Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 141,696 residents, it is a city in North Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber. One resident in 5 is 15 to 24.
Strong in places, weak in others. Overall, York earns a B−, better than 51% of UK towns. It ranks #31 of 54 in North Yorkshire. Walkability is its strong suit: just over two in five commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its schools beat most: primary results beat 59% of towns in England; secondary results beat 83% of towns in England. Crime is the sore point: 38 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 15.5 home and vehicle crimes. Only 68% of UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more have more crime per resident. Hazard risk is weaker too — 4.3% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. The median home sold for £290,000, 5.4 times what households in the York council area earn in a year.
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.
The 3 things York 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 York is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 1,271 buildings inside York’s built-up area, 64 of them Grade I, and 16 scheduled monuments.
20% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1890.
Two U.S. towns are named after York. The oldest, York, Maine, was settled in 1652.
USUS editionYork, Maine, settled in 1652, takes its name from this city.
Also named after York:York, ND14
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near York. Best known first.
ChurchYork Minsterin town
Castle · English HeritageClifford's Towerin town
MuseumYorkshire Museumin town · 164K visitors a year (2019)
MuseumYork Castle Museumin town · 284K visitors a year (2013)
FortYork city wallsin town
Art galleryYork Art Galleryin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in York.
14% are under 15, lower than both North Yorkshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%); what’s more, people 65 and over make up 16% of the town. This North Yorkshire town has a median age of 36 years. Graduates make up nearly two in five adults.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| York | North Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 20% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.8% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 23% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 39% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · North Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
63% of pupils at the town’s 30 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Of its 41 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. Some 16,357 pupils attend York’s 31 primaries and six secondaries.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton With Rawcliffe Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 622 | A |
| Fulford SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,853 | A |
| Knavesmire Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 484 | A+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
71% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. The car took 56% of commuters, lower than both North Yorkshire’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). Also worth knowing: for every resident in work, York has 1.3 jobs.
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.
A fifth of homes were built before 1919. York’s listed buildings include Anglian Tower, Grade I. It has 90 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, higher than both North Yorkshire’s towns (58) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Reported offences in York came to 12,300 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 4,261. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 28.7 reports per 1,000, above both North Yorkshire’s towns (10.3) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were 43% of the crimes.
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.
At the census, 84% of people in York called their health good or very good, above both North Yorkshire’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%). 6 GP practices serve the town; 78% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Men in York can expect to live to 78.4, women to 83.1 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | York | North Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.2% | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 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.
From September 2023 to August 2026, 5,470 homes sold inside York’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £290,000. Private rents average £1,199 a month across the York council area. The owner-occupied share of households is 59%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £425,000 | 672 |
| Semi-detached | £308,000 | 1,741 |
| Terraced | £280,000 | 1,977 |
| Flat or maisonette | £205,000 | 1,080 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
1,271 listed buildings in York, 64 of them Grade I.
Cathedral Church of St Peter, York Minster: Photo: MatzeTrier · CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Kings Manor: Photo: Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bootham Park Hospital: front range, 1886 link block, late-C18 building, 1817 range and 1908 extension: Photo: Potkettle · CC BY 3.0 · Windmill Hotel: Photo: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.0
396 notable people were born in York.
W. H. Auden: Carl Van Vechten, Public domain · Judi Dench: Caroline Bonarde Ucci at https://www.flickr.com/photos/caroline_bonarde/, CC BY 3.0 · Guy Fawkes: Crispijn van de Passe the Elder, Public domain · Alcuin: Fulda, Public domain · John Barry: Barry_in_concert.jpg: Geoff Leonard. (The original uploader was Geoffers007 at English Wikipedia.) derivative work: Impy4ever, CC BY-SA 1.0 · William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse: Maull and Polyblank, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| York | 141,696 | — | B− | C | C− | C |
| Heslington | 1,787 | 1.9 | — | B | A+ | A− |
| Osbaldwick | 2,313 | 2.3 | — | C− | B | B− |
| Huntington | 12,420 | 2.4 | B− | C | B− | C+ |
| Bishopthorpe | 3,333 | 2.7 | A | D | A+ | A |
| Upper Poppleton | 3,520 | 2.9 | A | D | A+ | A− |
| Skelton (York) | 1,380 | 3.3 | — | C− | A | B |
| Copmanthorpe | 3,671 | 3.6 | A | C− | A+ | A |
Heslington, Osbaldwick and Skelton (York) have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Anglian Tower. It also has 16 scheduled monuments.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C−.
City in North Yorkshire, England
York is a built-up area of 141,696 people, in the York 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.