Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 3,482 residents and lies in North Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Mostly strong, with a single weak spot. Its strongest is health: life expectancy is 83 for men and 87.6 for women. With an A− overall, Thorpe Willoughby is better than nearly four fifths of UK towns and ranks #13 of 54 in North Yorkshire. It is strong on safety as well: police record 19.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 4.2 home and vehicle crimes. A median £235,000 buys a home here, 4.5 times what households in the Selby council area earn in a year. The drawback is walkability: on the way to work, 9% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for schools and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · claimants, DWP.
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 Thorpe Willoughby 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 Thorpe Willoughby is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 2 buildings inside Thorpe Willoughby’s built-up area.
3% 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 Thorpe Willoughby.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 3% of the total, lower than both North Yorkshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (16%). Scaled to its population, that is 6 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in Thorpe Willoughby.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
60% of pupils at the 6 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its only school is listed below. Attainment 8 at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km averages 46.3, and 47% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thorpe Willoughby Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 246 | C |
84% of Thorpe Willoughby’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above North Yorkshire’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. There is no GP practice locally: the nearest is 1.8 miles off. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3.6% of the town. The nearest A&E to Thorpe Willoughby is The York Hospital, 13.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Thorpe Willoughby | North Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.6% | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
There are 0.3 jobs in Thorpe Willoughby for each resident in work. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 28%, below North Yorkshire’s towns (48%) and England’s towns (45%) alike. Unemployment benefit claims reached 2.3% of 16 to 64s in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 96 crimes and 52 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Thorpe Willoughby’s built-up area. Violence and sexual offences were 69% of the crimes. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 10 reports per 1,000, near North Yorkshire’s towns (10.4) and higher than 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.
Council and housing-body homes hold 9% of households. 8% rent privately, below both North Yorkshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%). From September 2023 to August 2026, 161 homes sold inside Thorpe Willoughby’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £235,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £310,000 | 75 |
| Semi-detached | £207,500 | 62 |
| Terraced | £210,000 | 23 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Among adults, 30% have a degree. At 43.9, the median resident of Thorpe Willoughby sits in the middle of the age range. The 65-and-over age group makes up just over a fifth of residents.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Thorpe Willoughby | North Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · North Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thorpe Willoughby | 3,482 | — | A− | B+ | B+ | A− |
| Brayton | 4,092 | 1.3 | B+ | C+ | A | B |
| Hambleton | 1,722 | 1.8 | — | B− | A | B |
| Selby | 19,480 | 2.3 | C− | A− | D | C− |
| Barlby | 3,499 | 4 | B | B+ | B− | A− |
| Cawood | 1,501 | 4.1 | — | D | A | A |
| Monk Fryston and Hillam | 1,717 | 4.5 | — | D | A | B+ |
| Eggborough | 2,440 | 4.8 | — | A− | B− | B− |
Hambleton, Cawood, Monk Fryston and Hillam and Eggborough have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Band D council tax in Thorpe Willoughby is £2,554 for 2026–27, more than in 77% 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.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in North Yorkshire, England
Thorpe Willoughby is a built-up area of 3,482 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.