Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,995 in Dorset, South West.
Beaminster grades C overall against UK towns: better than 30% of UK towns, and #21 of 30 in Dorset. Its strongest subject is safety (A−): 15.7 violent and sexual offences and 6 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Its weakest is jobs & income (D): mean household income £47,749; 3.8% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The median home sold for £325,000 in the last three years, 6.2 times what households in the Dorset council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Beaminster 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 Beaminster is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 151 buildings inside Beaminster’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
23% 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 Beaminster.
Under 15: just over one in ten residents. 7.7% of residents are 15 to 24, below both Dorset’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). The age that splits Beaminster in two is 57.7.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
| Beaminster | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.7% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 15% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 39% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.4% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 34% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Dorset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
52% of pupils at the one primary school within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 45.4, with 41% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Between them, one primary and one secondary teach 813 pupils in Beaminster.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaminster St Mary's AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 140 | C− |
| Beaminster SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 673 | C+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes built before 1919 account for nearly a quarter of the housing. Beaminster’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. Historic England’s list names 151 listed buildings here: 1 Grade I, 10 Grade II*. Of the town’s land, 28% lies in conservation areas, higher than both Dorset’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
19% of households live in social housing. Private rents average £1,056 a month across the Dorset council area. Behind the median of £325,000: 169 standard sales inside Beaminster’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £434,000 | 52 |
| Semi-detached | £284,500 | 58 |
| Terraced | £295,000 | 51 |
| Flat or maisonette | £127,500 | 8 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 73 offences in Beaminster and 24 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences accounted for just over half of recorded 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 · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Self-reported good health: 77% of Beaminster’s residents. The nearest A&E to Beaminster is Yeovil District Hospital, 10.4 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 84% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Life expectancy here is 85.9 for women and 81.2 for men (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Beaminster | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 21% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 81% of commuters, above both Dorset’s towns (76%) and England’s towns (70%). 17% of commuters who live in Beaminster also work there. Jobs per working resident: 1.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Beaminster. Best known first.
Historic houseMapperton House2.2 km outside town, to the southeastAttractionAttractionStokewater Meadow Donkey Walking Days800 m outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionFurleigh Estate Wine Tours3.4 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
151 listed buildings in Beaminster, 1 of them Grade I.
Pines: Photo: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Barton End, And Attached Walls at Rear: Photo: Martin Bodman · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Eight Bells Inn: Photo: Ian S · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wesleyan Chapel: Photo: Ian S · CC BY-SA 2.0
6 notable people were born in Beaminster.
Thomas Sprat: John Smith / After Michael Dahl, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaminster | 2,995 | — | C | D | A− | B |
| Bradpole | 1,257 | 4.3 | — | D | A− | C+ |
| Misterton | 1,037 | 4.5 | — | B | B− | B− |
| Bridport | 12,294 | 5.4 | C− | D | C+ | B− |
| Crewkerne | 7,067 | 5.5 | C | B− | C | C+ |
| Merriott | 2,068 | 7.2 | — | B− | A | B |
| Maiden Newton | 1,128 | 7.7 | — | C | A− | B |
| Charmouth | 1,337 | 8.6 | — | D− | A− | B+ |
Bradpole, Misterton, Merriott, Maiden Newton and Charmouth have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 20.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary.
Band D council tax in Beaminster is £2,859 for 2026–27, more than in 99% 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 Dorset, England
Beaminster is a built-up area of 2,995 people, in the Dorset 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.