Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town in North Yorkshire, North East, home to 23,352 people. Private rents average £735 a month.
Easy on the wallet, harder on other counts. Thornaby-on-Tees grades C− overall, better than 22% of UK towns, and ranks #46 of 54 in North Yorkshire. The weak point is safety (D−): 59.3 violent and sexual offences and 33.4 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 2%. Health is a weak point (D−): life expectancy 75.5 for men, 79 for women. Housing is within reach (A): homes sell for a median £129,475, about 2.6 times local household income. Walkability is a strength too (B+): on the way to work, 18% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. It also trails on jobs & income — households earn a mean £40,471 a year, and 5.2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Thornaby-on-Tees is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Thornaby-on-Tees does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 7 buildings inside Thornaby-on-Tees’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
10% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →7 listed buildings in Thornaby-on-Tees.
Church of St Luke: Photo: Simon Armstrong · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Former Town Hall: Photo: Chemical Engineer · CC BY-SA 4.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Thornaby-on-Tees.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Nearly a quarter of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 5,516 recorded crimes inside Thornaby-on-Tees’s built-up area, and 753 reports of anti-social behaviour. There were 38.7 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both North Yorkshire’s towns (10.3) 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.
Secondary results at the town’s 2 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 44.3, with 49% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Below are two of its 10 schools, each with why it was picked. Between them, seven primaries and two secondaries teach 3,318 pupils in Thornaby-on-Tees.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harewood Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 423 | B |
| St Patrick's Catholic College, A Voluntary Catholic AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 567 | B− |
23% of residents have a disability, higher than both North Yorkshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (17%). Asked at the census, 76% of residents of Thornaby-on-Tees said they were in good or very good health. 3 GP practices serve the town; four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, nearly a tenth of people here described their health as bad or very bad.
| Census 2021 | Thornaby-on-Tees | North Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 8.2% | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 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.
51% of households own their home, below North Yorkshire’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. Thornaby-on-Tees is the second cheapest of the 56 towns in North Yorkshire, at £129,475. From September 2023 to August 2026, 692 homes sold inside the town’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £129,475.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £205,000 | 56 |
| Semi-detached | £142,000 | 333 |
| Terraced | £95,500 | 250 |
| Flat or maisonette | £75,000 | 53 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 1% of Thornaby-on-Tees’ land, lower than both North Yorkshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (7%). The town has 3 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents. Homes built before 1919 account for 10% of the housing.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 16% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
16% of workers worked mainly from home, below North Yorkshire’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (31%) alike. The car carried 77% of commuters at the census. The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 5.2%.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Children under 15 make up 19%, above North Yorkshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Ages in Thornaby-on-Tees split evenly at 39.5: half are older, half younger. 19% of residents have reached 65.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Thornaby-on-Tees | North Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 25% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.9% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 21% | 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 Thornaby-on-Tees. Best known first.
CathedralMiddlesbrough Cathedral4.5 km outside town, to the southeast
Art galleryMiddlesbrough Institute of Modern Art3.1 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumDorman Museum2.1 km outside town, to the northeast
Historic housePreston Hall1.6 km outside town, to the west
Historic houseAcklam Hall1.7 km outside town, to the east
ZooNewham Grange Leisure Farm4 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Large town in North Yorkshire, England
Thornaby-on-Tees is a built-up area of 23,352 people, in the Stockton-on-Tees 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornaby-on-Tees | 23,352 | — | C− | A | D− | D− |
| Ingleby Barwick | 23,380 | 1.8 | A+ | A− | A− | A− |
| Stainton | 1,817 | 2 | — | B− | C+ | C− |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 84,824 | 2.6 | C+ | A | D− | D |
| Egglescliffe | 10,250 | 2.7 | A+ | A− | B | B+ |
| Middlesbrough | 148,232 | 3 | C− | A− | D− | D |
| Yarm | 9,601 | 3.9 | B+ | A− | D− | A− |
| Billingham | 33,917 | 4.7 | C | A | D | D |
Stainton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £129,475, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £75,000, terraced houses £95,500, semi-detached houses £142,000 and detached houses £205,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
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.
