Bournemouth grades C overall against UK towns: better than 32% of UK towns, and #17 of 30 in Dorset. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 27% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is cost of living (D): median sale £308,000, 5.9 years of area income; rent £1,398 a month.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Bournemouth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsA
Results at Bournemouth’s schools beat 87% of towns in England
St. Walburga's Catholic Primary School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Three of its 42 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Safety
Burglary and damage hit Bournemouth harder than Dorset’s towns or England’s towns: 20.4 per 1,000 residents a year
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
That puts Bournemouth above both Dorset’s towns (7.8) and England’s towns (9.4). Violence comes to 37.1 per 1,000 residents a year. Police recorded 16,080 crimes inside Bournemouth’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 5,658 reports of anti-social behaviour.
37.1violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 57% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual6,614
Shoplifting1,973
Vehicle crime1,406
Damage & arson1,385
Other theft1,281
Public order1,124
Burglary751
Drugs616
Anti-social5,658
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.
37.1
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
20.4
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
28.4
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
Health
82% of residents say their health is good or very good
82% of Bournemouth’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 81% across Dorset’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.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
History
Old homes shape Bournemouth: 27% were built before 1919, more than in Dorset’s towns or England’s towns
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
On this, Bournemouth is above both Dorset’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (16%). For its size, Bournemouth has 11 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. Bournemouth’s listed buildings include Church of St Clement, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
Students and young workers shape Bournemouth: 15% are 15 to 24, above Dorset’s towns and England’s towns
In the comparison, Bournemouth comes above both Dorset’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Those 65 and older account for 18% of residents. Bournemouth has a median age of 39.1.
39.1median age
BournemouthDorsetEngland
Ages · share of residents
15%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications15%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar21%
Degree level33%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Virginia Wade: UKinUSA, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ben Hardy: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hubert Parry: Unknown authorUnknown author (W. & D. Downey), Public domain · Janet Montgomery: Original: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America / Derivative work: Danyele, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jayne Atkinson: Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0
How many listed buildings are there in Bournemouth?
Its Grade I buildings include Church of St Clement. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Are schools in Bournemouth good?
Secondary schools stand out: GCSE results beat 92% of towns in England. Primary results beat 73%.
Is Bournemouth safe?
About the middle for its size: 43% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades D. Police recorded 16,080 crimes inside Bournemouth’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 41% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
About Bournemouth
City in Dorset, England
Bournemouth is a built-up area of 196,453 people, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 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
Population
196,453 (Census 2021)
Council
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
County
Dorset
Region
South West
Area
15 sq mi (38.7 km²)
ONS code
E63006699
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.
