Bishop Auckland
Town · 22,168 residents
53Fair
Fair · better than 1 in 10 towns
Check Local Score out of 100 · 60 is typical for the country
Each arc is a topic, coloured by its score
What’s good
- Affordability scores 86, well above the typical 60
- 65% of residents live within five minutes of a park
- 2 rail or tube stations within a short walk
Check before you view
- Safety scores 35, below the typical 60
The essentials
Everyday life
The area
Around Bishop Auckland
Etherley Dene60Cockton Hill53Auckland Park47Etherley Moor49Tindale Crescent50Shildon55West Auckland49Fieldon BridgeNewton Cap BankNewton CapSt Helen AucklandWoodhouses
See all 13 in the guide ↓Map outline: Official built-up area
Is Bishop Auckland a good place to live?
Bishop Auckland scores 53/100 overall, which the scorecard rates as fair — 60 is typical for the country.
It stands out for affordability (86) and environment (77).
It scores lowest on safety (35).
Scores come from official data on safety, schools, transport, prices, health, food & drink and the local environment, for Bishop Auckland in North East, each measured against the national average.
Summary of Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland's terraces run in long Victorian rows down towards the market place, the kind of streetscape where a For Sale board means a two-up two-down freehold rather than a new-build cul-de-sac, and where the buyers tend to be people who already know the town rather than people discovering it. It's a place built for the price of a house, not the promise of one — and that shows in almost everything else about how it lives.
Start with the money, because it explains the rest. The median house price sits at £122,000 against a national figure closer to £281,000, and even against County Durham itself Bishop Auckland comes in slightly cheaper. That affordability is real — council tax, rent, the lot, all below the regional norm — but it sits alongside an income decile of 2, which tells you low prices reflect low local earnings as much as any bargain. Terraced houses dominate the sales here, nearly all freehold, and the type-by-type numbers make the gap plain: a local terrace sells for a third of the national terrace price. This is a market for people who live here for reasons other than resale value. Trains run from Bishop Auckland station, and the town has its own secondary options — Bishop Barrington Academy and St John's Catholic School among them — though the schools grade overall sits just below average nationally, with progress scores that suggest secondary attainment is a genuine weak point rather than a rounding error.