Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 4,315 residents in Buckinghamshire, South East.
Woburn Sands grades B+ overall, better than 68% of UK towns, and ranks #26 of 39 in Buckinghamshire. It does especially well on health — life expectancy 82 for men, 85.9 for women. The local economy does well: households earn a mean £69,849 a year, and 3.3% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. School results trail most towns (C−): primary results beat just over one in ten towns in England; secondary results beat 40% of towns in England. Cost of living is weaker too: a typical home costs £430,000 and rent runs £1,336 a month.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Woburn Sands is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Woburn Sands does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 7 buildings inside Woburn Sands’s built-up area, and 1 scheduled monument.
16% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Woburn Sands.
One GP practice serves the town; 87% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 3.6% of residents report bad or very bad health. At the census, 16% of people here had a disability, above Buckinghamshire’s towns (14%) but below England’s towns (17%).
| Census 2021 | Woburn Sands | Buckinghamshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 86% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.6% | 3.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 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.
Its two schools are listed below. Woburn Sands’s one primary and one secondary have 1,009 pupils between them. GCSE results at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km: 43% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 44.2.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swallowfield PrimaryLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 458 | C |
| Fulbrook SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 551 | C+ |
Council and housing-body homes hold just over one in ten households. Owners make up just over two thirds of households, above Buckinghamshire’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. 18% of households rent privately.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £580,000 | 77 |
| Semi-detached | £442,500 | 66 |
| Terraced | £385,000 | 51 |
| Flat or maisonette | £231,250 | 46 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
For its size, Woburn Sands records less crime per resident than 75% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 160 recorded crimes inside the town’s built-up area, and 21 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were nearly a third of the crimes.
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 44% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
18% of commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census. Working mainly from home: 44% of workers, higher than both Buckinghamshire’s towns (39%) and England’s towns (31%). The car carried 80% of commuters at the census. Of the commuters living in Woburn Sands, 13% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Woburn Sands has 16 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents. The national list protects one ancient monument here. Of Woburn Sands’ land, 12% lies in conservation areas, above both Buckinghamshire’s towns (8%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Degrees are held by 40% of adults. People 65 and over make up 22% of the town, above Buckinghamshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. The middle age in Woburn Sands is 43.8.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Woburn Sands | Buckinghamshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.8% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 4.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 40% | 39% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Buckinghamshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Woburn Sands. Best known first.
Wildlife parkWoburn Safari Park3.8 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumWoburn Heritage Museum2.9 km outside town, to the southeastWater parkWater parkSplash ‘n’ Play4.8 km outside town, to the northwestWater parkWater parkAqua Parcs4.6 km outside town, to the northwestTheme parkTheme parkEco Park5 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Town in Buckinghamshire, England
Woburn Sands is a built-up area of 4,315 people, in the Milton Keynes 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woburn Sands | 4,315 | — | B+ | C | B+ | A− |
| Aspley Guise | 2,114 | 0.7 | — | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Bletchley | 45,018 | 4.1 | C− | B− | D | C− |
| Cranfield | 7,053 | 4.3 | A− | B+ | A− | A |
| Lidlington | 1,300 | 4.3 | — | B+ | A− | B |
| Milton Keynes | 197,328 | 4.8 | C+ | B− | D | C |
| Heath and Reach | 1,451 | 4.9 | — | B | A | B− |
| Stoke Hammond | 1,155 | 5 | — | C+ | C+ | A |
Aspley Guise, Lidlington, Heath and Reach and Stoke Hammond have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Woburn Sands has 2 state schools; places are handled by Milton Keynes council.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £430,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £231,250, terraced houses £385,000, semi-detached houses £442,500 and detached houses £580,000.
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.