Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
6,278 residents make their home in this town in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands.
Selston’s weakest subject is health (D): life expectancy 76.7 for men, 79.7 for women. Its overall grade of C− puts it better than 17% of UK towns, #38 of 49 in Nottinghamshire. School results trail most towns (C−): primary results beat 43% of towns in England; secondary results beat 13% of towns in England. Hazard risk is low (A). It takes 4.4 years of household income in the Ashfield council area to buy the median home, at £195,000.
Figures: flood risk, Environment Agency · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Selston 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 Selston is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 1 building inside Selston’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
20% 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 Selston.
People aged 15 to 24 make up 11% of the town, below both Nottinghamshire’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (12%). The 65-and-over age group makes up 25% of residents. The middle age in Selston is 47.7.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Selston | Nottinghamshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 25% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.9% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 20% | 17% |
| Degree level | 20% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Nottinghamshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Attainment 8 at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km averages 40.8, and nearly a third of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Between them, two primaries and one secondary teach 1,288 pupils in Selston. 60% of pupils at the 12 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holly Hill Primary and Nursery SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 313 | C− |
| Selston High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 862 | C− |
7.3% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, above Nottinghamshire’s towns (5.9%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. Asked at the census, just over three quarters of residents of Selston said they were in good or very good health. The nearest A&E to Selston is King's Mill Hospital, 5 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 89% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Selston | Nottinghamshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.3% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Before 1919: that is when 20% of homes were built. Per 10,000 residents, Selston counts 2 listed buildings, lower than both Nottinghamshire’s towns (17) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · 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.
Household income came to £44K a year before tax, below both Nottinghamshire’s towns (£51K) and England’s towns (£55K). Nearly nine in ten commuters took the car to work at the census. Work in town: 6% of resident commuters. For 31% 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
Private renters make up just over one in ten households, below Nottinghamshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. The social rented sector houses 13% of households. Behind the median of £195,000: 244 standard sales inside Selston’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £267,500 | 99 |
| Semi-detached | £185,000 | 104 |
| Terraced | £140,000 | 39 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 41% of recorded crime. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 348 crimes and 53 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Selston’s built-up area. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 10.8 reports per 1,000, near Nottinghamshire’s towns (10.7) and higher than 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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Selston. Best known first.
CastleCodnor Castle3.3 km outside town, to the southwest
Abbey or prioryBeauvale Priory3.4 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseCarnfield Hall4 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumWest Shed Experience4.4 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumFork Truck Heritage Centre4.1 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumMatthew Kirtley Building4.2 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
8 notable people were born in Selston.
Haydn Hollis: Skippo10, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Richard Hardstaff: Photo by E Hawkins of Brighton, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selston | 6,278 | — | C− | C+ | B− | D |
| Jacksdale and Westwood | 2,758 | 1.6 | C | B− | B | C |
| Brinsley and Underwood | 4,514 | 2 | B | B | A− | C |
| Annesley Woodhouse | 6,162 | 2.1 | C | B− | C | C− |
| South Normanton and Pinxton | 16,028 | 2.1 | C | B+ | C | D |
| Ironville | 1,824 | 2.2 | — | A | D | D |
| Kirkby-in-Ashfield | 21,262 | 2.7 | D | B− | C− | D |
| Newstead | 2,204 | 2.9 | — | C+ | B− | C |
Ironville and Newstead have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Band D council tax in Selston is £2,691 for 2026–27, more than in 95% 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.
GCSE results trail 87% of towns in England, and primary results trail 57% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Selston has 3 state schools; places are handled by Nottinghamshire council.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £195,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £140,000, semi-detached houses £185,000 and detached houses £267,500.
Town in Nottinghamshire, England
Selston is a built-up area of 6,278 people, in the Ashfield 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.