Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 12,303: a town in South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
A town with more to fix than most. Its weakest subject is health — life expectancy 76.6 for men, 79.1 for women. Taken together, its subjects give Thorne a D overall, better than a tenth of UK towns. In the ranking it comes #61 of 63 in South Yorkshire. Hazard risk is higher than most: 11.4% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Homes are affordable: homes sell for a median £155,000, about 3.6 times local household income. It is strong on walkability as well — on the way to work, 20% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Schools lag: primary results beat 7% of towns in England; secondary results beat 18% of towns in England.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · life expectancy, ONS · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Thorne 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 Thorne is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 18 buildings inside Thorne’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
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 Thorne.
People 65 and over make up 21% of the town. 10% of residents are 15 to 24, below South Yorkshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. The median resident of Thorne is 43 years old.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Thorne | 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 | 29% | 22% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 6.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 18% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · South Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
49% of pupils at the town’s 3 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Of its 4 schools, two are shown below, each with the reason. Some 2,307 pupils attend Thorne’s three primaries and one secondary.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green TopLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 426 | D |
| Trinity AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,176 | C |
2 GP practices serve the town; 62% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 8.2% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above both South Yorkshire’s towns (6.7%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Asked at the census, three quarters of residents of Thorne said they were in good or very good health. The nearest A&E to Thorne is Doncaster Royal Infirmary, 8.4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Thorne | South Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 75% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 8.2% | 6.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
Burglary and damage came to 19.5 per 1,000 residents a year, above both South Yorkshire’s towns (17.9) and England’s towns (9.4). 1,069 crimes and 170 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Thorne’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Thorne has more crime per resident than 83% of them. Of all the crimes, 47% 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.
Half of the 429 standard sales inside Thorne’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £155,000. Private rents average £694 a month across the Doncaster council area. 18% rent privately, about level with South Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and below England’s towns (21%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £247,000 | 81 |
| Semi-detached | £155,000 | 207 |
| Terraced | £130,000 | 113 |
| Flat or maisonette | £101,250 | 28 |
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 15% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
3.5% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026, higher than both South Yorkshire’s towns (2.8%) and England’s towns (2.3%). The car carried 78% of commuters at the census. Working from home was the norm for 15% of workers at the census.
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.
Nearly one in ten homes date from before 1919. Thorne’s listed buildings include the Church of St Nicholas, Grade I. The national list protects one ancient monument here.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
18 listed buildings in Thorne, 1 of them Grade I.
Peel Hill motte and bailey castle, Thorne.: Photo: Martin Dawes · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · The White Hart Inn: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0
15 notable people were born in Thorne.
Thomas Crapper: Unknown photographer, Public domain · Lesley Garrett: Jon Clempner, CC BY-SA 4.0 · James Baxendale: Ben Sutherland from Crystal Palace, London, UK, CC BY 2.0 · Victor Sutton: Cosway2509, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thorne | 12,303 | — | D | A− | D | D |
| Moorends | 5,194 | 1.3 | C | A | C− | D− |
| Stainforth | 5,999 | 3.1 | C− | A | D− | D− |
| Dunscroft and Hatfield | 14,000 | 3.5 | C+ | A− | D | D |
| Hatfield Woodhouse | 2,208 | 4.7 | — | A | D− | C− |
| Crowle | 3,969 | 5.1 | C | A− | C | C |
| Kirk Sandall and Edenthorpe | 13,090 | 5.6 | B | A− | C | C+ |
| Rawcliffe | 1,580 | 6 | — | A | B | C+ |
Hatfield Woodhouse and Rawcliffe 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.
GCSE results trail 82% of towns in England, and primary results trail 93% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Town in South Yorkshire, England
Thorne is a built-up area of 12,303 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
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.
