Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber, this town has 4,153 residents. 48% of households own their home with no mortgage.
Households here earn well (A−): mean household income £54,783; 1.5% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Thorpe Hesley’s overall grade, B, puts it better than 58% of UK towns. The ranking puts it #11 of 63 in South Yorkshire. It is hard to get around without a car: on the way to work, 8% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Schools are weaker too: primary results beat 17% of towns in England; secondary results beat 37% of towns in England. At a median £255,000, a home costs 5.6 times the yearly income of households in the Rotherham council area. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for safety and B− for health.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Thorpe Hesley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Thorpe Hesley does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 7 buildings inside Thorpe Hesley’s built-up area.
14% 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 Thorpe Hesley.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 25% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took nine in ten commuters, above South Yorkshire’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. For every resident in work, Thorpe Hesley has 0.2 jobs. Of the commuters living in the town, 3% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
GCSE results at the 5 secondary schools within 3 km: 43% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 43.6. The one school in town appears below. At the 19 primary schools within 3 km, 54% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thorpe Hesley Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 580 | B |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
14% of homes were built before 1919. Of Thorpe Hesley’s land, 9% lies in conservation areas, higher than both South Yorkshire’s towns (0%) and England’s towns (7%). Per 10,000 residents, Thorpe Hesley counts 17 listed buildings.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The social rented sector houses 8% of households. Private renters make up one in ten households, lower than both South Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (21%). The median sale, £255,000, comes from 245 standard sales inside Thorpe Hesley’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £397,995 | 101 |
| Semi-detached | £225,000 | 103 |
| Terraced | £178,000 | 39 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violence and sexual offences were 53% of the crimes. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 138 crimes and 40 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Thorpe Hesley’s built-up area. Burglary and damage came to 11.3 per 1,000 residents a year, between South Yorkshire’s towns (18.1) and England’s towns (9.4).
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.
At the census, 83% of people in Thorpe Hesley called their health good or very good, higher than South Yorkshire’s towns (79%) and near England’s towns (82%). There is no GP practice in the town: the nearest is 1.7 miles off. A disability affects 18% of people in the town.
| Census 2021 | Thorpe Hesley | South Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 6.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 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.
29% of adults hold a degree, between South Yorkshire’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (34%). People 65 and over make up a quarter of the town. Thorpe Hesley has a median age of 49.1. The 15-to-24 age group makes up 9.2% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Thorpe Hesley | South Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 22% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.1% | 6.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 29% | 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 Thorpe Hesley. Best known first.
Historic houseWentworth Woodhouse1.5 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumMagna Science Adventure Centre4.1 km outside town, to the southeast
Heritage railwayElsecar Heritage Railway3.1 km outside town, to the north
MuseumElsecar Heritage Centre3.1 km outside town, to the northAttractionAttractionWentworth Garden Centre1.3 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Town in South Yorkshire, England
Thorpe Hesley is a built-up area of 4,153 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thorpe Hesley | 4,153 | — | B | B+ | B | B− |
| Chapeltown and High Green | 22,187 | 2 | C+ | B− | C+ | C |
| Ecclesfield and Grenoside | 8,187 | 2.2 | C | C+ | C+ | C+ |
| Greasbrough | 3,859 | 2.6 | C− | A | D− | D− |
| Hoyland | 15,527 | 2.7 | C− | B+ | D | D |
| Jump | 1,424 | 3.3 | — | A− | C− | D |
| Hemingfield | 1,815 | 3.5 | — | B− | B+ | C− |
| Rotherham | 71,535 | 3.7 | C− | A | D− | D |
Jump and Hemingfield have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 63% of towns in England, and primary results trail 84% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Rotherham council.
Band D council tax in Thorpe Hesley is £2,320 for 2026–27, less than in 72% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
It has less crime than most places its size: less crime per resident than 67% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
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.