Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town in Tyne and Wear, North East, home to 26,882 people.
What it saves you on housing, it gives back elsewhere. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 27% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Health outcomes fall short of most towns: life expectancy is 78.4 for men and 82.4 for women. The median home sold for £195,000, 4 times what households in the North Tyneside council area earn in a year. Crime runs high (C): 28.3 violent and sexual offences and 15.4 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set beside UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, its crime per resident is higher than in 47%. All told, that adds up to a B overall and a rank of #10 of 34 in Tyne and Wear. Nationally, it does better than 61% of UK towns.
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.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Longbenton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The thing Longbenton does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 6 buildings inside Longbenton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
8% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →6 listed buildings in Longbenton.
Church of St Bartholomew: Photo: AlixChaytor · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 1914-18 War memorial in St Bartholomew's Churchyard, Longbenton: Photo: AlixChaytor · CC BY-SA 4.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Longbenton.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
2.8% of people aged 16 to 64 were on unemployment benefits in 2026. Household income came to £49K a year before tax, between Tyne and Wear’s towns (£45K) and England’s towns (£55K). There are 1.8 jobs in Longbenton for each resident in work. Work in town: 14% of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Three of its 9 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. At the town’s 7 primary schools, 62% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Longbenton’s seven primaries and one secondary have 2,780 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Dene Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 466 | A− |
| Longbenton High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 995 | C |
| St Stephen's Catholic Primary School, NewcastleTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 230 | A+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Before 1919: that is when 8% of homes were built. Per 10,000 residents, Longbenton counts 2 listed buildings, below Tyne and Wear’s towns (8) and England’s towns (39) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
At the census, 6.6% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, between Tyne and Wear’s towns (7.1%) and England’s towns (5.2%). 2 GP practices serve the town; 73% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. A disability affects 20% of people in Longbenton.
| Census 2021 | Longbenton | Tyne and Wear | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.6% | 7.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 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.
Owners make up 63% of households, above Tyne and Wear’s towns (57%) and close to England’s towns (61%). The social rented sector houses nearly a quarter of households. Private rents average £857 a month across the North Tyneside council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £325,000 | 202 |
| Semi-detached | £201,000 | 422 |
| Terraced | £177,000 | 321 |
| Flat or maisonette | £113,000 | 147 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Longbenton logged 1,646 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 362 complaints of anti-social conduct. There were 18.6 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), about level with Tyne and Wear’s towns (18) and above England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences made up 37% 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.
35% of adults hold a degree, above Tyne and Wear’s towns (30%) and close to England’s towns (34%). The age that splits Longbenton in two is 40.9. Children under 15 make up 17% of residents.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Longbenton | Tyne and Wear | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.1% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 35% | 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 Longbenton. Best known first.
MuseumTurbinia4.8 km outside town, to the southwest
CathedralNewcastle Cathedral4.5 km outside town, to the southwest
Big drawMuseumGreat North Museum: Hancock3.4 km outside town, to the southwest · 638K visitors a year
CastleNewcastle upon Tyne Castle4.6 km outside town, to the southwest
CathedralSt Mary's Cathedral4.7 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumCentre for Life4.9 km outside town, to the southwest · 225K visitors a yearPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
3 notable people were born in Longbenton.
Large town in Tyne and Wear, England
Longbenton is a built-up area of 26,882 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longbenton | 26,882 | — | B | A− | C | C− |
| Killingworth | 12,180 | 1.4 | B | A− | C | C |
| Backworth | 4,483 | 1.9 | C+ | C+ | C− | C− |
| Wallsend | 45,351 | 2.3 | C | A− | D | D |
| Shiremoor | 6,965 | 2.6 | B+ | A− | C | C− |
| Dudley | 4,799 | 2.7 | C+ | A | C− | D |
| Wideopen | 9,150 | 3 | B+ | C+ | B | C+ |
| Seghill | 2,799 | 3.1 | C | A− | C− | D |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £195,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £113,000, terraced houses £177,000, semi-detached houses £201,000 and detached houses £325,000.
Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C.
GCSE results beat 66% of towns in England, and primary results beat 54% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
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.