Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 17,490 people, lies in Staffordshire, West Midlands.
Cheap to live in, with trade-offs. Where it falls short is safety: 33.5 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 12.2 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 48%. Biddulph grades C+ overall and ranks #33 of 46 in Staffordshire. Nationally, it does better than 43% of UK towns. Getting around depends on the car: 10% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its strongest is cost of living (A): homes sell for a median £200,250, about 4.2 times local household income. Elsewhere it is close to typical: C+ for schools and B for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Biddulph 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 Biddulph is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 32 buildings inside Biddulph’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade II*.
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 Biddulph.
Just over one in ten households are private tenants. Private rents average £728 a month across the Staffordshire Moorlands council area. The £200,250 median rests on 738 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £290,000 | 252 |
| Semi-detached | £185,000 | 320 |
| Terraced | £146,500 | 151 |
| Flat or maisonette | £89,950 | 15 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Secondary results at the 4 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 40.8, with 37% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Between them, five primaries and three secondaries teach 2,434 pupils in Biddulph. At the town’s 3 primary schools, 66% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knypersley First SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 312 | – |
| Biddulph High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 746 | B− |
Ages in Biddulph split evenly at 48.2: half are older, half younger. Under-15s account for 16% of the population. 9.1% of residents are 15 to 24, lower than both Staffordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%).
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Biddulph | Staffordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.1% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.6% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Staffordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · 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.
2.8% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026, above both Staffordshire’s towns (2.1%) and England’s towns (2.3%). At the census, 88% of commuters went by car. About 15% of its commuters stay in Biddulph for work. Households take home £46K a year before tax, on average.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 11.6 reports per 1,000, higher than both Staffordshire’s towns (7.3) and England’s towns (7.8). Police figures for Biddulph’s built-up area: 997 crimes and 279 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 51% of recorded crime.
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, 79% of people in Biddulph called their health good or very good, below Staffordshire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. 2 GP practices serve the town; 83% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Biddulph is Royal Stoke University Hospital, 7.9 miles away. Life expectancy here is 81.9 for women and 79.5 for men (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Biddulph | Staffordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 3 of them. One registered park or garden lies in Biddulph. 14% of homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Biddulph. Best known first.
Historic house · National TrustBiddulph Grangein town
Castle · National TrustMow Cop Castle1.5 km outside town, to the west
Historic house · National TrustLittle Moreton Hall4.4 km outside town, to the west
MuseumChatterley Whitfield Colliery1.9 km outside town, to the south
MuseumCongleton Museum3.9 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumFord Green Hall4.2 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
32 listed buildings in Biddulph.
Church of St Lawrence and coffin lids and benches on south side: Photo: Mike Peel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Knypersley School Knypersley School, Attached Archway and Frontage Wall: Photo: Richard Dorrell · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Biddulph War Memorial: Photo: Mike Peel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Whitehouse Cottage: Photo: Peter McDermott · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
8 notable people were born in Biddulph.
James Wilson: Egghead06, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Adam Porter: Dominic Nelson, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biddulph | 17,490 | — | C+ | A | C | C |
| Biddulph Moor | 1,286 | 1.3 | — | A− | B+ | B+ |
| Harriseahead, Mow Cop and Newchapel | 3,637 | 1.9 | B+ | B+ | B+ | B− |
| Brown Edge | 2,374 | 2.8 | — | A− | A− | B+ |
| Scholar Green | 2,095 | 3.4 | — | B− | A− | B |
| Endon | 2,655 | 3.5 | B+ | B | B− | B+ |
| Kidsgrove | 15,598 | 3.6 | C− | A− | C | C− |
| Congleton | 30,001 | 3.9 | C | B− | C− | C+ |
Biddulph Moor, Brown Edge and Scholar Green have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
About the middle for its size: 52% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £200,250, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £89,950, terraced houses £146,500, semi-detached houses £185,000 and detached houses £290,000.
Town in Staffordshire, England
Biddulph is a built-up area of 17,490 people, in the Staffordshire Moorlands 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.