Crap Towns / Tyne and Wear / Washington
Washington
57/100Crap Score
422nd crappest of 984 towns, and 13th in Tyne and Wear. 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
Got something to say about Washington? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
Not the American one.
A new town of numbered villages, glued together with roundabouts, and no station.
Washington's a new town where the neighbourhoods got numbers and were glued together with roundabouts. No station, so getting to Newcastle is a pain in the arse. Sunderland calls them Geordie rejects and nobody agrees if they're Mackems. Lots of vandalism and rubbish dumped round the industrial estates. The roads out are the best bit.
Bins go up in flames at nearly fourteen times the typical town's rate, and Sunderland's fly-tipping is over three times the typical council's. Barclays and NatWest have both gone, leaving 1 bank. 4 of the 5 serious pollution incidents round here since 2016 were the major kind. They build cars here. Handy, with no station.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Washington's 97 for deliberate fires means it's crapper than 97% of towns.
- Deliberate fires97/10039.8 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Fly-tipping95/10035.9 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Sunderland council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Criminal damage and arson83/10010.2 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Anti-social behaviour69/10018.2 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Air pollution56/10010.5 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 6.2 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Sewage spills49/100265 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Rain49/100127 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Broadband33/1006.2% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 5.3% across the Sunderland council area
- Serious road collisions10/1001.3 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Food hygiene2/1000.4% rated 0 to 2, of the 230 food businesses with a rating
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Hebburn | 75 |
| 10 | Houghton-le-Spring | 73 |
| 11 | Birtley | 69 |
| 12 | Longbenton | 61 |
| 13 | Washington | 57 |
| 14 | Whickham | 53 |
| 15 | Killingworth | 50 |
| 16 | Shiney Row and Penshaw | 47 |
| In danger of becoming nice from here down.17 | Whitley Bay | 26 |
Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.
Washington by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 81.8 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 7% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 32 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 6.2 per 10,000 people, 1.8x the typical town's 3.4
- 5 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2026
What's left on the high street
- 30 pubs, 20 hairdressers, 3 charity shops, 4 bookmakers, 1 vape shop, 1 bank, 4 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 2.1% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (1 of 47) Better: 48% lower than the typical town's 4.0%
- 2 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Worse: 3.9 per 100,000 people, 15% higher than the typical town's 3.4
- 3 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 0.6 per 10,000 people, 63% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 3 public swimming pools open; 2 closed for good since 2010 Worse: 0.6 per 10,000 people, 14% lower than the typical English town's 0.7
- 2 places on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.29am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 2.0% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 4x the typical town's 0.5%
- 10.0% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 35% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,511 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Sunderland council
Have a crap-off
Washington 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.