Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, home to 52,359 people.
Beeston grades A− overall, better than 75% of UK towns, and ranks #12 of 49 in Nottinghamshire. Pupils here do better than most: primary results beat 83% of towns in England; secondary results beat 84% of towns in England. It is easy to get around without a car (A+): on the way to work, 30% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. What counts against it is hazard risk: 0.7% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. The median home sold for £285,000, 5.5 times what households in the Broxtowe council area earn in a year. The rest of its grades are middling: C+ for safety and B− for health.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
The thing Beeston 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 Beeston is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 44 buildings inside Beeston’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
9% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 3 old photos and postcards going back to 1911.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Beeston. Best known first.
CastleNottingham Castle3.5 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumWollaton Hall1.1 km outside town, to the northeast
CathedralNottingham Cathedral3.8 km outside town, to the northeast
Art galleryNottingham Contemporary4.1 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumNottingham Industrial Museum1 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Beeston.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 39% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took just over two thirds of commuters, about level with England’s towns (70%) and below Nottinghamshire’s towns (75%). Working from home was the norm for nearly two in five workers at the census. About 21% of its commuters stay in Beeston for work. Among 16 to 64s, 2.9% claimed unemployment benefits in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 11 primary schools: just over two thirds of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Three of its 18 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Beeston’s 14 primaries and three secondaries have 6,824 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Lanes Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 586 | B |
| Chilwell SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,078 | A− |
| Sunnyside Spencer AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 205 | A |
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 9% of the total, below both Nottinghamshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (16%). Beeston’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Grade I. Grade II* covers 2 of them, Grade I 1.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Social housing holds just over one in ten households, lower than both Nottinghamshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). The £285,000 median rests on 2,099 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026). Private rents average £942 a month across the Broxtowe council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £392,497 | 678 |
| Semi-detached | £275,000 | 834 |
| Terraced | £225,000 | 353 |
| Flat or maisonette | £171,000 | 234 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violence and sexual offences accounted for just over a third of recorded crime. Reported offences in Beeston came to 3,847 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 710. There were 15 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both Nottinghamshire’s towns (10.7) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
5 GP practices serve the town; 81% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Beeston is Queen's Medical Centre, 2.4 miles away. Just over four fifths of people in Beeston rate their own health good or very good.
| Census 2021 | Beeston | Nottinghamshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.5% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 19% | 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.
People 65 and over make up just over a fifth of the town, above Nottinghamshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Children are 15% of the town. The median resident of Beeston is 41.4 years old.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Beeston | Nottinghamshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.7% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 20% | 17% |
| Degree level | 42% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Nottinghamshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
44 listed buildings in Beeston, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Mary the Virgin: Photo: Andrewrabbott · Public domain · Beeston Railway Station, including the canopy to platform one and shelters on platforms one and two: Photo: mattbuck ( category ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Anglo-Scotian Mills, Block Occupied by Ariel Pressings Limited: Photo: David Lally · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Crown Inn and Adjoining Stables: Photo: David Lally · CC BY-SA 2.0
17 notable people were born in Beeston.
Henry Ireton: Attributed to Robert Walker / After Samuel Cooper / After Anthony van Dyck, Public domain · Barry Foster: W. Punt for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Paul Wright: CyclocrossUK, CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beeston | 52,359 | — | A− | C+ | C+ | B− |
| Stapleford | 15,041 | 1.8 | B− | B | C− | C |
| Clifton | 22,936 | 2.4 | D | D | D | D |
| Trowell | 2,165 | 2.5 | — | C+ | A− | B− |
| Sandiacre | 9,373 | 2.6 | B | B+ | C | C |
| Wilford | 4,849 | 2.9 | B+ | D− | B− | B |
| Long Eaton | 37,815 | 3 | C+ | A− | C− | C |
| Ruddington | 7,491 | 3.8 | A+ | A | B− | B |
Trowell has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C+.
GCSE results beat 84% of towns in England, and primary results beat 83% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Band D council tax in Beeston is £2,583 for 2026–27, more than in 82% 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.
Large town in Nottinghamshire, England
Beeston is a built-up area of 52,359 people, in the Broxtowe 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.