Crap Towns / County Durham / Durham
Durham
70/100Crap Score
293rd crappest of 984 towns, and 9th in County Durham. Higher scores are crapper.
Have your say
Crap Town of the Year 2026/27
See the raceThe public vote. It's separate from the Crap Score, and it closes on 31 December 2027.
Letters from the locals
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agree it's crap have defended it
For people Oxford turned down.
Durham's got a castle, a cathedral and a lot of students who wanted to go somewhere else.
Durham's a lovely little city with a castle and a cathedral, and you can see the whole lot in an afternoon. Then there's nothing left. The shopping's that thin everyone goes to Newcastle. Students wander into the road without looking, and the locals have been falling out with them since the 1830s. Cobbles, too. Mind your ankles.
A quarter of the city can't get gigabit broadband, which for a university is a bit shit. Shoplifting is up at nearly three times the typical town's rate. Barclays, Halifax and Virgin Money have all gone, and the Wear gets more sewage than it should. Lovely river walk, if you hold your breath.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Durham's 92 for broadband means it's crapper than 92% of towns.
- Broadband92/10024.5% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 14.6% across the County Durham council area
- Deliberate fires82/10014.4 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Sewage spills81/100914 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Criminal damage and arson78/1009.4 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Anti-social behaviour76/10020.0 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Fly-tipping56/10010.5 incidents per 1,000 people a year, County Durham council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Serious road collisions55/1002.5 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Rain45/100125 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Air pollution27/1007.5 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.5 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Food hygiene0/1000.5% rated 0 to 2, of the 402 food businesses with a rating
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Chester-le-Street | 77 |
| 6 | Spennymoor | 74 |
| 7 | Stockton-on-Tees | 73 |
| 8 | Peterlee | 71 |
| 9 | Durham | 70 |
| 10 | Consett | 63 |
| 11 | Seaham | 60 |
| 12 | Newton Aycliffe | 58 |
| 13 | Billingham | 52 |
Durham by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 103 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 35% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 7 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 1.4 per 10,000 people, 59% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 7 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2021
What's left on the high street
- 36 pubs, 57 hairdressers, 12 charity shops, 5 bookmakers, 2 vape shops, 9 banks, 6 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 0.0% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (0 of 45) Better: Against the typical town's 4.0%
- 3 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Worse: 5.9 per 100,000 people, 1.7x the typical town's 3.4
- 15 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 3.0 per 10,000 people, 1.9x the typical town's 1.6
- 6 public swimming pools open; 1 closed for good since 2010 Better: 1.2 per 10,000 people, 1.7x the typical English town's 0.7
- 4 places on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.27am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.9% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 1.8x the typical town's 0.5%
- 24.9% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 1.6x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,505 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
County Durham council
Have a crap-off
Durham against your mate's town, and a match ticket to rub it in.
- ?Fly-tippingper 1,000, council area?
- ?Anti-social behaviourper 1,000 people?
- ?Serious road crashesper 10,000 people?
- ?Sewage spillshours per 10,000 people?
- ?Food hygienerated poor?
- ?Criminal damageper 1,000 people?
- ?Dirty airµg/m³?
- ?No gigabitof premises can't get it?
- ?Deliberate firesper 10,000 people?
- ?Raindays a year?
Ten ingredients. One verdict. Who's crapper? The higher Crap Score takes it.