Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 4,310: a town in South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
What it saves you on housing, it gives back elsewhere. Denaby Main’s overall grade, C, puts it better than 31% of UK towns. That places it #31 of 63 in South Yorkshire. Health outcomes fall short of most towns: life expectancy 71.8 for men, 77 for women. Crime is the sore point: 67.7 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 32 home and vehicle crimes. Buying a home costs less than in most towns: the median home sold for £142,500, 3.3 years of area income. Jobs and pay trail most towns (D): households earn a mean £34,758 a year, and 5.8% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · life expectancy and income, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · claimants, DWP.
The 3 things Denaby Main 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 Denaby Main is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 2 buildings inside Denaby Main’s built-up area.
6% 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 Denaby Main.
Children under 15 make up 21%, higher than both South Yorkshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Half of Denaby Main is older than 38.1, half younger. People aged 15 to 24 are 12% of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Denaby Main | South Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 40% | 22% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.2% | 6.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 13% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · South Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Some 390 pupils attend Denaby Main’s two primaries. One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. GCSE results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: 53% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 47.3.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Alban's Catholic Primary and Nursery SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 226 | B− |
Men in Denaby Main can expect to live to 71.8, women to 77 (2019–23). The town’s share in bad or very bad health, 14%, is the highest of the 88 towns in South Yorkshire. At the census, 68% of people in Denaby Main called their health good or very good, lower than both South Yorkshire’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (82%). The nearest A&E to Denaby Main is Doncaster Royal Infirmary, 6.4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Denaby Main | South Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 68% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 14% | 6.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 29% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Police recorded 596 crimes inside Denaby Main’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 60 reports of anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 23 reports per 1,000, higher than both South Yorkshire’s towns (13.4) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences accounted for 45% of recorded crime.
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.
6% of its homes were built before 1919, lower than both South Yorkshire’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (16%). Per 10,000 residents, Denaby Main counts 5 listed buildings.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Private renters make up 10% of households, below South Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. 32% of households are owner-occupiers. Behind the median of £142,500: 77 standard sales inside Denaby Main’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £200,000 | 9 |
| Semi-detached | £145,000 | 43 |
| Terraced | £120,000 | 23 |
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 12% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 72% of commuters, below South Yorkshire’s towns (77%) but above England’s towns (70%). Home was the main workplace for 12% of workers at the census. 13% of commuters who live in Denaby Main also work there. For a third 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
12 notable people were born in Denaby Main.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denaby Main | 4,310 | — | C | A | D− | D− |
| Conisbrough | 11,465 | 0.9 | C+ | A | D | D |
| Mexborough | 15,560 | 1.5 | C | A | D− | D− |
| Barnburgh and Harlington | 1,849 | 2.5 | — | B− | B+ | B− |
| Warmsworth | 11,317 | 2.5 | C+ | A | D− | D |
| Swinton | 15,911 | 2.8 | C | A | D | C− |
| Bolton upon Dearne | 7,440 | 3.6 | C− | A− | C− | D |
| Thrybergh and Dalton | 5,858 | 3.6 | D | 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 £142,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £120,000, semi-detached houses £145,000 and detached houses £200,000.
Town in South Yorkshire, England
Denaby Main is a built-up area of 4,310 people, in the Doncaster 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.