns (81%) and close to England’s towns (82%).
| Census 2021 | Scotton | North Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.9% | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like 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.
Scotton has 129 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, above both North Yorkshire’s towns (59) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24, below North Yorkshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Retirement age and beyond: just over a quarter of residents are 65 or older. The middle age in Scotton is 51.2.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Scotton | North Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.5% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 33% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.8% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 43% | 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 Scotton. Best known first.
CastleKnaresborough Castle2.6 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseRipley Castle4.2 km outside town, to the west
AttractionOld Mother Shipton's Cave Park2.6 km outside town, to the southeast
Art galleryMercer Gallery4.3 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumTudor Courthouse Museum2.7 km outside town, to the southeastAttractionAttractionMother Shiptons Cave2.2 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotton | 696 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Knaresborough | 15,781 | 1.9 | A− | B− | B− | B |
| Killinghall | 1,476 | 2.5 | — | C | B+ | A |
| Harrogate | 75,522 | 2.7 | A | B+ | C+ | B− |
| Hampsthwaite | 1,169 | 4.2 | — | C | A+ | A |
| Pannal | 2,530 | 4.9 | A | D | A+ | A |
| Spofforth | 1,175 | 5.5 | — | C | A− | A |
| Boroughbridge | 3,064 | 6.3 | B | B | C | B+ |
Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Spofforth have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 5.3 times the typical UK town for its size. 31% of Scotton’s homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
By type: terraced houses £275,000, semi-detached houses £475,000 and detached houses £595,000.
Band D council tax in Scotton is £2,544 for 2026–27, more than in 75% 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.
Village in North Yorkshire, England
Scotton is a built-up area of 696 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.