Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
10,149 residents make their home in this town in Northumberland, North East.
Ponteland’s best grade is for health — life expectancy is 83.5 for men and 87.7 for women. The town’s overall grade of A puts it better than 87% of UK towns, #2 of 20 in Northumberland. The catch is cost of living (C−): a typical home costs £475,000 and rent runs £695 a month. It also trails on walkability: on the way to work, 10% walk, cycle or take a bus or train.
Figures: life expectancy, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021.
Northumbria Police published 34 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Ponteland 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 Ponteland is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 31 buildings inside Ponteland’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
5% 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 Ponteland.
The under-15s are 15% of the population here. 32% of residents are 65 or over, above Northumberland’s towns (25%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. The median resident of Ponteland is 52.5 years old. Young adults of 15 to 24 are nearly a tenth of the population.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Ponteland | Northumberland | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.9% | 9.4% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 22% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 28% | 25% |
| 65+ | 32% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.2% | 7.1% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 49% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Northumberland and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Three of its 6 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 63% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 53.4. At the town’s 4 primary schools, 69% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ponteland Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 479 | B |
| Ponteland High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,536 | A− |
| Darras Hall Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 459 | A− |
At the census, 15% of people here had a disability, below both Northumberland’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (17%). Asked at the census, 84% of residents of Ponteland said they were in good or very good health. 2 GP practices serve the town; 83% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 3.9% of residents report bad or very bad health.
| Census 2021 | Ponteland | Northumberland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.9% | 6.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
5% live in social housing, below Northumberland’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private renters make up 8% of households. No town in Northumberland costs more to buy into than Ponteland, at £475,000, the highest of 20.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £580,000 | 330 |
| Semi-detached | £340,000 | 76 |
| Terraced | £250,000 | 25 |
| Flat or maisonette | £161,000 | 86 |
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 42% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The census counted just over two in five workers working mainly from home. The car took 87% of commuters, above Northumberland’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Household income averages £65K a year before tax. About 11% of its commuters stay in Ponteland for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Burglary and damage came to 6.2 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Northumberland’s towns (10.6) and England’s towns (9.4). Ponteland logged 310 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 88 complaints of anti-social conduct. Violence and sexual offences made up nearly two fifths of the total.
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 built before 1919 account for 5% of the housing. Ponteland’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. Grade II* covers 2 of them, Grade I 1.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
31 listed buildings in Ponteland, 1 of them Grade I.
The Blackbird Inn: Photo: Andrew Curtis · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Callerton House: Photo: Stephen Richards · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
4 notable people were born in Ponteland.
Peter Swinnerton-Dyer: Renate Schmid, CC BY-SA 2.0 de · Michael Gill: Geof Sheppard, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ponteland | 10,149 | — | A | C− | B+ | A |
| Throckley | 6,207 | 3.2 | C | C− | C− | C− |
| Dinnington | 2,366 | 3.3 | — | D | B | C− |
| Heddon-on-the-Wall | 1,300 | 3.4 | — | C+ | A | A+ |
| Newburn | 1,475 | 4 | — | C | D− | D |
| Ryton | 8,804 | 4.7 | B− | C | C+ | C+ |
| Wylam | 1,661 | 5 | — | C+ | A+ | B+ |
| Wideopen | 9,150 | 5 | B+ | C+ | B | C+ |
Dinnington, Heddon-on-the-Wall, Newburn and Wylam have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results beat 91% of towns in England, and primary results beat 84% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £475,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £161,000, terraced houses £250,000, semi-detached houses £340,000 and detached houses £580,000.
Town in Northumberland, England
Ponteland is a built-up area of 10,149 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.
