Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 8,541 people, lies in South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Where it does best is schools: primary results beat four in five towns in England; secondary results beat 85% of towns in England. What counts against it is cost of living: homes sell for a median £249,000, about 5.9 times local household income. The overall grade lands at B+, #6 of 63 in South Yorkshire. Nationally, it does better than 66% of UK towns. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for safety, C+ for health, B for jobs & income, B− for walkability and C+ for hazard risk.
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 · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The thing Penistone 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 Penistone is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 29 buildings inside Penistone’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
19% 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 Penistone.
Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 2 primary schools: 68% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its two schools are listed below. Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 51.4, and nearly three in five pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 493 | B− |
| Springvale Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 227 | A |
13% live in social housing, lower than both South Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (18%). Behind the median of £249,000: 477 standard sales inside Penistone’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026. Private rents average £696 a month across the Barnsley council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £352,000 | 173 |
| Semi-detached | £234,000 | 146 |
| Terraced | £190,000 | 135 |
| Flat or maisonette | £123,000 | 23 |
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.
Penistone’s listed buildings include the Church of St John, Grade I. Homes built before 1919 account for nearly a fifth of the housing. Conservation areas cover 7% of the town’s land, about level with England’s towns (7%) and above South Yorkshire’s towns (0%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
17% of residents in Penistone live with a disability. At the census, just over four fifths of people in Penistone called their health good or very good, above South Yorkshire’s towns (79%) and close to England’s towns (82%). The nearest A&E to Penistone is Barnsley Hospital, 5.8 miles away. 2 GP practices serve the town; 85% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Penistone | South Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 6.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Burglary and damage came to 10.5 per 1,000 residents a year, between South Yorkshire’s towns (18.1) and England’s towns (9.4). 420 crimes and 85 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Penistone’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences made up 46% of the total.
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 27% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Unemployment benefit claims came to 1.7% of 16 to 64s in 2026, lower than both South Yorkshire’s towns (2.8%) and England’s towns (2.3%). 84% of commuters took the car to work at the census. Work in town: 15% of resident commuters. For just over a quarter 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
People 65 and over make up just over a fifth of the town, above South Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. 19% of residents are children under 15. The middle age in Penistone is 43.6. Among adults, 34% have a degree.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Penistone | South Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.9% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 22% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.2% | 6.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 34% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · South Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Penistone. Best known first.
MuseumCannon Hall4.3 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumCawthorne Victoria Jubilee Museum4.8 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumWortley Top Forge4.2 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumDe Morgan Museum4.3 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
29 listed buildings in Penistone, 1 of them Grade I.
Midland Bank and Bank Chambers: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Penistone War Memorial: Photo: Ian S · CC BY-SA 2.0
8 notable people were born in Penistone.
Kate Rusby: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penistone | 8,541 | — | B+ | C+ | B− | C+ |
| Thurlstone | 1,003 | 1.1 | — | C+ | B− | C+ |
| Oxspring | 1,196 | 1.3 | — | C− | A+ | B− |
| Hoylandswaine | 1,038 | 1.4 | — | D | A | A |
| Millhouse Green | 1,249 | 1.6 | — | C− | A− | C+ |
| Thurgoland | 1,239 | 2.8 | — | C | B+ | B− |
| Silkstone Common | 1,278 | 2.9 | — | C | A+ | A |
| Silkstone | 1,682 | 3 | — | C− | A− | A− |
Thurlstone, Oxspring, Hoylandswaine, Millhouse Green, Thurgoland, Silkstone Common and Silkstone have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results beat 85% of towns in England, and primary results beat 80% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Penistone has 2 state schools; places are handled by Barnsley council.
Band D council tax in Penistone is £2,377 for 2026–27, less than in 62% 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.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £249,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £123,000, terraced houses £190,000, semi-detached houses £234,000 and detached houses £352,000.
Town in South Yorkshire, England
Penistone is a built-up area of 8,541 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.
