Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 15,680 in Tyne and Wear, North East.
A strong record with one exception. Whickham grades B overall, better than 64% of UK towns. In the ranking it comes #8 of 34 in Tyne and Wear. Its strongest subject is schools — primary results beat 94% of towns in England; secondary results beat 54% of towns in England. The trade-off is cost of living: a typical home costs £225,000 and rent runs £804 a month. Hazards are a real consideration: 1.2% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. The rest of its grades are middling: B for safety, B− for health and B for jobs & income.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
Northumbria Police published 34 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Whickham 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 Whickham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 25 buildings inside Whickham’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
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 Whickham. Best known first.
MuseumTurbinia3.2 km outside town, to the northeast
CathedralNewcastle Cathedral3.9 km outside town, to the northeast
CastleNewcastle upon Tyne Castle3.9 km outside town, to the northeast
CathedralSt Mary's Cathedral3.4 km outside town, to the northeast
Big drawMuseumGreat North Museum: Hancock4.5 km outside town, to the northeast · 638K visitors a year
MuseumCentre for Life3.2 km outside town, to the northeast · 225K visitors a yearPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Whickham.
Nearly a tenth of the population is aged 15 to 24, below Tyne and Wear’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Whickham has a median age of 49.4. Degrees are held by 33% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Whickham | Tyne and Wear | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.5% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.3% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 33% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Tyne and Wear and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
73% of pupils at the town’s 7 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Clover Hill Community Primary School’s results beat 98% of schools in England like it. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Secondary results at the 5 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 46, with 47% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front Street Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 413 | A |
| Whickham SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,690 | B+ |
| Clover Hill Community Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 210 | A+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 31% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
41% of commuters travelled under 5 km, below both Tyne and Wear’s towns (48%) and England’s towns (45%). On foot, by bike or by bus and train: that was how 20% of commuters travelled at the census. Of the commuters living in Whickham, 16% work in the town itself. Among 16 to 64s, 2.4% claimed unemployment benefits in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
12% live in social housing, lower than both Tyne and Wear’s towns (26%) and England’s towns (18%). 619 standard sales inside Whickham’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £225,000. It is the 4th most expensive of 34 towns of 2,500+ in Tyne and Wear.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £375,000 | 137 |
| Semi-detached | £235,000 | 255 |
| Terraced | £177,000 | 156 |
| Flat or maisonette | £105,000 | 71 |
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.
Whickham’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. Just over a tenth of its homes were built before 1919, below Tyne and Wear’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (16%) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Violence and sexual offences made up 37% of the total. Burglary and damage add up to 10.7 per 1,000 residents each year. 642 crimes and 179 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Whickham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Also worth knowing: for its size, Whickham records less crime per resident than 86% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
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.
One GP practice serves the town; just over four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 5.3% of the town. 20% of residents have a disability, lower than Tyne and Wear’s towns (21%) yet higher than England’s towns (17%).
| Census 2021 | Whickham | Tyne and Wear | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.3% | 7.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
25 listed buildings in Whickham, 1 of them Grade I.
'Derwent Walk Express' and supporting bridge abutment and approach spans: Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · War Memorial: Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0
7 notable people were born in Whickham.
William Shield: Unknown artist, Public domain · William Turner: Freeman Brothers Studio, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whickham | 15,680 | — | B | C | B | B− |
| Sunniside | 3,422 | 1.2 | B | B− | C+ | C+ |
| Blaydon | 14,237 | 1.8 | C− | B− | D | D |
| Rowlands Gill | 5,254 | 3.1 | C | C+ | B− | C+ |
| Burnopfield | 2,998 | 3.4 | A− | A− | B+ | C− |
| Ryton | 8,804 | 3.5 | B− | C | C+ | C+ |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 286,472 | 3.5 | C− | C− | D | D |
| Newburn | 1,475 | 3.6 | — | C | D− | D |
Newburn has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Band D council tax in Whickham 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.
Secondary results are closer to the middle, beating 54%.
Town in Tyne and Wear, England
Whickham is a built-up area of 15,680 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.