Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,610 in Devon, South West.
Braunton grades B overall against UK towns: better than 58% of UK towns, and #9 of 47 in Devon. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 24% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (D): 8.4% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £375,000 in the last three years, 7.9 times what households in the North Devon 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 Braunton 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 Braunton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 40 buildings inside Braunton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
20% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1905.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Braunton.
On this, Braunton is above both Devon’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%). People aged 15 to 24 make up 8.4% of the town. Half the people of Braunton are older than 50.6.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
| Braunton | Devon | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.4% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 30% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.3% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Devon and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Three of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southmead SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 341 | B+ |
| Braunton AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 828 | B |
| Kingsacre Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 177 | A− |
In the comparison, Braunton comes above both Devon’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%). Social housing holds 7% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £447,250 | 120 |
| Semi-detached | £380,000 | 61 |
| Terraced | £295,000 | 69 |
| Flat or maisonette | £185,000 | 19 |
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 22% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For Braunton, that is below both Devon’s towns (51%) and England’s towns (45%). 2% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026.
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.
Braunton has 40 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 3 Grade II*. 20% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Police recorded 235 crimes inside Braunton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 43 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 50% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking, so it runs higher than U.S. “violent crime”.
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
82% of Braunton’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 80% across Devon’s towns. 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 | Braunton | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Braunton. Best known first.
MuseumMuseum of British Surfingin townMuseumMuseumBraunton and District Museumin townAttractionAttractionRemains of a Matilda tank from World War II2.4 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
40 listed buildings in Braunton, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Brannock: Photo: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Black Horse Inn: Photo: Dietmar Rabich · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braunton | 6,610 | — | B | D | B+ | B |
| Chivenor and Wrafton | 1,953 | 1.4 | — | C− | B+ | B− |
| Fremington | 5,229 | 2.9 | B− | D | A− | B− |
| Bickington | 2,105 | 3.8 | — | D | B+ | B |
| Appledore | 1,711 | 4 | — | D− | B | C+ |
| Northam | 5,191 | 5.1 | C | D− | A− | C+ |
| Barnstaple | 31,271 | 5.2 | D | C | D | C |
| Westward Ho! | 3,468 | 5.5 | D− | D | C | B− |
Chivenor and Wrafton, Bickington and Appledore have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Brannock.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Band D council tax in Braunton is £2,649 for 2026–27, more than in 92% 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
Braunton is a built-up area of 6,610 people, in the North Devon 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.
