Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Walking, cycling and public transport carry 11% of commuters. With 1,175 residents, it is a village in North Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Residents are healthier than most: life expectancy is 81 for men and 84.1 for women. Police record less crime here than in most towns (A−): 13.6 violent and sexual offences and 5.7 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Cost of living is its weak spot (C) — homes sell for a median £426,950, about 7.4 times local household income. Natural hazards weigh less here than in most UK towns (A).
Figures: life expectancy, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency. Below 2,500 residents there is no overall grade, so Spofforth 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 Spofforth 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 Spofforth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Spofforth’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
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 Spofforth.
Self-reported good health: 87% of Spofforth’s residents. 16% of residents have a disability, below both North Yorkshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (17%). The town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 2.9 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Spofforth | North Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.2% | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Its only school is listed below. At the 3 primary schools within 3 km, nearly two thirds of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 98 | C |
Reported offences in Spofforth came to 25 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 10. Violence and sexual offences were just over two thirds of the crimes. Among the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Spofforth has less crime per resident than 71% of them.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Spofforth has 14 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 2 Grade II*. 31% of its homes were built before 1919, higher than both North Yorkshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (16%). Listed buildings per head: 119 for every 10,000 residents of the town.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Home ownership stands at three quarters of households. Private rents average £849 a month across the North Yorkshire council area. Behind the median of £426,950: 34 standard sales inside Spofforth’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £470,000 | 17 |
| Semi-detached | £420,000 | 8 |
| Terraced | £330,000 | 5 |
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 44% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
88% of commuters drove, above both North Yorkshire’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). For nearly a fifth of commuters, work was under 5 km away. Work in town: 7% of resident commuters. Working from home was the norm for 44% of workers at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Over-65s are a quarter of the population. The middle age in Spofforth is 49.5. 42% of adults hold a degree, above both North Yorkshire’s towns (32%) and England’s towns (34%).
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
| Spofforth | North Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.8% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.1% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 42% | 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 Spofforth. Best known first.
Castle · English HeritageSpofforth Castlein town
Historic houseRudding Park3.1 km outside town, to the northwest
Historic houseGoldsborough Hall5 km outside town, to the northGardenGardenPlumpton Rocks2.1 km outside town, to the northRuinsRuinsSt Robert's Cave4.5 km outside town, to the northPhotos: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spofforth | 1,175 | — | — | C | A− | A |
| Wetherby | 11,711 | 2.8 | B+ | D | C− | A− |
| Collingham | 2,362 | 3.6 | — | D− | A− | A+ |
| Pannal | 2,530 | 3.7 | A | D | A+ | A |
| East Keswick | 1,145 | 4 | — | D− | A+ | A+ |
| Knaresborough | 15,781 | 4 | A− | B− | B− | B |
| Bardsey | 1,819 | 4.4 | — | D− | A | A+ |
| Harrogate | 75,522 | 4.5 | A | B+ | C+ | B− |
Collingham, East Keswick and Bardsey have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 4.9 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £426,950, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £330,000, semi-detached houses £420,000 and detached houses £470,000.
Village in North Yorkshire, England
Spofforth is a built-up area of 1,175 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.