Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in North Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber has a population of 19,480.
With a C− overall, Selby is better than 24% of UK towns. It ranks #45 of 54 in North Yorkshire. Safety is its weak spot — police record 48.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 14.7 home and vehicle crimes. Only 18% of UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have more crime per resident. Hazard risk is weaker too (D−) — just over a tenth of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. Buying the median home, at £195,000, takes 3.7 years of household income in the Selby council area. Its strongest subject is walkability (A) — 24% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
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 Selby 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 Selby is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 124 buildings inside Selby’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
19% 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 Selby.
Reported offences in Selby came to 1,873 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 581. Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Selby has more crime per resident than 82% of them. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 33.2 reports per 1,000, higher than both North Yorkshire’s towns (10.3) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences made up 48% of the total.
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.
Some 2,638 pupils attend Selby’s six primaries and one secondary. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. 58% of pupils at the town’s 6 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staynor Hall Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 328 | C+ |
| Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and ScienceLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,176 | C |
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.
Short trips to work, under 5 km: 42%, below North Yorkshire’s towns (48%) and close to England’s towns (45%). Jobs per working resident: 0.7. About a third of its commuters stay in Selby for work. Before tax, the average household brings in £43K a year.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The nearest A&E to Selby is The York Hospital, 13 miles away. 2 GP practices serve the town; just over four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Self-reported good health: 80% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2021 | Selby | North Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.9% | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Selby’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary and St Germain (Selby Abbey), Grade I. Nearly a fifth of its homes were built before 1919, higher than both North Yorkshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (16%). It has one scheduled monument.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Owners make up 58% of households, about level with England’s towns (61%) and below North Yorkshire’s towns (65%). Private rents average £849 a month across the North Yorkshire council area. The £195,000 median rests on 911 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £300,000 | 197 |
| Semi-detached | £210,000 | 300 |
| Terraced | £170,000 | 315 |
| Flat or maisonette | £110,000 | 99 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Children under 15 count for 18% of the people here. 17% of residents are 65 or over, lower than North Yorkshire’s towns (22%) and near England’s towns (18%). Typical age in Selby: 39.4, the median. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 10% of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Selby | North Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.7% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · North Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
124 listed buildings in Selby, 2 of them Grade I.
Abbots Staith Buildings: Photo: Fromselby1 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Corunna House, 42 and 44 Ousegate: Photo: Alan Longbottom · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Royal Oak Public House: Photo: Ian S · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Museum Hall: Photo: Ian S · CC BY-SA 2.0
21 notable people were born in Selby.
Henry I of England: Matthew Paris, Public domain · James Stephenson: Trailer screenshot, Public domain · Jonathan Hutchinson: G. Jerrard, CC BY 4.0 · Thomas Johnson: Engraving: unknown; publication: Thomas Johnson, Public domain · Eden Taylor-Draper: DarkGlow, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Henry Dresser Atkinson: Charles Alfred Woolley, 1834-1922, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selby | 19,480 | — | C− | A− | D | C− |
| Brayton | 4,092 | 1.2 | B+ | C+ | A | B |
| Barlby | 3,499 | 1.9 | B | B+ | B− | A− |
| Thorpe Willoughby | 3,482 | 2.3 | A− | B+ | B+ | A− |
| Riccall | 2,388 | 3.6 | — | C | A+ | A− |
| Hambleton | 1,722 | 4 | — | B− | A | B |
| Hemingbrough | 1,874 | 4.1 | — | B− | A− | B− |
| Cawood | 1,501 | 4.3 | — | D | A | A |
Riccall, Hambleton, Hemingbrough and Cawood have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
That is 2.6 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Church of St Mary and St Germain (Selby Abbey). It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Band D council tax in Selby is £2,628 for 2026–27, more than in 90% 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.
Town in North Yorkshire, England
Selby is a built-up area of 19,480 people, in the Selby 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.