Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 7,493: a town in South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Safety lags (D−): 53.8 violent and sexual offences and 45.2 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Goldthorpe grades C− overall, better than nearly a quarter of UK towns. The ranking puts it #46 of 63 in South Yorkshire. It lags on health as well — life expectancy 77.3 for men, 81.2 for women. Buying a home costs less than in most towns (A−): a typical home costs £145,750 and rent runs £696 a month. Work and incomes lag: households earn a mean £38,466 a year, and 4.7% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
The 3 things Goldthorpe 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 Goldthorpe is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 1 building inside Goldthorpe’s built-up area.
28% 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 Goldthorpe.
The share aged 15 to 24 is 11%. The age that splits Goldthorpe in two is 38. Over-65s are 15% of the population.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Goldthorpe | South Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 29% | 22% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 6.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 19% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · South Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Two of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. GCSE results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: 43% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 42.9. Goldthorpe’s three primaries and one secondary have 1,851 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highgate Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 327 | B+ |
| Astrea Academy DearneLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,071 | C− |
Police figures for Goldthorpe’s built-up area: 869 crimes and 136 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. There were 16.4 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above South Yorkshire’s towns (13.4) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences were two fifths of the crimes.
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.
3 GP practices serve the town; three in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Three quarters of Goldthorpe’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, lower than both South Yorkshire’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (82%). A disability affects 24% of people here. Women here live to 81.2 on average and men to 77.3 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Goldthorpe | South Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 75% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 9% | 6.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 24% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
56% of households own their home, below both South Yorkshire’s towns (61%) and England’s towns (61%). From September 2023 to August 2026, 398 homes sold inside Goldthorpe’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £145,750. Council and housing-body homes hold 18% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £246,995 | 93 |
| Semi-detached | £160,000 | 136 |
| Terraced | £67,000 | 163 |
| Flat or maisonette | £136,020 | 6 |
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.
None of the 1 listed building reaches Grade II* or Grade I; all are Grade II.
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.
The car carried 79% of commuters at the census. At the census, 18% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below South Yorkshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (27%) alike. Goldthorpe counts 0.8 jobs per working resident. Work in town: 13% of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
6 notable people were born in Goldthorpe.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goldthorpe | 7,493 | — | C− | A− | D− | D |
| Bolton upon Dearne | 7,440 | 1.1 | C− | A− | C− | D |
| Thurnscoe | 9,133 | 1.1 | D− | B+ | D | D− |
| Barnburgh and Harlington | 1,849 | 1.4 | — | B− | B+ | B− |
| Great Houghton | 2,489 | 2.3 | — | B+ | D | D− |
| Mexborough | 15,560 | 2.6 | C | A | D− | D− |
| Wath upon Dearne | 16,962 | 2.9 | C | A | D | D |
| Darfield | 7,209 | 3.1 | D | A− | D | D |
Barnburgh and Harlington and Great Houghton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
1 on Historic England’s list.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £145,750, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £136,020, terraced houses £67,000, semi-detached houses £160,000 and detached houses £246,995.
Town in South Yorkshire, England
Goldthorpe is a built-up area of 7,493 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
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.