Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 3,646 residents in Northumberland, North East.
Haltwhistle’s overall A− puts it #3 of 20 in Northumberland. On that grade it does better than just over four fifths of UK towns. Its strongest is schools — primary results beat 97% of towns in England. Add cost of living to its strengths: the median home sold for £155,000, 3.3 years of area income. Work and incomes lag: the mean household earns £41,979 a year. Natural hazards weigh more here: 0.6% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its other grades sit near the middle: C+ for safety and C+ for health.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency · 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.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Haltwhistle is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Haltwhistle does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 28 buildings inside Haltwhistle’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
43% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →28 listed buildings in Haltwhistle, 1 of them Grade I.
Red Lion Hotel: Photo: Ken Brown · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Railway Signal Box on South Platform: Photo: Ingy The Wingy from Lancashire, England · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Georgie Girl Hair Salon (Formerly the Town Hall): Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Pleasant Place House: Photo: Roger Templeman · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Haltwhistle.
At the one primary school within 3 km, 77% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Haltwhistle Primary Academy’s results beat 87% of schools in England like it. The town has one school, shown below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haltwhistle Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 213 | A |
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.
2.9% of people aged 16 to 64 were on unemployment benefits in 2026. The car took 72% of commuters, lower than Northumberland’s towns (79%) and near England’s towns (70%). For 35% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. About 26% of its commuters stay in Haltwhistle for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The median sale, £155,000, comes from 141 standard sales inside Haltwhistle’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. 17% rent privately, between Northumberland’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (21%). Private rents average £695 a month across the Northumberland council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £278,300 | 17 |
| Semi-detached | £168,000 | 47 |
| Terraced | £145,000 | 66 |
| Flat or maisonette | £86,000 | 11 |
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.
Of Haltwhistle’s land, 26% lies in conservation areas, above both Northumberland’s towns (2%) and England’s towns (7%). The town’s listed buildings include the Church of the Holy Cross, Grade I. The top grade, Grade I, goes to 1 of them. It counts 28 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
There were 16.9 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), near Northumberland’s towns (16.8) and higher than England’s towns (7.8). 140 crimes and 40 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Haltwhistle’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences were 45% 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.
One GP practice serves the town; 93% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 76% of Haltwhistle’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below Northumberland’s towns (78%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. Men in Haltwhistle can expect to live to 81, women to 85.6 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Haltwhistle | Northumberland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.7% | 6.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Just over a fifth of adults hold a degree. Children under 15 make up 14%, lower than both Northumberland’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Haltwhistle has a median age of 50.2 years.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Haltwhistle | Northumberland | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | 9.4% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 22% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 28% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 9% | 7.1% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 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 Haltwhistle. Best known first.
CastleFeatherstone Castle3.3 km outside town, to the southwest
CastleBellister Castle400 m outside town, to the south
CastleThirlwall Castle4.2 km outside town, to the northwest
CastleBlenkinsopp Castle3.1 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumRoman Army Museum3.4 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
11 notable people were born in Haltwhistle.
Paul Boertien: en:user:TuborgLight, CC BY-SA 3.0 · William Lisle Blenkinsopp Coulson: John Moffat, Public domain · Alan Emerson: Lawson Speedway, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town in Northumberland, England
Haltwhistle is a built-up area of 3,646 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haltwhistle | 3,646 | — | A− | A | C+ | C+ |
| Haydon Bridge | 1,229 | 8.6 | — | A− | A− | B |
| Brampton | 4,187 | 11 | C− | C− | D | C+ |
| Alston | 1,075 | 11 | — | C+ | C− | B+ |
Haydon Bridge and Alston have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Primary results beat 97% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Northumberland council.
That is 3.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of the Holy Cross.
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 £86,000, terraced houses £145,000, semi-detached houses £168,000 and detached houses £278,300.
Band D council tax in Haltwhistle is £2,668 for 2026–27, more than in 93% 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.
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.