Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 28,279 in Northumberland, North East.
Ashington grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 17% of UK towns. Its strongest subject is cost of living (A): median sale £140,000, 3 years of area income; rent £695 a month. Its weakest is safety (D−): 53.4 violent and sexual offences and 27.2 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 6%.
Northumbria Police published 34 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Ashington 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 Ashington is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 20 buildings inside Ashington’s built-up area, 4 of them Grade II*, and 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 Ashington.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Burglary and damage came to 27.2 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Northumberland’s towns (10.1) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 2,724 crimes inside Ashington’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 726 reports of anti-social behaviour. Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Ashington has more crime per resident than 94% 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
St Aidan's Catholic Primary School, Ashington’s results beat 89% of schools in England like it. Three of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCEA Bishop's Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 448 | D |
| NCEA Duke's Secondary SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 980 | D |
| St Aidan's Catholic Primary School, AshingtonTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 238 | A |
Women here live to 80 on average and men to 76.1 (2019–23). 7.9% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, above both Northumberland’s towns (6.5%) and England’s towns (5.2%). The nearest A&E to Ashington is Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, 7.2 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Ashington | Northumberland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 75% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.9% | 6.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
On this, Ashington is below both Northumberland’s towns (65%) and England’s towns (61%). Private renters make up 22% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £249,999 | 347 |
| Semi-detached | £161,476 | 264 |
| Terraced | £101,250 | 556 |
| Flat or maisonette | £64,000 | 64 |
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 18% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In the comparison, Ashington comes above both Northumberland’s towns (2.5%) and England’s towns (2.3%). Household income averages £42K a year before tax.
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.
For Ashington, that is above both Northumberland’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (16%). Ashington has 20 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 4 Grade II*. For its size, Ashington has 7 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Ashington sits below both Northumberland’s towns (29%) and England’s towns (34%) on this measure. Those 65 and older account for 20% of residents. Ashington has a median age of 42.7.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Ashington | Northumberland | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 9.4% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 22% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 28% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.9% | 7.1% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 22% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Northumberland and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Ashington. Best known first.
MuseumNorthumberland Museum and Archivesin town
CastleBothal Castle1.9 km outside town, to the westAttractionAttractionNewbiggin Rocket House Museum1.9 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumNewbiggin Maritime Centre2 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
20 listed buildings in Ashington.
Engine House Between Shafts 1 and 2: Photo: Chris Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Eastern Winding House and Shaft Head Building (Winder and Shaft No 1): Photo: Chris Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of the Holy Sepulchre: Photo: Russel Wills · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ashington Co-Operative Society Premises: Photo: John Lord from Edinburgh, Scotland · CC BY 2.0
83 notable people were born in Ashington.
Bobby Charlton: Panini, Public domain · Jack Charlton: Bert Verhoeff for Anefo , Den Haag, Rijksfotoarchief: Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Fotopersbureau (ANEFO), 1945-1989 - negatiefstroken zwart/wit, nummer toegang 2.24.01.05, bestanddeelnummer 922…, CC0 · Michael Oliver: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jackie Milburn: Nigel Green, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Martin Taylor: Jon Candy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mark Wood: Ytfc23, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashington | 28,279 | — | C− | A | D− | D− |
| Stakeford | 8,197 | 1.5 | C− | A | C | D |
| Newbiggin-by-the-Sea | 5,951 | 1.9 | D | A | D | D− |
| Lynemouth | 1,685 | 2.6 | — | A | D | D |
| Ellington | 2,131 | 3 | — | A− | B− | C− |
| Bedlington | 16,186 | 3.3 | C | A | D | D |
| Pegswood | 3,302 | 3.4 | B | A | C | C |
| Blyth | 39,731 | 4.4 | C | A | D | D |
Lynemouth and Ellington have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Police recorded 2,724 crimes inside Ashington’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 42% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
It also has 1 scheduled monument.
By type: flats £64,000, terraced houses £101,250, semi-detached houses £161,476 and detached houses £249,999.
GCSE results trail 69% of towns in England, and primary results trail 84% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Large town in Northumberland, England
Ashington is a built-up area of 28,279 people, in the Northumberland 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.