Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 7,166: a town in Buckinghamshire, South East.
Bourne End’s grades pull in different directions. Jobs & income is its strong suit — mean household income £71,827; 1.8% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The drawback is schools — primary results beat 5% of towns in England; secondary results beat 36% of towns in England. At a median £548,750, a home costs 7.9 times the yearly income of households in the Buckinghamshire council area. Natural hazards weigh more here: nearly one in ten homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Overall, that makes a B, good for #30 of 39 in Buckinghamshire. It comes out better than 61% of UK towns. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for safety and B− for walkability.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Bourne End does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Bourne End is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 43 buildings inside Bourne End’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
16% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Bourne End. Best known first.
Historic house · National TrustCliveden House1.2 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseHedsor House600 m outside town, to the southeast
MuseumStanley Spencer Gallery300 m outside town, to the south
Abbey or prioryBisham Abbey4.4 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumMaidenhead Heritage Centre4.7 km outside town, to the southHistoric houseHistoric house · National TrustDorney Wood3.6 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bourne End.
There is no GP practice in Bourne End: the nearest is 1.2 miles off. 87% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, about level with Buckinghamshire’s towns (86%) and above England’s towns (82%). The nearest A&E to Bourne End is Wexham Park Hospital, 6.6 miles away. A disability affects 14% of people here.
| Census 2021 | Bourne End | Buckinghamshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 86% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.2% | 3.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 14% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Between them, two primaries and one secondary teach 1,184 pupils in Bourne End. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Attainment 8 at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km averages 44.1, and just over two in five pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claytons Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 252 | D− |
| E-Act Bourne End AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 707 | D− |
8% live in social housing, below Buckinghamshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £1,475 a month across the Buckinghamshire council area. Behind the median of £548,750: 350 standard sales inside Bourne End’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £800,000 | 108 |
| Semi-detached | £565,000 | 112 |
| Terraced | £457,500 | 58 |
| Flat or maisonette | £292,250 | 72 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 2 of them. Of Bourne End’s land, 19% lies in conservation areas, higher than both Buckinghamshire’s towns (8%) and England’s towns (7%). The register of parks and gardens lists one locally.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Reported offences in Bourne End came to 288 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 22. Of all the crimes, 47% were violence and sexual offences. There were 3.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), lower than both Buckinghamshire’s towns (4.2) and England’s towns (7.8).
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 49% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
14% of commuters left the car at home at the census, walking, cycling or taking public transport. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 28%, below both Buckinghamshire’s towns (40%) and England’s towns (45%). Working from home was the norm for nearly half of workers at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Among adults, 42% have a degree. Children under 15 make up 16%, below both Buckinghamshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%). The 65-and-over age group makes up 24% of residents. At 47.1, the median resident of Bourne End sits in the middle of the age range.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Bourne End | Buckinghamshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.1% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.1% | 4.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 42% | 39% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Buckinghamshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
43 listed buildings in Bourne End.
Hedsor House: Photo: Ami and Debo's Wedding · CC BY 2.0 · The Walnut Trees Public House: Photo: Mark Percy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Spade Oak Farmhouse: Photo: Steve Daniels · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Toll House Adjacent to Cookham Bridge: Photo: Alan Rosevear · CC BY-SA 2.0
7 notable people were born in Bourne End.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bourne End | 7,166 | — | B | C | B | A |
| Flackwell Heath and Wooburn Green | 12,438 | 1.4 | A− | C | B− | A |
| Cookham | 5,216 | 1.7 | A | C− | B+ | A |
| Marlow | 14,641 | 2.8 | A | C | B− | A |
| Beaconsfield | 14,142 | 3.3 | A | C− | C+ | A |
| Marlow Bottom | 3,339 | 3.3 | A+ | C | A+ | A+ |
| High Wycombe | 83,541 | 4 | B− | B+ | D | C+ |
| Maidenhead | 67,391 | 4.1 | B+ | C+ | C | B+ |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.5 times the typical UK town for its size.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £548,750, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £292,250, terraced houses £457,500, semi-detached houses £565,000 and detached houses £800,000.
GCSE results trail 64% of towns in England, and primary results trail 95% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Town in Buckinghamshire, England
Bourne End is a built-up area of 7,166 people, in the Buckinghamshire 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
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.
