Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 10,755 in South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber. On the way to work, 13% walk, cycle or take a bus or train.
Royston’s lowest grade is for health — life expectancy is 77.2 for men and 80.6 for women. It lags on safety as well — 37.5 violent and sexual offences and 18.8 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 27%. Cost of living is its strong suit — homes sell for a median £180,000, about 4.3 times local household income. The overall grade comes out at C, #43 of 63 in South Yorkshire. On that grade it does better than 26% of UK towns. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for schools and C+ for walkability.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · life expectancy, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Royston 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 Royston is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 2 buildings inside Royston’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
18% 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 Royston.
The middle age in Royston is 41.5. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 11% of residents, lower than both South Yorkshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%). Under 15: 18% of residents.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Royston | South Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 25% | 22% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 6.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 22% | 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. At the town’s 4 primary schools, 72% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Secondary results at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 41.5, with 40% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parkside Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 225 | A− |
| Summerfields Primary AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 214 | A |
At the census, 7.1% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above both South Yorkshire’s towns (6.7%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Self-reported good health: 77% of Royston’s residents. 2 GP practices serve the town; 72% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Royston | South Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.1% | 6.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 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.
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 770 crimes and 252 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Royston’s built-up area. For its size, Royston records more crime per resident than 73% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Violence and sexual offences were 48% 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Royston’s listed buildings include the Church of St John the Baptist, Grade I. 18% of its homes were built before 1919, above South Yorkshire’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (16%) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Home ownership stands at nearly two thirds of households. The median sale, £180,000, comes from 380 standard sales inside Royston’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Private rents average £696 a month across the Barnsley council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £280,000 | 131 |
| Semi-detached | £170,000 | 146 |
| Terraced | £115,000 | 94 |
| Flat or maisonette | £110,000 | 9 |
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 19% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
85% of commuters drove, above South Yorkshire’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Working from home was the norm for nearly a fifth of workers at the census. Of the commuters living in Royston, 7% work in the town itself. Also worth knowing: a household here earns £43K a year before tax, on average.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Royston. Best known first.
Abbey or priory · English HeritageMonk Bretton Priory4.3 km outside town, to the south
MuseumCooper Art Gallery4.4 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumExperience Barnsley Museum and Discovery Centre4.6 km outside town, to the southWater parkWater parkHemsworth Water Park4.9 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royston | 10,755 | — | C | B+ | C− | D |
| Carlton | 2,125 | 0.9 | — | B+ | D | D |
| Cudworth and Shafton | 12,472 | 2.2 | C | B+ | D | D− |
| Havercroft and Ryhill | 5,204 | 2.4 | C | B+ | D | D |
| South Hiendley | 1,750 | 2.6 | — | B | C+ | D |
| Darton | 15,016 | 2.7 | C+ | B | C+ | C− |
| Brierley | 2,714 | 3 | C− | B− | C+ | D− |
| Barnsley | 71,394 | 3 | C | A− | D− | D− |
Carlton and South Hiendley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £180,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £110,000, terraced houses £115,000, semi-detached houses £170,000 and detached houses £280,000.
Town in South Yorkshire, England
Royston is a built-up area of 10,755 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.