Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a large town of 45,351 residents in Tyne and Wear, North East.
Homes are affordable here, though not without reasons. Health outcomes fall short of most towns (D): life expectancy is 76.7 for men and 80.5 for women. Wallsend grades C overall, better than 30% of UK towns, and ranks #25 of 34 in Tyne and Wear. Safety lags: 47.6 violent and sexual offences and 21.7 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Only 13% of UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have more crime per resident. Its strongest subject is walkability — just over a quarter of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Cost of living is another plus: the median home sold for £160,000, 3.3 years of area income.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · life expectancy, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
Northumbria Police published 34 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Wallsend 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 Wallsend is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 36 buildings inside Wallsend’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 3 scheduled monuments.
17% 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 Wallsend. Best known first.
MuseumStephenson Railway Museumin town
CathedralNewcastle Cathedral4.3 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumArbeia Roman Fort Museum3.5 km outside town, to the east
CastleNewcastle upon Tyne Castle4.4 km outside town, to the southwest
Big drawMuseumGreat North Museum: Hancock3.9 km outside town, to the west · 638K visitors a year
CathedralSt Mary's Cathedral4.9 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Wallsend.
A disability affects 22% of people in Wallsend. 7.4% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, close to Tyne and Wear’s towns (7.1%) and above England’s towns (5.2%). Self-reported good health: 77% of the town’s residents. 3 GP practices serve the town; just over four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Wallsend | Tyne and Wear | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.4% | 7.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
59% of pupils at the town’s 11 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Redesdale Primary School’s results beat 75% of schools in England like it. GCSE results at the 14 secondary schools within 3 km: just over two in five pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 45. Below are three of its 16 schools, each with why it was picked.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denbigh Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 436 | B+ |
| Burnside CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 995 | C− |
| Redesdale Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 324 | A− |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Wallsend logged 4,136 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 855 complaints of anti-social conduct. For its size, Wallsend records more crime per resident than 87% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 26.2 reports per 1,000, higher than both Tyne and Wear’s towns (18) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were 38% of the crimes.
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 26% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
14% of commuters who live in Wallsend also work there. For every resident in work, Wallsend has 0.4 jobs. Households had £42K a year before tax, lower than both Tyne and Wear’s towns (£45K) and England’s towns (£55K).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The social rented sector houses 27% of households. 55% of households own their home, near Tyne and Wear’s towns (57%) and lower than England’s towns (61%). Private rents average £857 a month across the North Tyneside council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £295,975 | 322 |
| Semi-detached | £175,000 | 547 |
| Terraced | £150,000 | 572 |
| Flat or maisonette | £85,000 | 311 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Wallsend’s listed buildings include the Church of Holy Cross, Grade I. The national list protects 3 ancient monuments here. Per 10,000 residents, Wallsend counts 8 listed buildings, higher than Tyne and Wear’s towns (7) yet lower than England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
People aged 15 to 24 make up a tenth of the town. Ages in Wallsend split evenly at 41.1: half are older, half younger. 17% are under 15, about level with both Tyne and Wear’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%).
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Wallsend | Tyne and Wear | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.1% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Tyne and Wear and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
36 listed buildings in Wallsend, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Peter: Photo: CramptonHodnet · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0, Wallsend Roman fort, Segedunum: Photo: RandomPsychic · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Market Woman, High Street, junction with Station Road, Wallsend: Photo: Gerald England · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Sir G B Hunter Memorial Hospital: Photo: Christine Westerback · CC BY-SA 2.0
86 notable people were born in Wallsend.
Sting: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0 · Michael Carrick: Timmy96, CC0 · Paul W. S. Anderson: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Paul Kennedy: US Naval War College, CC BY 2.0 · Gary Wilson: Benutzer:Bill da Flute, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lee Clark: nicksarebi, CC BY 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wallsend | 45,351 | — | C | A− | D | D |
| Hebburn | 21,341 | 1.8 | C− | B | D | D |
| Longbenton | 26,882 | 2.3 | B | A− | C | C− |
| Shiremoor | 6,965 | 2.6 | B+ | A− | C | C− |
| Backworth | 4,483 | 2.6 | C+ | C+ | C− | C− |
| Jarrow | 29,467 | 2.7 | C− | B | D | D− |
| Tynemouth | 60,611 | 2.8 | B− | B+ | D | D |
| Killingworth | 12,180 | 3.3 | B | A− | C | C |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £160,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £85,000, terraced houses £150,000, semi-detached houses £175,000 and detached houses £295,975.
Large town in Tyne and Wear, England
Wallsend is a built-up area of 45,351 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
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.