Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
48,973 people call this large town in Dorset, South West home.
Christchurch’s strongest subject is schools — primary results beat 73% of towns in England; secondary results beat 61% of towns in England. Overall, Christchurch earns a B−, better than 52% of UK towns. The ranking puts it #9 of 30 in Dorset. Fewer journeys need a car: on the way to work, 17% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Where it falls short is cost of living: a typical home costs £410,000 and rent runs £1,398 a month. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for safety, B for health and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
The 3 things Christchurch 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 Christchurch is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 234 buildings inside Christchurch’s built-up area, 7 of them Grade I, and 5 scheduled monuments.
7% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 3 old photos and postcards going back to 1894.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Christchurch. Best known first.
Castle · English HeritageChristchurch Castlein town
CastleHighcliffe Castlein town
Historic houseHinton Admiralin town
MuseumRed House Museumin town
MuseumBournemouth Aviation Museum2.9 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumSammy Miller Museum1.6 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Christchurch.
The 15-to-24 age group: 8.8%, below both Dorset’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). One measure of family life: 14% of residents are under 15. The age that splits Christchurch in two is 51.7. Also worth knowing: 30% of adults hold a degree.
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.
| Christchurch | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.8% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 32% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.9% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Dorset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Attainment 8 at the town’s 3 secondary schools averages 47.2, and 48% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Three of its 14 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 8 primary schools: 66% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highcliffe St Mark Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 651 | C |
| Twynham SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,651 | B |
| Mudeford Junior SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 255 | A |
The owner-occupied share of households is 72%. The £410,000 median rests on 2,378 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026). Social housing holds 13% of households, between Dorset’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (18%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £545,000 | 1,004 |
| Semi-detached | £391,000 | 353 |
| Terraced | £330,000 | 427 |
| Flat or maisonette | £230,000 | 594 |
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 30% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Household income came to £50K a year before tax, lower than both Dorset’s towns (£53K) and England’s towns (£55K). About nearly a third of its commuters stay in Christchurch for work. There are 0.8 jobs in Christchurch for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 44% of recorded crime. Police recorded 1,888 crimes inside Christchurch’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 751 reports of anti-social behaviour. Burglary and damage came to 10.4 per 1,000 residents a year, above Dorset’s towns (7.8) and England’s towns (9.4) alike.
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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Christchurch’s listed buildings include Christchurch Priory and Parish Church, Grade I. Grade II* covers 11 of them, Grade I 7. Per 10,000 residents, Christchurch counts 48 listed buildings, below Dorset’s towns (103) but above England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
5 GP practices serve the town; 82% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 20% of people here had a disability, about level with Dorset’s towns (19%) and above England’s towns (17%). Women here live to 84.9 on average and men to 80.8 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Christchurch | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.6% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
234 listed buildings in Christchurch, 7 of them Grade I.
The Castle: Photo: Ulli1105 · CC BY 3.0 · Christchurch Priory and Parish Church: Photo: Bellminsterboy · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Redford Bridge: Photo: Ykraps · Public domain · Place Mill Bridge: Photo: Ethan Doyle White · CC BY-SA 4.0
37 notable people were born in Christchurch.
Don Finlay: RAF Official, 1941., Public domain · Daniel Lloyd: Matthieu Riegler English : This photo has been taken by Matthieu Riegler (User:Kyro) and released under the licenses stated below. You are free to use it for any purpose as long as you credit me as a…, CC BY 3.0 · Peter Allam: NED33, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Darryl Hunt: Redadeg, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gleeson White: Frederick Hollyer, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christchurch | 48,973 | — | B− | D− | B | B |
| Bransgore | 3,688 | 2.8 | B | D | A | A |
| Barton on Sea | 6,763 | 3.9 | B+ | D | A | A− |
| New Milton | 11,872 | 4.2 | C | C | C− | C+ |
| Bournemouth | 196,453 | 4.7 | C | D | D | C− |
| Ashley | 7,730 | 5.3 | C+ | C− | B | B |
| Hordle | 1,158 | 6.2 | — | D | A | A |
| West Parley | 3,665 | 6.5 | A | D− | A | A |
Hordle has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £410,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £230,000, terraced houses £330,000, semi-detached houses £391,000 and detached houses £545,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Large town in Dorset, England
Christchurch is a built-up area of 48,973 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
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.