Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
15% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. A town in Tyne and Wear, North East, home to 5,082 people.
Strong in places, weak in others. Natural hazards are few (A). Add schools to its strengths: primary results beat 80% of towns in England; secondary results beat 44% of towns in England. Residents’ health trails most towns (C−): life expectancy is 79.4 for men and 80.1 for women. The median home sold for £195,000, 4.6 times what households in the South Tyneside council area earn in a year. All told, that adds up to a B overall and a rank of #11 of 34 in Tyne and Wear. That leaves it better than 57% of UK towns. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for safety and B for walkability.
Figures: flood risk, Environment Agency · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021.
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 Whitburn is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Whitburn does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 24 buildings inside Whitburn’s built-up area.
16% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →24 listed buildings in Whitburn.
East-West Wall 35 Metres South of Red Cottage and Linking Wall to House: Photo: Andrew Curtis · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Whitburn War Memorial: Photo: peter robinson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hill Crest: Photo: Andrew Curtis · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · No 52 (Olde House) and Coach House Adjoining to East: Photo: Andrew Curtis · CC BY-SA 2.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Whitburn.
People aged 15 to 24 make up 8.4% of the town, below Tyne and Wear’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. The median resident of Whitburn is 49.7 years old. 30% of adults hold a degree.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Whitburn | Tyne and Wear | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.4% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Tyne and Wear and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Some 1,657 pupils attend Whitburn’s two primaries and one secondary. Below are two of its 3 schools, each with why it was picked. GCSE results at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km: 43% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 45.2.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitburn Village Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 244 | B |
| Whitburn Church of England AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,204 | B+ |
77% of Whitburn’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, about level with Tyne and Wear’s towns (78%) and below England’s towns (82%). One GP practice serves the town; 57% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 6.6% of the town.
| Census 2021 | Whitburn | Tyne and Wear | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 78% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.6% | 7.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Whitburn logged 200 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 45 complaints of anti-social conduct. Violent crime ran at 19.3 per 1,000 residents a year, below Tyne and Wear’s towns (32.7) and England’s towns (22) alike. Violence and sexual offences made up 41% 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.
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.
For every resident in work, Whitburn has 0.3 jobs. 80% of commuters drove, above both Tyne and Wear’s towns (70%) and England’s towns (70%). In 2026, 3% of 16 to 64s were claiming unemployment benefits.
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.
No town in Tyne and Wear has more listed buildings for its size than Whitburn. 16% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
68% of households own their home. Social housing holds 24% of households, below Tyne and Wear’s towns (26%) but above England’s towns (18%). The £195,000 median rests on 194 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £480,000 | 36 |
| Semi-detached | £185,000 | 83 |
| Terraced | £169,000 | 53 |
| Flat or maisonette | £285,000 | 22 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Whitburn. Best known first.
Abbey or priory · English HeritageMonkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey3.5 km outside town, to the south
Castle · English HeritageHylton Castle4.8 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumSunderland Museum and Winter Gardens4.6 km outside town, to the south
MuseumNational Glass Centre3.5 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseum · National TrustSouter Lighthouse700 m outside town, to the northGardenGarden · National TrustWildlife Garden700 m outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
18 notable people were born in Whitburn.
Nadine Shah: Paul Hudson from United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0
Town in Tyne and Wear, England
Whitburn is a built-up area of 5,082 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitburn | 5,082 | — | B | B− | B | C− |
| South Bents | 1,113 | 0.9 | — | C− | B− | B− |
| Cleadon | 4,599 | 1.4 | A | D | A | A+ |
| South Shields | 73,326 | 2.8 | C | B | D | D |
| East Boldon and West Boldon | 6,795 | 2.8 | A− | C+ | B | B+ |
| Boldon Colliery | 6,071 | 3.7 | C | B | D | D |
| Sunderland | 168,323 | 4.1 | C+ | A− | D | D |
| Jarrow | 29,467 | 4.7 | C− | B | D | D− |
South Bents has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets 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 £195,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £285,000, terraced houses £169,000, semi-detached houses £185,000 and detached houses £480,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
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.