Audley’s story
5 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade II*
Historic England lists them inside Audley’s built-up area.
37% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
AudleyStaffordshire
A village in Staffordshire, West Midlands, home to 1,984 people.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Jonathan Hutchins · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
1,984
Census 2021 · Newcastle-under-Lyme council
Median home
£155K
87 sales in 3 years
Median age
42.2
19% are 65+ · Staffordshire 21%
Degree level
26%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
10%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Audley a good place to live?
Audley does especially well on cost of living — homes sell for a median £155,000, about 3.3 times local household income. Work and incomes lag: the mean household earns £44,113 a year. Schools are weaker too — primary results beat 37% of towns in England; secondary results beat 5% of towns in England. Hazard risk is lower than in most UK towns (A).
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency. Audley is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall grade.
How Audley grades
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Audley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Audley is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall grade.
Jobs & incomeIncomes and work are among the weakest comparedDOpen →Hazard risk0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the seaAOpen →SchoolsPrimary results beat 37% of towns in England; secondary results beat 5% of towns in EnglandC−Open →Cost of livingRent £833 a monthA−Open →HealthLife expectancy 79.4 for men, 83 for womenC−Open →WalkabilityBehind most towns comparedCOpen →SafetyBased on crimes reported per residentCOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
HistoryClose to the middle of the towns comparedB−Open →Outdoors83% live within 400 m of a park; 3.4 ha of public green space per 1,000 residentsC+Open →Civic life2.5 local charities per 1,000 residents; 100% live within 1 km of a libraryAOpen →
How TownRatings grades towns →
What makes Audley stand out
The 3 things Audley does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
10% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
Homes built before 1919
History
Against 15% in the typical UK town
Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period.
Median sale, £ thousands
Housing
44% below the typical UK town’s £277K
Standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Audley.
HousingCost of living grade A−
More households in Audley live in social housing than in Staffordshire’s towns or England’s towns: 25%
£155Kmedian sale
Owners make up nearly three in five households, lower than Staffordshire’s towns (67%) and near England’s towns (61%). Private renters make up 15% of households. The £155,000 median rests on 87 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Audley£155K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £301,750 | 8 |
| Semi-detached | £172,000 | 34 |
| Terraced | £144,500 | 42 |
59%
of households own their home · England 61%
15%
rent privately · England 21%
£833
average private rent a month, Newcastle-under-Lyme council area
£2,400
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Health
Bad health is more common in Audley than in Staffordshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 8.6% of residents
77%good or very good healthC−Health Grade
The nearest A&E to Audley is Royal Stoke University Hospital, 5.1 miles away. Disability touches nearly a quarter of the town’s population. At the census, 77% of people in Audley called their health good or very good, below both Staffordshire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). One GP practice serves the town; 90% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 77%Fair 14%Bad or very bad 9%
| Census 2021 | Audley | Staffordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 8.6% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 19% | 17% |
79.4
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
83
life expectancy at birth, women
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
Only 22% of Audley’s commuters work within 5 km, fewer than in Staffordshire’s towns or England’s towns
10%walk, cycle or ride
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 23% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
One in ten commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below Staffordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (27%) alike. Driving is how 87% of commuters got to work at the census. About 3% of its commuters stay in Audley for work. Among 16 to 64s, 3.4% claimed unemployment benefits in 2026.
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving87%
On foot7%
Bus2%
Train1%
Bicycle1%
22%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
23%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£44K
mean household income, before tax
3.4%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
C
Walkability: more walkable than 26% of UK towns
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Safety
Audley has more crime per resident than 88% of the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people
34.6violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearCSafety Grade
Burglary and damage add up to 11.8 per 1,000 residents each year. Violence came to 34.6 per 1,000 residents a year, above Staffordshire’s towns (24) and England’s towns (22) alike. Police recorded 140 crimes inside Audley’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 14 reports of anti-social behaviour.
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 12% of the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people: more crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual86
Burglary12
Damage & arson10
Public order7
Vehicle crime6
Shoplifting5
Other theft5
Other crime5
Anti-social14
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.
34.6
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
11.8
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
8.7
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
140
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
History
Old homes shape Audley: 37% were built before 1919, more than in Staffordshire’s towns or England’s towns
5listed buildingsB−History Grade
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Audley has 5 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade II*. Of the town’s land, 11% lies in conservation areas, higher than both Staffordshire’s towns (4%) and England’s towns (7%).
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I0
Grade II*1
Grade II4
Among them · Grade II*
- Church of St James Grade II*
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
37%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
25
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
Audley has fewer young adults than Staffordshire’s towns or England’s towns: 9% are 15 to 24
42.2median age
Residents of Audley have a median age of 42.2. Degrees are held by 26% of adults. Children under 15 count for 18% of the people here.
AudleyStaffordshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
19%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications22%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar18%
Degree level26%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Audley | Staffordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Staffordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Audley
15pages on Audley
The big questions
SafetyC34.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Cost of livingA−Median home £155K · rent £833 a monthHousing29 sold in 12 months · busiest street Chester RoadSchoolsC−HealthC−Life expectancy 79.4 (men), 83 (women)Work & commuteD43% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazardsA0% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Out and about
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Heighley Castle and 3 more in and around Audley
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Audley. Best known first.
CastleHeighley Castle3.8 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumMoseley Railway Trust2.8 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumApedale Heritage Centre2.8 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumEnglesea Brook Museum of Methodism3.3 km outside town, to the westPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (4)
- Heighley Castle: Peter Styles, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Moseley Railway Trust: Chris Allen, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Apedale Heritage Centre: Chris Allen, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Englesea Brook Museum of Methodism: Adrian Bailey, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Famous people from Audley
5 notable people were born in Audley.
A
Arthur BatemanFootballer (1918-1984)J
Joseph BougheyFootballer (1873-1935)R
Ronnie JepsonBritish footballer and football manager (born 1963)J
Jack MaddockFootballer (1896-1972)Photo credits
Fred Buck: Downingman, Public domain
About Audley
Village in Staffordshire, England
Audley is a built-up area of 1,984 people, in the Newcastle-under-Lyme 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
- Population
- 1,984 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Newcastle-under-Lyme
- County
- Staffordshire
- Region
- West Midlands
- Area
- 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km²)
- ONS code
- E63001865
Audley’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
Bignall EndHalmer End and Alsagers BankTalke and Talke PitsAlsagerKidsgroveKeeleMadeleyAudley
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audley | 1,984 | — | — | A− | C | C− |
| Bignall End | 3,184 | 0.7 | C+ | B | B+ | C |
| Halmer End and Alsagers Bank | 1,158 | 1.1 | — | A− | B | C |
| Talke and Talke Pits | 3,436 | 2.3 | C | A− | C | C− |
| Alsager | 15,504 | 3 | B | B | B− | B |
| Kidsgrove | 15,598 | 3.5 | C− | A− | C | C− |
| Keele | 2,607 | 3.5 | B+ | C | B+ | C− |
| Madeley | 3,293 | 3.7 | B | A− | C+ | C+ |
Halmer End and Alsagers Bank has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Audley
Is Audley safe?
Police recorded 140 crimes inside Audley’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 61% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Is Audley expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £155,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £144,500, semi-detached houses £172,000 and detached houses £301,750.
Are schools in Audley good?
GCSE results trail 95% of towns in England, and primary results trail 63% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Places are handled by Staffordshire council.
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.