Washington
Town · 50,874 residents
60Good
Good · better than 3 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 77, well above the typical 60
- 63% of residents live within five minutes of a park
Check before you view
- Road noise reaches 56% of the area
- Food & drink scores 35, below the typical 60
The essentials
Everyday life
The area
Around Washington
OxcloseUsworthSulgrave59Middle Barmston60Rickleton60PattinsonGlebeAyton58High Usworth55North BiddickHertburnPenshaw Staiths57
See all 33 in the guide ↓Map outline: Official built-up area
Is Washington a good place to live?
Washington scores 60/100 overall, which the scorecard rates as good — 60 is typical for the country.
It stands out for affordability (77) and environment (72).
It scores lowest on food & drink (35).
Scores come from official data on safety, schools, transport, prices, health, food & drink and the local environment, for Washington in North East, each measured against the national average.
Summary of Washington
Terraced streets dominate here — rows of semis and terraces built for the shipyards and New Town overspill that Washington actually is, and the housing sales figures bear that out before you've even walked the place. It's a town of estates and district centres rather than one obvious high street, and the people you'll see are more likely pushing a pram or heading to a trade counter than browsing boutiques. There's no pretension in the streetscape, and it doesn't ask for any.
The practical picture is where Washington makes its case. A median house price around £140,000 sits well under both the regional and national norms, and the affordability grade reflects that squarely — this is a place where a terraced freehold, the dominant sale here, remains within reach of an ordinary income, even if that income (the area sits low on the national income scale) has to work harder for it. Schools are a mixed bag rather than a uniform story: Biddick Primary and Barmston Village Primary both carry Good ratings, and St John Boste Catholic Primary is rated Outstanding, but Washington Academy's Requires Improvement status and a negative Progress 8 average across secondaries is the one grade that breaks the otherwise steady pattern — worth knowing if secondary schooling is your priority. With 304 transport stops serving the town, getting around locally is straightforward, though the transport grade sits a notch below the housing and safety scores, suggesting rail links aren't the strong suit here.