Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber has a population of 15,911.
Easy on the wallet, harder on other counts. Swinton grades C overall, better than 28% of UK towns, and ranks #37 of 63 in South Yorkshire. Police record more crime here than in most towns: 41.2 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 16.4 home and vehicle crimes. Set beside UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, its crime per resident is higher than in 75%. Residents’ health trails most towns: men here can expect to live to 78.4, women to 82. Buying a home costs less than in most towns (A): a typical home costs £175,000 and rent runs £686 a month. The rest of its grades are middling: C+ 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, ONS · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Swinton 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 Swinton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 10 buildings inside Swinton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*, and 2 scheduled monuments.
9% 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 Swinton.
Owners make up 68% of households, above South Yorkshire’s towns (61%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. The median sale, £175,000, comes from 556 standard sales inside Swinton’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Just over a fifth of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £240,000 | 147 |
| Semi-detached | £170,000 | 281 |
| Terraced | £130,000 | 113 |
| Flat or maisonette | £110,000 | 15 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Of its 7 schools, two are shown below, each with the reason. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 5 primary schools: 58% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Attainment 8 at the 6 secondary schools within 3 km averages 43.5, and just over two in five pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swinton Queen Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 339 | C+ |
| Swinton AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 870 | C |
Of all the crimes, 55% were violence and sexual offences. Police recorded 1,245 crimes inside Swinton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 208 reports of anti-social behaviour. There were 11.8 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), between South Yorkshire’s towns (13.4) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
Men in Swinton can expect to live to 78.4, women to 82 (2019–23). At the census, 77% of people in Swinton called their health good or very good, below both South Yorkshire’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (82%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 7.1% of the town. 2 GP practices serve the town; 84% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Swinton | 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 · 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up nearly a tenth of the total. Grade II* covers 1 of them. Also worth knowing: the national list protects 2 ancient monuments in Swinton.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 22% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 85% of commuters, higher than both South Yorkshire’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%). 34% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. About just over a tenth of its commuters stay in Swinton for work. The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 3%.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Young adults of 15 to 24 are 10% of residents, below South Yorkshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Those 65 and older account for 21% of residents. At 43.7, the median resident of Swinton sits in the middle of the age range.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Swinton | South Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 22% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.2% | 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
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Swinton. Best known first.
Historic houseWentworth Woodhouse4.5 km outside town, to the west
MuseumClifton Park Museum4.7 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumSouth Yorkshire Transport Museum2.9 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumYork And Lancaster Regimental Museum4.7 km outside town, to the southAttractionAttractionWentworth Garden Centre5 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
10 listed buildings in Swinton.
Hawthorne Farmhouse: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Swinton Hall: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Margaret: Photo: Richard Croft · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hattersley Building: Photo: Dave Bevis · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
24 notable people were born in Swinton.
Wally Ardron: Nationaal Archief, CC0 · Charles Sargeant Jagger: photographer: "Russell", Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swinton | 15,911 | — | C | A | D | C− |
| Rawmarsh | 18,892 | 1.5 | C− | A | D | D− |
| Mexborough | 15,560 | 1.7 | C | A | D− | D− |
| Wath upon Dearne | 16,962 | 2.1 | C | A | D | D |
| Thrybergh and Dalton | 5,858 | 2.5 | D | A | D− | D− |
| Bolton upon Dearne | 7,440 | 2.5 | C− | A− | C− | D |
| Denaby Main | 4,310 | 2.8 | C | A | D− | D− |
| Greasbrough | 3,859 | 3 | C− | A | D− | D− |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £175,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £110,000, terraced houses £130,000, semi-detached houses £170,000 and detached houses £240,000.
GCSE results trail 65% of towns in England, and primary results trail 69% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Town in South Yorkshire, England
Swinton is a built-up area of 15,911 people, in the Rotherham 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.