Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,368 in Devon, South West.
Ashburton grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 41% of UK towns, and #20 of 47 in Devon. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 21% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (D−): 16% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £277,500 in the last three years, 5.3 times what households in the Teignbridge council area earn in a year.
Devon And Cornwall Police published 33 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Ashburton 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 Ashburton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 199 buildings inside Ashburton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
35% 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 Ashburton. Best known first.
Abbey or prioryBuckfast Abbey1.9 km outside town, to the southwest
CastleHembury Castle2.3 km outside town, to the southwestArt galleryArt galleryField Systemin townMuseumMuseumSt. Lawrence Chapelin townMuseumMuseumMonastic Way Exhibition1.9 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ashburton.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For Ashburton, that is above both Devon’s towns (104) and England’s towns (39). Ashburton’s listed buildings include Church of St Andrew, Grade I. Ashburton has 199 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 10 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashburton Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 161 | C+ |
| South Dartmoor Community CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 801 | B |
Ashburton sits above both Devon’s towns (30%) and England’s towns (34%) on this measure. Over-65s are 25% of the population. Ashburton has a median age of 48.6.
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Ashburton | Devon | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.5% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Devon and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 32% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
That puts Ashburton below both Devon’s towns (51%) and England’s towns (45%). 77% of commuters drove to work at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
13% live in social housing, close to Devon’s towns (14%) and below England’s towns (18%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £411,000 | 40 |
| Semi-detached | £306,500 | 28 |
| Terraced | £249,950 | 63 |
| Flat or maisonette | £158,500 | 25 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
On this, Ashburton is above both Devon’s towns (21.4) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 147 crimes inside Ashburton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 6 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 63% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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
In the comparison, Ashburton comes above both Devon’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Ashburton is Torbay Hospital, 9.1 miles away. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Ashburton | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.8% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
199 listed buildings in Ashburton, 1 of them Grade I.
Royal Oak Public House: Photo: Trish Steel · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chapel of St Lawrence: Photo: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Warehouse at Sx 7568 6970 Warehouse at Sx 7568 6970 (Former Railway Goods Shed): Photo: Geof Sheppard · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Higher Headborough Farmhouse: Photo: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0
9 notable people were born in Ashburton.
John Dunning, 1st Baron Ashburton: Fielding & Walker (n.d.), publisher, Public domain · William Gifford: John Hoppner, Public domain · Robert Palk: Thomas Beach (1738-1806), Public domain · Athel Cornish-Bowden: Ricercatore, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashburton | 3,368 | — | C+ | C+ | C+ | C+ |
| Buckfastleigh | 2,720 | 3 | C− | B | C− | C+ |
| Denbury | 1,482 | 4 | — | C− | C | B |
| Coldeast | 1,186 | 4.6 | — | C− | A | B |
| Ipplepen | 2,150 | 5.4 | — | C | A | A− |
| Heathfield | 1,496 | 5.5 | — | B | C | B− |
| Bovey Tracey | 6,241 | 5.9 | B− | C− | A− | B+ |
| Abbotskerswell | 1,182 | 6.1 | — | C | A+ | B+ |
Denbury, Coldeast, Ipplepen, Heathfield and Abbotskerswell have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
That is 24.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Andrew.
An older town. At the 2021 Census, 25% of residents were 65 or over and 29% were 45 to 64, against 18% and 25% across England’s towns; 16% were under 15.
Band D council tax in Ashburton is £2,678 for 2026–27, more than in 94% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Devon, England
Ashburton is a built-up area of 3,368 people, in the Teignbridge 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.