Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,133 in South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
The data are hard on it. Its weakest subject is health: life expectancy is 75.5 for men and 78 for women. Cost of living is its strong suit (B+) — a typical home costs £162,995 and rent runs £696 a month. All told, that adds up to a D− overall, better than 5% of UK towns. It lags on safety as well: 48 violent and sexual offences and 28.3 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Only 4% of UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people have more crime per resident. Work and incomes lag: mean household income £35,132; 4.6% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Schools are weaker too — primary results beat nearly a fifth of towns in England; secondary results beat 13% of towns in England.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · life expectancy and income, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · claimants, DWP.
The 3 things Thurnscoe 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 Thurnscoe is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 6 buildings inside Thurnscoe’s built-up area.
7% 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 Thurnscoe.
19% are under 15, above South Yorkshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. People aged 15 to 24 are 10% of the population. The middle age in Thurnscoe is 39.6.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Thurnscoe | South Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 33% | 22% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 6.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 16% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · South Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 2 primary schools: 55% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: just over a third of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 39.3. Thurnscoe’s two primaries have 747 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gooseacre Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 378 | C |
At the census, 71% of people in Thurnscoe called their health good or very good, lower than both South Yorkshire’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (82%). One GP practice serves the town; 65% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Thurnscoe is Barnsley Hospital, 7.6 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Thurnscoe | South Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 71% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 10% | 6.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 26% | 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.
The 12 months to August 2026 brought 949 recorded crimes inside Thurnscoe’s built-up area, and 155 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 45% of recorded crime. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 13.4 reports per 1,000, about level with South Yorkshire’s towns (13.4) and above 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
7% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The owner-occupied share of households is 52%. Half of the 438 standard sales inside Thurnscoe’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £162,995. Private renters make up 19% of households, near South Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and lower than England’s towns (21%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £240,000 | 59 |
| Semi-detached | £168,000 | 279 |
| Terraced | £125,000 | 98 |
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.
83% of commuters drove to work at the census. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 33%, below both South Yorkshire’s towns (43%) and England’s towns (45%). For every resident in work, Thurnscoe has 0.4 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
10 notable people were born in Thurnscoe.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thurnscoe | 9,133 | — | D− | B+ | D | D− |
| Goldthorpe | 7,493 | 1.1 | C− | A− | D− | D |
| Great Houghton | 2,489 | 1.4 | — | B+ | D | D− |
| Bolton upon Dearne | 7,440 | 2 | C− | A− | C− | D |
| Barnburgh and Harlington | 1,849 | 2.4 | — | B− | B+ | B− |
| Darfield | 7,209 | 2.8 | D | A− | D | D |
| South Kirkby | 8,880 | 3.1 | D− | B | D− | D− |
| Grimethorpe | 5,065 | 3.3 | C− | A− | D− | D− |
Great Houghton and Barnburgh and Harlington 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 87% of towns in England, and primary results trail 81% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Thurnscoe has 2 state schools; places are handled by Barnsley council.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £162,995, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £125,000, semi-detached houses £168,000 and detached houses £240,000.
Town in South Yorkshire, England
Thurnscoe is a built-up area of 9,133 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.