Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 11,009 in Dorset, South West.
Gillingham grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 38% of UK towns, and #13 of 30 in Dorset. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 18% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (C−): 2.1% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £260,000 in the last three years, 5 times what households in the Dorset council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Gillingham 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 Gillingham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 41 buildings inside Gillingham’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
12% 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 Gillingham.
Children under 15 make up 15%, about level with Dorset’s towns (15%) and below England’s towns (18%). Over-65s are 27% of the population. The age that splits Gillingham in two is 48.5. One in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
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.
| Gillingham | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.8% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.7% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Dorset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Between them, three primaries and one secondary teach 636 pupils in Gillingham. Wyke Primary School’s results beat 75% of schools in England like it. Of its 4 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. 55% of pupils at the town’s 3 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 242 | B− |
| Gillingham SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | – | B− |
| Wyke Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 161 | A− |
Social housing holds 10% of households. 19% rent privately, below Dorset’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. Private rents average £1,056 a month across the Dorset council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £377,000 | 253 |
| Semi-detached | £250,000 | 180 |
| Terraced | £222,000 | 173 |
| Flat or maisonette | £119,500 | 80 |
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 21% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car carried 80% of commuters at the census. Working mainly from home: 21% of workers, lower than both Dorset’s towns (28%) and England’s towns (31%). 2.8% 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
One GP practice serves the town; just over three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Gillingham is Yeovil District Hospital, 16.8 miles away. Life expectancy here is 84.5 for women and 81 for men (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Gillingham | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
44% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 380 recorded crimes inside Gillingham’s built-up area, and 142 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence came to 20 per 1,000 residents a year, close to both Dorset’s towns (16.7) and England’s towns (22).
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.
Gillingham’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. Scaled to its population, Gillingham has 37 listed buildings per 10,000 people, lower than Dorset’s towns (103) and near England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Gillingham. Best known first.
Abbey or prioryShaftsbury Abbey Museum4.6 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumMere Museum4.2 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumVisit Hillbrush4.2 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumGold Hill4.7 km outside town, to the southeastCastleCastleMere Castle4.4 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
41 listed buildings in Gillingham, 1 of them Grade I.
Wyke Brewery: Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Red Lion: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Town Bridge: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Lock-Up: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gillingham | 11,009 | — | C+ | C− | B | B |
| Motcombe | 1,366 | 2.8 | — | D− | A+ | A |
| Mere | 2,808 | 3.6 | A− | B | B | A− |
| Shaftesbury | 9,163 | 4.6 | C− | C− | C+ | B |
| Marnhull | 1,466 | 5 | — | D | A− | B |
| Wincanton | 6,744 | 5.9 | C− | C+ | C− | B− |
| Templecombe | 1,657 | 6.6 | — | C+ | C+ | B+ |
| Henstridge | 1,579 | 6.8 | — | B | C− | B |
Motcombe, Marnhull, Templecombe and Henstridge have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Band D council tax in Gillingham is £2,893 for 2026–27, more than in almost all 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.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Dorset, England
Gillingham is a built-up area of 11,009 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.