Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This large town in Cheshire, North West has a population of 25,716.
A well-rated place to live, with prices to match. Its strongest subject is schools (A+): primary results beat 98% of towns in England; secondary results beat 90% of towns in England. Taken together, its subjects give Wilmslow an A overall, better than 92% of UK towns. The ranking puts it #5 of 46 in Cheshire. People here tend to be in good health (A+): life expectancy 83 for men, 86.3 for women. Prices are high against local incomes (C−): homes sell for a median £480,000, about 9.1 times local household income. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for safety, B for walkability and B for hazard risk.
Figures: life expectancy, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Wilmslow 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 Wilmslow is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 31 buildings inside Wilmslow’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
13% 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 Wilmslow. Best known first.
Historic houseBramall Hall4.5 km outside town, to the northeast
Historic house · National TrustHare Hill3.2 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseAdlington Hall3.9 km outside town, to the east
Historic houseMottram Hall2.1 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumAvro Heritage Museum3.1 km outside town, to the east
Historic houseAlderley Park4.1 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Wilmslow.
Attainment 8 at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km averages 54.2, and three in five pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Ashdene Primary School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. At the town’s 6 primary schools, 78% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Of its 7 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lacey Green Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 424 | A |
| Wilmslow High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 2,227 | B+ |
| Ashdene Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 422 | A+ |
At the census, 3.3% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. 13% of residents have a disability, below both Cheshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%). Asked at the census, 87% of residents of Wilmslow said they were in good or very good health. 2 GP practices serve the town; 85% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Wilmslow | Cheshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.3% | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
10% live in social housing, below Cheshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £985 a month across the Cheshire East council area. From September 2023 to August 2026, 1,349 homes sold inside Wilmslow’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £480,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £760,000 | 476 |
| Semi-detached | £467,000 | 351 |
| Terraced | £336,750 | 284 |
| Flat or maisonette | £190,750 | 238 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
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.
Nearly half of workers worked mainly from home, above both Cheshire’s towns (31%) and England’s towns (31%). For nearly a third of commuters, work was under 5 km away. Work in town: 18% of resident commuters. The car carried 81% of commuters at the census.
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.
At the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 3 Grade II*. Wilmslow’s listed buildings include the Church of St Bartholomew, Grade I. Of the town’s land, 100% lies in conservation areas, about level with Cheshire’s towns (100%) and above England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Police recorded 1,130 crimes inside Wilmslow’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 118 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up 46% of the total. Homes saw 7.8 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, between Cheshire’s towns (5.7) and England’s towns (9.4).
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.
People aged 15 to 24 make up 9.1% of the town, lower than both Cheshire’s towns (10%) and England’s towns (12%). The middle age in Wilmslow is 44.1. Over-65s are a fifth of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Wilmslow | Cheshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.1% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 9.9% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.7% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 51% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cheshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
31 listed buildings in Wilmslow, 1 of them Grade I.
Pownall Hall (School): Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Former Friends Meeting House: Photo: Mike in Macc · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Former George and Dragon Public House: Photo: Dave.Dunford · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bridge over River Bollin: Photo: Dave.Dunford · CC BY-SA 4.0
16 notable people were born in Wilmslow.
Millie Turner: James Boyes from UK, CC BY 2.0 · Liz Blatchford: Jimmy Harris, CC BY 2.0 · Danny Whitaker: David Ingham, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Terry Nicholl: The Commercial Appeal, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmslow | 25,716 | — | A | C− | B | A+ |
| Alderley Edge | 4,496 | 1.7 | A | C− | C+ | A |
| Woodford | 2,241 | 3.3 | — | D− | — | A+ |
| Cheadle Hulme | 24,782 | 3.4 | — | D− | — | A |
| Bramhall | 17,201 | 3.9 | — | D− | — | A |
| Mobberley | 1,349 | 4.2 | — | C | A+ | B+ |
| Wythenshawe | 97,665 | 4.2 | — | D− | — | D |
| Gatley | 9,149 | 4.3 | — | D− | — | B |
Woodford and Mobberley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Woodford, Cheadle Hulme, Bramhall, Wythenshawe and Gatley have no Safety Grade: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish to police.uk. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Among the strongest in England: GCSE results beat 90% of towns in England, and primary results beat 98% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £480,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £190,750, terraced houses £336,750, semi-detached houses £467,000 and detached houses £760,000.
Large town in Cheshire, England
Wilmslow is a built-up area of 25,716 people, in the Cheshire East 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.