Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 5,891: a town in North Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Real strengths, and real weak spots. Pupils here do less well than most: primary results beat 28% of towns in England; secondary results beat 4% of towns in England. Overall, Thirsk earns a C+, better than nearly two fifths of UK towns. It ranks #41 of 54 in North Yorkshire. Natural hazards weigh more here (D): 6% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. A median £255,000 buys a home here, 4.8 times what households in the Hambleton council area earn in a year. Its best grade is for walkability: just over a fifth of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · 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 Thirsk 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 Thirsk is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 57 buildings inside Thirsk’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
17% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1891.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Thirsk.
Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 38.4, with 23% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. The town has one school, shown below. 57% of pupils at the 5 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thirsk Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 122 | D− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 20% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For 39% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. 77% of commuters drove, above both North Yorkshire’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). Jobs per working resident: 0.7. Of the commuters living in Thirsk, 18% work in the town itself.
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.
Thirsk’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. Per 10,000 residents, Thirsk counts 97 listed buildings, above both North Yorkshire’s towns (58) and England’s towns (39). The national list protects 2 ancient monuments locally.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
There were 23.8 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both North Yorkshire’s towns (10.3) and England’s towns (7.8). Each year, 11.4 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded per 1,000 residents. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 352 recorded crimes inside Thirsk’s built-up area, and 155 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Thirsk records more crime per resident than 75% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
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
Life expectancy here is 85.3 for women and 82.1 for men (2019–23). 79% of people in Thirsk rate their own health good or very good. The nearest A&E to Thirsk is Harrogate District Hospital, 18.1 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; just over four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Thirsk | North Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.2% | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
23% rent privately, higher than both North Yorkshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%). Households that own their home make up 54%. Private rents average £849 a month across the North Yorkshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £350,000 | 119 |
| Semi-detached | £245,000 | 112 |
| Terraced | £200,000 | 87 |
| Flat or maisonette | £116,500 | 36 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
10% of the population is aged 15 to 24, lower than both North Yorkshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Retirement age and beyond: 24% of residents are 65 or older. The middle age in Thirsk is 47.3. Graduates make up 28% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Thirsk | North Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.7% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 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 Thirsk. Best known first.
MuseumThe World of James Herriotin town
MuseumThirsk Museumin town
Historic houseSion Hill Hall And Attached Courtyard Wall4.5 km outside town, to the westArt galleryArt galleryZillah Bell Contemporary Artin townMuseumMuseumThirsk Hall Sculpture Parkin townZooZooThirsk Birds of Prey Centre4.4 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
57 listed buildings in Thirsk, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Mary: Photo: Colin Coates · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Thirsk Hall: Photo: David Rogers · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Thirsk Castle: a motte and bailey castle: Photo: Bill Boaden · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mill Bridge: Photo: Gareth James · CC BY-SA 2.0
17 notable people were born in Thirsk.
Thomas Lord: Oxyman, CC BY 2.5 · R. E. B. Crompton: "WHO" (anonymous Vanity Fair contributor[1]), Public domain · Karl Carver: Dave Morton, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thirsk | 5,891 | — | C+ | B | C | B |
| Sowerby | 4,727 | 0.7 | B− | B+ | C+ | B |
| Dishforth | 1,266 | 6.6 | — | A− | A | A− |
| Romanby | 3,825 | 7.9 | A− | B+ | A− | B− |
| Northallerton | 13,314 | 8.1 | C | B+ | D | C |
| Leeming | 1,712 | 8.4 | — | B+ | A+ | A |
| Brompton | 2,034 | 9.3 | — | A | C | B |
| Langthorpe | 1,294 | 9.7 | — | C | C | A− |
Dishforth, Leeming, Brompton and Langthorpe 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 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
One state school is inside the town; places are handled by North Yorkshire council.
Police recorded 352 crimes inside Thirsk’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 53% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Town in North Yorkshire, England
Thirsk is a built-up area of 5,891 people, in the Hambleton 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.