Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
7,440 people live in this town in South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Bolton upon Dearne’s weakest is health (D) — life expectancy is 77 for men and 79 for women. Taken together, its subjects give Bolton upon Dearne a C− overall, better than 16% of UK towns. That places it #56 of 63 in South Yorkshire. Where it does best is cost of living: a typical home costs £127,000 and rent runs £696 a month.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · life expectancy, ONS.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Bolton upon Dearne is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Bolton upon Dearne does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 5 buildings inside Bolton upon Dearne’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
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 Bolton upon Dearne.
Line up the people of Bolton upon Dearne by age and the one in the middle is 39.8. Children under 15 make up 19%, higher than both South Yorkshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). One in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Bolton upon Dearne | South Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 28% | 22% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.7% | 6.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 18% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · South Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Of its 3 schools, one is shown below, with the reason. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 3 primary schools: 54% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Attainment 8 at the 4 secondary schools within 3 km averages 45, and 45% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrfield Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 282 | C− |
Three quarters of Bolton upon Dearne’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below both South Yorkshire’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (82%). Disability touches nearly a quarter of the town’s population. This South Yorkshire town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 0.8 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Bolton upon Dearne | South Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 75% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 8.4% | 6.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Violence came to 36.1 per 1,000 residents a year, above South Yorkshire’s towns (32.8) and England’s towns (22) alike. 509 crimes and 96 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Bolton upon Dearne’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. For its size, Bolton upon Dearne records more crime per resident than 88% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
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
15% live in social housing, lower than both South Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (18%). Households that own their home make up 65%. 278 standard sales inside Bolton upon Dearne’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £127,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £224,750 | 44 |
| Semi-detached | £132,000 | 128 |
| Terraced | £110,000 | 94 |
| Flat or maisonette | £75,000 | 12 |
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.
Listed buildings per head: 7 for every 10,000 residents of Bolton upon Dearne. Homes from before 1919 make up 14% of the total, about level with South Yorkshire’s towns (14%) and below England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 20% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Households had £41K a year before tax, below South Yorkshire’s towns (£46K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike. Driving is how 84% of commuters got to work at the census. Of the commuters living in Bolton upon Dearne, 6% work in the town itself. For 39% 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
8 notable people were born in Bolton upon Dearne.
Town in South Yorkshire, England
Bolton upon Dearne is a built-up area of 7,440 people, in the Barnsley 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolton upon Dearne | 7,440 | — | C− | A− | C− | D |
| Goldthorpe | 7,493 | 1.1 | C− | A− | D− | D |
| Wath upon Dearne | 16,962 | 1.8 | C | A | D | D |
| Barnburgh and Harlington | 1,849 | 1.9 | — | B− | B+ | B− |
| Thurnscoe | 9,133 | 2 | D− | B+ | D | D− |
| Mexborough | 15,560 | 2.2 | C | A | D− | D− |
| Swinton | 15,911 | 2.5 | C | A | D | C− |
| Brampton | 4,620 | 2.6 | C | A | D | D |
Barnburgh and Harlington 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 £127,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £75,000, terraced houses £110,000, semi-detached houses £132,000 and detached houses £224,750.
Police recorded 509 crimes inside Bolton upon Dearne’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 50% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
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.