Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 15,560 residents and lies in South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Mexborough’s weakest subject is safety: police record 63.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 24.7 home and vehicle crimes. Only 3% of UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have more crime per resident. Health lags: men here can expect to live to 76, women to 78.7. Prices are modest for what you get (A): homes sell for a median £143,000, about 3.3 times local household income. It also does well on walkability — nearly a fifth of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The overall grade comes out at C, #30 of 63 in South Yorkshire. Set against the rest, it does better than 32% of UK towns. Jobs & income is weaker too: the mean household earns £37,053 a year.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Mexborough is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Mexborough does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 3 buildings inside Mexborough’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
30% 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 Mexborough.
Children are nearly a fifth of the town. Typical age in Mexborough: 39.4, the median. 11% of residents are 15 to 24, about level with England’s towns (12%) and below South Yorkshire’s towns (13%).
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Mexborough | South Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 29% | 22% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.3% | 6.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 18% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · South Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Mexborough’s five primaries have 1,349 pupils between them. Below is one of its 5 schools, and why it was picked. At the town’s 5 primary schools, 63% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montagu AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 352 | A |
Over the year to August 2026, 1,959 offences were reported in Mexborough, along with 293 incidents of anti-social behaviour. There were 20.4 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above South Yorkshire’s towns (13.4) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Of all the crimes, 53% were violence and sexual offences.
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 nearest A&E to Mexborough is Rotherham General Hospital, 6.2 miles away. 75% of the town’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%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 8% of the town. Also worth knowing: 2 GP practices serve the town; 62% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Mexborough | South Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 75% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 8% | 6.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Home ownership stands at 52% of households. Private rents average £694 a month across the Doncaster council area. From September 2023 to August 2026, 491 homes sold inside Mexborough’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £143,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £240,000 | 111 |
| Semi-detached | £155,000 | 173 |
| Terraced | £90,000 | 195 |
| Flat or maisonette | £82,500 | 12 |
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 17% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For every resident in work, Mexborough has 0.6 jobs. 13% of commuters who live in Mexborough also work there. Working mainly from home: 17% of workers, below both South Yorkshire’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (31%).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Mexborough has 3 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I. Its listed buildings include the Church of St. John the Baptist, Grade I. One scheduled monument lies in the town.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
43 notable people were born in Mexborough.
Brian Blessed: Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0 · Dennis Priestley: Chris Ibbotson, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Graham Oliver: Frank Schwichtenberg, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Karen Walker: Sevcoteehee, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kenneth Haigh: film screenshot (National General Pictures), CC BY 3.0
Town in South Yorkshire, England
Mexborough is a built-up area of 15,560 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexborough | 15,560 | — | C | A | D− | D− |
| Denaby Main | 4,310 | 1.5 | C | A | D− | D− |
| Swinton | 15,911 | 1.7 | C | A | D | C− |
| Barnburgh and Harlington | 1,849 | 1.8 | — | B− | B+ | B− |
| Bolton upon Dearne | 7,440 | 2.2 | C− | A− | C− | D |
| Conisbrough | 11,465 | 2.3 | C+ | A | D | D |
| Goldthorpe | 7,493 | 2.6 | C− | A− | D− | D |
| Wath upon Dearne | 16,962 | 2.9 | 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.
3 on Historic England’s list, 1 of them Grade I. Its Grade I building is Church of St. John the Baptist. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £143,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £82,500, terraced houses £90,000, semi-detached houses £155,000 and detached houses £240,000.
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.