Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 2,530: a town in Tyne and Wear, North East.
Work and incomes lag: the mean household earns £42,396 a year. Safety is weaker too — police record 53.8 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 23.7 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 4%. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: a fifth of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. A median £75,000 buys a home here, 1.7 times what households in the Gateshead council area earn in a year. The overall grade comes out at D, better than 12% of UK towns. Health is a weak point: men here can expect to live to 78, women to 80.9.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · 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 3 things Chopwell 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 Chopwell is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 1 building inside Chopwell’s built-up area.
69% 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 Chopwell.
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 242 offences in Chopwell and 59 cases of nuisance behaviour. There were 33.5 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both Tyne and Wear’s towns (18) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences made up just over two fifths 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.
At the 6 primary schools within 3 km, three in five pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The one school in town appears below. Its one primary school teaches 226 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chopwell Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 226 | C+ |
The nearest A&E to Chopwell is Royal Victoria Infirmary, 8.7 miles away. Asked at the census, 69% of residents of Chopwell said they were in good or very good health. 29% of residents have a disability, higher than both Tyne and Wear’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (17%). One GP practice serves the town; 79% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Chopwell | Tyne and Wear | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 69% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 10% | 7.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 29% | 21% | 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.
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.
Just over three quarters of commuters drove, above both Tyne and Wear’s towns (70%) and England’s towns (70%). In 2026, 6% of 16 to 64s were claiming unemployment benefits. For every resident in work, Chopwell has 0.3 jobs.
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.
Historic England’s list names 1 listed building in Chopwell, every one Grade II. Relative to its size, Chopwell keeps 4 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Social housing holds 17% of households. 52% of households own their home, lower than both Tyne and Wear’s towns (57%) and England’s towns (61%). No town in Tyne and Wear costs less to buy into than Chopwell, at £75,000, the lowest of 34.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £190,122 | 22 |
| Semi-detached | £155,000 | 19 |
| Terraced | £61,500 | 94 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Children under 15 make up 16% of residents. Half the people of Chopwell are older than 43.6.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Chopwell | Tyne and Wear | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.5% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.4% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 22% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Tyne and Wear and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
13 notable people were born in Chopwell.
Ricky Fenson: unknown photographer (ANEFO), CC0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chopwell | 2,530 | — | D | B | D− | D |
| Blackhall Mill | 1,528 | 1.3 | — | B+ | B | C |
| High Spen | 1,933 | 1.4 | — | C+ | B | D |
| Rowlands Gill | 5,254 | 2.4 | C | C+ | B− | C+ |
| Medomsley | 1,216 | 2.5 | — | A− | C | C+ |
| Crawcrook and Greenside | 7,544 | 3.1 | B+ | B− | B | C |
| Burnopfield | 2,998 | 3.2 | A− | A− | B+ | C− |
| Prudhoe | 10,285 | 3.2 | B− | A | C | C− |
Blackhall Mill, High Spen and Medomsley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £75,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £61,500, semi-detached houses £155,000 and detached houses £190,122.
1 on Historic England’s list.
Band D council tax in Chopwell is £2,716 for 2026–27, more than in 96% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Tyne and Wear, England
Chopwell is a built-up area of 2,530 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.