Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 13,840 people, lies in Tyne and Wear, North East.
The picture is mixed. Where it falls short is health: life expectancy 76.3 for men, 81.4 for women. At a median £175,000, a home costs 4 times the yearly income of households in the Gateshead council area. Walkability is where it shines: on the way to work, 21% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Put together, the subjects come to a C overall, ranking #23 of 34 in Tyne and Wear. Set against the rest, it does better than a third of UK towns.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
Northumbria Police published 34 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 2 things Birtley 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 Birtley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 7 buildings inside Birtley’s built-up area, and 1 scheduled monument.
14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Birtley. Best known first.
MuseumBeamish Museum4.1 km outside town, to the west · 350K visitors a year
CastleLumley Castle3.1 km outside town, to the south
CastleLambton Castle2.2 km outside town, to the southeast
Museum · National TrustWashington Old Hall2.8 km outside town, to the east
CastleRavensworth Castle2.5 km outside town, to the northwest
Art galleryShipley Art Gallery3.6 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Birtley.
At the census, 7.3% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. Just over a fifth of residents have a disability, near Tyne and Wear’s towns (21%) and higher than England’s towns (17%). One GP practice serves the town; 67% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Asked at the census, 78% of residents of Birtley said they were in good or very good health.
| Census 2021 | Birtley | Tyne and Wear | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.3% | 7.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
GCSE results at the 8 secondary schools within 3 km: 45% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 45.8. Below are two of its 7 schools, each with why it was picked. Some 2,395 pupils attend Birtley’s six primaries and one secondary.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ravensworth Terrace Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 362 | B |
| Lord Lawson of Beamish AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,334 | C+ |
Reported offences in Birtley came to 836 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 217. Violent crime ran at 32.8 per 1,000 residents a year, above Tyne and Wear’s towns (30.2) and England’s towns (22) alike. Violence and sexual offences made up 38% of the total.
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.
Homes from before 1919 make up 14% of the total, lower than both Tyne and Wear’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (16%). One scheduled monument lies in Birtley. Relative to its size, Birtley keeps 5 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 24% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
3.5% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026, above Tyne and Wear’s towns (3.2%) and England’s towns (2.3%) alike. The car carried 77% of commuters at the census. Work in town: 15% of resident commuters. Household income averages £44K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Social housing holds 27% of households, near Tyne and Wear’s towns (26%) and higher than England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £804 a month across the Gateshead council area. Behind the median of £175,000: 513 standard sales inside Birtley’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £296,747 | 140 |
| Semi-detached | £180,000 | 186 |
| Terraced | £122,000 | 169 |
| Flat or maisonette | £59,000 | 18 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
People 65 and over make up 20% of the town, above both Tyne and Wear’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 10% of the town. Half of Birtley is older than 42.4, half younger.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Birtley | Tyne and Wear | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.6% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 24% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Tyne and Wear and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
10 notable people were born in Birtley.
John Finlay: Finlay73, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birtley | 13,840 | — | C | C+ | C− | D |
| Springwell | 2,141 | 1.7 | — | B+ | B+ | C |
| Urpeth | 2,048 | 1.7 | — | A− | A | B |
| Pelton and Ouston | 7,305 | 1.8 | C | B+ | C− | C− |
| Washington | 51,318 | 1.8 | B− | A− | C− | D |
| Kibblesworth | 1,500 | 1.9 | — | B− | B− | D |
| Newfield | 1,529 | 2.8 | — | A− | B+ | D |
| Chester-le-Street | 23,554 | 2.9 | B | A− | C− | C |
Springwell, Urpeth, Kibblesworth and Newfield have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Band D council tax in Birtley is £2,716 for 2026–27, more than in 97% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: 69% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £175,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £59,000, terraced houses £122,000, semi-detached houses £180,000 and detached houses £296,747.
Town in Tyne and Wear, England
Birtley is a built-up area of 13,840 people, in the Gateshead 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.