Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
16% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Some 16,186 people live in this town, in Northumberland, North East.
Good value, with catches elsewhere. Residents’ health trails most towns: life expectancy 76.5 for men, 80.3 for women. It lags on safety as well: 41.3 violent and sexual offences and 16.2 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Against UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 74%. Prices are modest for what you get: a typical home costs £155,000 and rent runs £695 a month. The overall grade comes out at C, better than 25% of UK towns. Its place in the ranking is #16 of 20 in Northumberland.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · life expectancy, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
Northumbria Police published 34 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Bedlington 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 Bedlington is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 22 buildings inside Bedlington’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
14% 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 Bedlington.
Asked at the census, 76% of residents of Bedlington said they were in good or very good health. 23% of residents have a disability, higher than both Northumberland’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (17%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 7% of the town. 2 GP practices serve the town; 86% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Bedlington | Northumberland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7% | 6.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Bedlington’s six primaries and two secondaries have 3,111 pupils between them. Of its 8 schools, two are shown below, each with the reason. At the town’s 6 primary schools, 47% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedlington Whitley Memorial Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 233 | D− |
| St Benet Biscop Catholic AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 994 | C |
18% rent privately, above Northumberland’s towns (15%) but below England’s towns (21%). Owners make up 60% of households. From September 2023 to August 2026, 638 homes sold inside Bedlington’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £155,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £270,000 | 160 |
| Semi-detached | £154,000 | 225 |
| Terraced | £119,250 | 178 |
| Flat or maisonette | £66,000 | 75 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
There were 22.1 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above Northumberland’s towns (16.8) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Reported offences in Bedlington came to 1,204 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 331. Of all the crimes, 43% were violence and sexual offences.
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.
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 14% of the total, lower than both Northumberland’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (16%). Grade II* covers 1 of them.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 22% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
3.1% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026, higher than both Northumberland’s towns (2.5%) and England’s towns (2.3%). Driving is how 82% of commuters got to work at the census. For just over a third of commuters, work was under 5 km away.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
People 65 and over make up just over a fifth of the town, between Northumberland’s towns (25%) and England’s towns (18%). 16% of residents are children under 15. Line up the people of Bedlington by age and the one in the middle is 45.7.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Bedlington | Northumberland | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 9.4% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 22% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 28% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.5% | 7.1% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 24% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Northumberland and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
22 listed buildings in Bedlington.
The Kings Arms Public House: Photo: David Clark · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Barclays Bank: Photo: Geoff Holland · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · The Cross: Photo: Oliver Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Old Vicarage: Photo: Geoff Holland · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
26 notable people were born in Bedlington.
Daniel Gooch: Thomas Dewell Scott, Public domain · Chris Dobey: Sandro Halank, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · George Henderson: T. Humphrey & Co., Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedlington | 16,186 | — | C | A | D | D |
| Stakeford | 8,197 | 2 | C− | A | C | D |
| Blyth | 39,731 | 2.6 | C | A | D | D |
| Ashington | 28,279 | 3.3 | C− | A | D− | D− |
| Cramlington | 28,846 | 3.3 | B− | A− | C | C |
| Pegswood | 3,302 | 4 | B | A | C | C |
| New Hartley | 1,764 | 4.3 | — | B | B− | C |
| Newbiggin-by-the-Sea | 5,951 | 4.5 | D | A | D | D− |
New Hartley 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 £155,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £66,000, terraced houses £119,250, semi-detached houses £154,000 and detached houses £270,000.
GCSE results trail 57% of towns in England, and primary results trail 96% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Town in Northumberland, England
Bedlington is a built-up area of 16,186 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.