Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
3,293 residents make their home in this town in Staffordshire, West Midlands.
Madeley’s schools beat most (A): primary results beat 90% of towns in England; secondary results beat 72% of towns in England. It is strong on cost of living as well: homes sell for a median £183,000, about 3.9 times local household income. The drawback is walkability (D): on the way to work, 9% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. All told, that adds up to a B overall and a rank of #21 of 46 in Staffordshire. On that grade it does better than 58% of UK towns.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Madeley 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 Madeley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 24 buildings inside Madeley’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
15% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1843.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Madeley.
Both of its schools are shown below. Madeley’s two primaries have 250 pupils between them. The Meadows Primary School’s results beat 85% of schools in England like it. At the town’s 2 primary schools, 71% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sir John Offley CofE (VC) Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 143 | B+ |
| The Meadows Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 107 | A |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 26% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Nearly nine in ten commuters drove, higher than both Staffordshire’s towns (82%) and England’s towns (70%). There are 0.5 jobs in Madeley for each resident in work. About 6% of its commuters stay in Madeley for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Home ownership stands at 70% of households. Private rents average £833 a month across the Newcastle-under-Lyme council area. 119 standard sales inside Madeley’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £183,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £280,000 | 31 |
| Semi-detached | £175,000 | 45 |
| Terraced | £170,000 | 35 |
| Flat or maisonette | £83,750 | 8 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 96% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 77% of Madeley’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below both Staffordshire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 6.9% of the town. The nearest A&E to Madeley is Royal Stoke University Hospital, 5.2 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Madeley | Staffordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.9% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Violence and sexual offences were 71% of the crimes. Each year, 6 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded per 1,000 residents. Reported offences in Madeley came to 211 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 35.
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.
Madeley’s listed buildings include the Church of All Saints, Grade I. Relative to its size, Madeley keeps 73 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above Staffordshire’s towns (25) and England’s towns (39) alike. Before 1919: that is when 15% of homes were built.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Graduates make up 30% of adults. 27% of residents are 65 or over, above both Staffordshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are a tenth of the population. Half of Madeley is older than 49.4, half younger.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Madeley | Staffordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.8% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.5% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Staffordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Madeley. Best known first.
CastleHeighley Castle600 m outside town, to the north
Historic houseWhitmore Hall4.5 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumMoseley Railway Trust3.8 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumApedale Heritage Centre3.7 km outside town, to the northeastGardenGardenDorothy Clive Garden4.1 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumRaven Mason Collection2.5 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
24 listed buildings in Madeley, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of All Saints: Photo: AtticTapestry · CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Old Hall: Photo: AtticTapestry · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madeley | 3,293 | — | B | A− | C+ | C+ |
| Keele | 2,607 | 2.7 | B+ | C | B+ | C− |
| Halmer End and Alsagers Bank | 1,158 | 2.8 | — | A− | B | C |
| Baldwin's Gate | 1,121 | 3.2 | — | C− | A | B+ |
| Audley | 1,984 | 3.7 | — | A− | C | C− |
| Bignall End | 3,184 | 4 | C+ | B | B+ | C |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | 76,511 | 4.3 | C | A− | C− | D |
| Talke and Talke Pits | 3,436 | 5.8 | C | A− | C | C− |
Halmer End and Alsagers Bank, Baldwin's Gate and Audley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of All Saints.
Secondary results beat 72%. Madeley has 2 state schools; places are handled by Staffordshire council.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £183,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £83,750, terraced houses £170,000, semi-detached houses £175,000 and detached houses £280,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Staffordshire, England
Madeley is a built-up area of 3,293 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
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.
