Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
6,071 people call this town in Tyne and Wear, North East home.
Boldon Colliery’s weakest is health: men here can expect to live to 75.3, women to 79.8. Taken together, its subjects give Boldon Colliery a C overall, better than just over a quarter of UK towns. That places it #28 of 34 in Tyne and Wear. A median £150,500 buys a home here, 3.5 times what households in the South Tyneside council area earn in a year. It is easy to get around without a car: on the way to work, 21% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Safety lags: 40.9 violent and sexual offences and 18.2 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Only nearly a tenth of UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people have more crime per resident. Its other grades sit near the middle: C+ for schools and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
Northumbria Police published 34 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Boldon Colliery 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 Boldon Colliery is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 2 buildings inside Boldon Colliery’s built-up area.
27% 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 Boldon Colliery.
At the census, 7.3% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. 2 GP practices serve the town; 84% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 20% of residents have a disability, about level with Tyne and Wear’s towns (21%) and above England’s towns (17%).
| Census 2021 | Boldon Colliery | 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) | 20% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
Below are two of its 3 schools, each with why it was picked. 64% of pupils at the 32 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Some 1,333 pupils attend Boldon Colliery’s one primary and one secondary.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hedworth Lane Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 290 | B+ |
| Boldon SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,043 | D |
Reported offences in Boldon Colliery came to 497 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 102. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 18.1 reports per 1,000, near Tyne and Wear’s towns (18) and higher than England’s towns (7.8). 45% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 23% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Just over three quarters of commuters drove to work at the census. About 8% of its commuters stay in Boldon Colliery for work. Jobs per working resident: 0.5. Also worth knowing: households had £44K a year before tax, about level with Tyne and Wear’s towns (£45K) and below England’s towns (£55K).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Every one of Boldon Colliery’s 2 listed buildings sits at Grade II, the most common listing. For its size, Boldon Colliery has 3 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
25% live in social housing, close to Tyne and Wear’s towns (26%) and above England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £743 a month across the South Tyneside council area. Owners make up 61% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £300,000 | 47 |
| Semi-detached | £180,000 | 52 |
| Terraced | £126,000 | 87 |
| Flat or maisonette | £83,000 | 13 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Those aged 15 to 24 account for 10% of residents. Half the people of Boldon Colliery are older than 43.6. Children under 15 make up 17%, near both Tyne and Wear’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%).
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Boldon Colliery | Tyne and Wear | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.9% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 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 Boldon Colliery. Best known first.
Castle · English HeritageHylton Castle2.4 km outside town, to the south
MuseumBede Museum2.7 km outside town, to the north
MuseumSouth Shields Museum & Art Gallery4.9 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumNorth East Land, Sea and Air Museums1.9 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumAnglo-Saxon Farm and Village2.9 km outside town, to the northTheme parkTheme parkInflata Nation4.1 km outside town, to the northPhotos: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boldon Colliery | 6,071 | — | C | B | D | D |
| East Boldon and West Boldon | 6,795 | 1 | A− | C+ | B | B+ |
| Jarrow | 29,467 | 1.4 | C− | B | D | D− |
| Cleadon | 4,599 | 2.3 | A | D | A | A+ |
| South Shields | 73,326 | 2.4 | C | B | D | D |
| Hebburn | 21,341 | 2.6 | C− | B | D | D |
| South Bents | 1,113 | 3.7 | — | C− | B− | B− |
| Whitburn | 5,082 | 3.7 | B | B− | B | C− |
South Bents has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
2 on Historic England’s list.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £150,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £83,000, terraced houses £126,000, semi-detached houses £180,000 and detached houses £300,000.
Town in Tyne and Wear, England
Boldon Colliery is a built-up area of 6,071 people, in the South 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.