Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 29,467 in Tyne and Wear, North East.
A tough set of grades. Health outcomes fall short of most towns (D−): men here can expect to live to 75.3, women to 80.6. Jarrow’s overall C− puts it #32 of 34 in Tyne and Wear. It comes out better than 17% of UK towns. Crime is the sore point: 46.8 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 21.7 home and vehicle crimes. Only 13% of UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have more crime per resident. Fewer journeys need a car (A): on the way to work, 26% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Homes sell for a median £150,000, about 3.5 years of what households in the South Tyneside council area earn.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · 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 Jarrow 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 Jarrow is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 18 buildings inside Jarrow’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
11% 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 Jarrow. Best known first.
MuseumBede Museumin town
MuseumArbeia Roman Fort Museum2.6 km outside town, to the northeast
Castle · English HeritageTynemouth Priory and Castle4.4 km outside town, to the northeast
Castle · English HeritageHylton Castle3.7 km outside town, to the southeast
Heritage railwayNorth Tyneside Steam Railway2.5 km outside town, to the north
MuseumStephenson Railway Museum3.4 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 Jarrow.
5 GP practices serve the town; just over four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. A quarter of residents have a disability, above both Tyne and Wear’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (17%). Self-reported good health: 75% of Jarrow’s residents.
| Census 2021 | Jarrow | Tyne and Wear | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 75% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 8.7% | 7.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 25% | 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.
Jarrow’s 14 primaries and one secondary have 3,701 pupils between them. Dunn Street Primary School’s results beat 83% of schools in England like it. Of its 16 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. At the town’s 13 primary schools, 61% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 278 | A− |
| Jarrow SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 844 | C |
| Dunn Street Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 140 | A− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 21% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Households take home £39K a year before tax, on average. Of the commuters living in Jarrow, 19% work in the town itself. This Tyne and Wear town counts 0.9 jobs per working resident. 21% of workers worked mainly from home, below Tyne and Wear’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (31%) alike.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 37% of recorded crime. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 2,905 recorded crimes inside Jarrow’s built-up area, and 537 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Jarrow records more crime per resident than 87% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. There were 21.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above Tyne and Wear’s towns (18) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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 11% of the total. Jarrow’s listed buildings include the Church of St Paul, Grade I. For its size, Jarrow has 6 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Households that own their home make up 51%. Private renters make up one in ten households, lower than both Tyne and Wear’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%). The £150,000 median rests on 754 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £270,495 | 48 |
| Semi-detached | £162,000 | 359 |
| Terraced | £135,000 | 263 |
| Flat or maisonette | £75,000 | 84 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Ages in Jarrow split evenly at 43.5: half are older, half younger. The 15-to-24 age group makes up one in ten residents. 21% of residents are 65 or over, above both Tyne and Wear’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%).
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Jarrow | Tyne and Wear | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.7% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 22% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Tyne and Wear and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
18 listed buildings in Jarrow, 2 of them Grade I.
Monastery of St Paul Ruins of Jarrow Monastery: Photo: Vallan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Monkton Farmhouse: Photo: Les Hull · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jarrow Town Hall: Photo: Graham Robson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Monkton Hall: Photo: Oliver Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
64 notable people were born in Jarrow.
Robert Stephenson: William Holl / Antoine Claudet, Public domain · John Miles: Sven Mandel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sam Bartram: David Hatch, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mary Kelly Foy: David Woolfall, CC BY 3.0 · Alan Plater: Benbrook, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bill Thompson: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jarrow | 29,467 | — | C− | B | D | D− |
| Hebburn | 21,341 | 1.3 | C− | B | D | D |
| Boldon Colliery | 6,071 | 1.4 | C | B | D | D |
| East Boldon and West Boldon | 6,795 | 2.4 | A− | C+ | B | B+ |
| South Shields | 73,326 | 2.6 | C | B | D | D |
| Wallsend | 45,351 | 2.7 | C | A− | D | D |
| Cleadon | 4,599 | 3.3 | A | D | A | A+ |
| Tynemouth | 60,611 | 3.6 | B− | B+ | D | D |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £150,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £75,000, terraced houses £135,000, semi-detached houses £162,000 and detached houses £270,495.
GCSE results trail 81% of towns in England, and primary results trail 53% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Large town in Tyne and Wear, England
Jarrow is a built-up area of 29,467 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.