Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Only 10% of residents are 65 or over. A town in Tyne and Wear, North East, home to 4,483 people.
Police record more crime here than in most towns: police record 34.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 17.2 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 84%. At C+ overall, Backworth is better than 37% of UK towns and ranks #21 of 34 in Tyne and Wear. It also trails on health (C−) — life expectancy is 79.3 for men and 82.7 for women. A median £285,000 buys a home here, 5.8 times what households in the North Tyneside council area earn in a year. Its best grade is for jobs & income — the mean household earns £53,050 a year. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for schools, B for walkability and B for hazard risk.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
Northumbria Police published 34 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 2 things Backworth 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 Backworth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 5 buildings inside Backworth’s built-up area.
4% 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 Backworth.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
4% of its homes were built before 1919, below Tyne and Wear’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. Per 10,000 residents, Backworth counts 11 listed buildings.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Attainment 8 at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km averages 45.3, and 41% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. The one school in town appears below. At the 19 primary schools within 3 km, 64% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backworth Park Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 342 | A− |
Police figures for Backworth’s built-up area: 322 crimes and 54 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences accounted for just over a third of recorded crime. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 18 reports per 1,000, close to Tyne and Wear’s towns (18) 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.
At the census, 15% of people here had a disability, lower than both Tyne and Wear’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (17%). There is no GP practice in Backworth: the nearest is 1 miles off. Women here live to 82.7 on average and men to 79.3 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Backworth | Tyne and Wear | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.2% | 7.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Social housing holds 26% of households, about level with Tyne and Wear’s towns (26%) and above England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £857 a month across the North Tyneside council area. Also worth knowing: 158 standard sales inside Backworth’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £285,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £395,000 | 81 |
| Semi-detached | £228,500 | 44 |
| Terraced | £175,000 | 26 |
| Flat or maisonette | £135,000 | 7 |
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 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
38% of workers worked mainly from home at the census. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 37%, below Tyne and Wear’s towns (48%) and England’s towns (45%) alike. Unemployment benefit claims reached 2.5% of 16 to 64s in 2026. Of the commuters living in Backworth, 2% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The middle age in Backworth is 36. Retirement age and beyond: 9.8% of residents are 65 or older. A tenth of the population is aged 15 to 24, lower than both Tyne and Wear’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%). Graduates make up just over two in five adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Backworth | Tyne and Wear | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 34% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 9.8% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 41% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Tyne and Wear and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Backworth. Best known first.
Theme parkSpanish City4.6 km outside town, to the east
MuseumStephenson Railway Museum2.1 km outside town, to the southeast
Heritage railwayNorth Tyneside Steam Railway3.4 km outside town, to the southeastHistoric houseHistoric house · National TrustSeaton Delaval Hall3.8 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumSegedunum4.6 km outside town, to the southArt galleryArt galleryLinks Art Gallery4.6 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backworth | 4,483 | — | C+ | C+ | C− | C− |
| Shiremoor | 6,965 | 0.9 | B+ | A− | C | C− |
| Killingworth | 12,180 | 1.4 | B | A− | C | C |
| Longbenton | 26,882 | 1.9 | B | A− | C | C− |
| Seghill | 2,799 | 2.1 | C | A− | C− | D |
| Seaton Delaval | 8,012 | 2.4 | B− | A− | C | C− |
| Wallsend | 45,351 | 2.6 | C | A− | D | D |
| Dudley | 4,799 | 2.7 | C+ | A | C− | D |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
A young town. At the 2021 Census, 22% of residents were under 15 and 34% were 25 to 44, against 18% and 27% across England’s towns; only 9.8% were 65 or over.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Tyne and Wear, England
Backworth is a built-up area of 4,483 people, in the North Tyneside 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.