Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,741 in Dorset, South West. People aged 65 and over make up 40% of residents.
Lyme Regis’s grades pull in different directions. This Dorset town ranks #16 of 30 in Dorset, with a C overall. It comes out better than 33% of UK towns. Buying in is costly (D−): a typical home costs £450,000 and rent runs £1,056 a month. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (A): 28% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Add health to its strengths (B+) — men here can expect to live to 79.7, women to 84.5.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · life expectancy, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Lyme Regis 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 Lyme Regis is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 209 buildings inside Lyme Regis’s built-up area, 5 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
24% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1797.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Lyme Regis.
People 65 and over make up two fifths of the town. 7.6% of the population is aged 15 to 24, lower than both Dorset’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Ages in Lyme Regis split evenly at 59.9: half are older, half younger. Among adults, 39% have a degree.
52% women, 48% 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.
| Lyme Regis | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 10% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.6% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 13% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 40% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.5% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 39% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Dorset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 53% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 50. Its two schools are listed below. 45% of pupils at the 3 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Michael's CofE Primary School, Lyme RegisLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 59 | C− |
| The Woodroffe SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 886 | B+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up nearly a quarter of the total, higher than both Dorset’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (16%). Lyme Regis counts 209 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 5 Grade I, 5 Grade II*. Its listed buildings include the Bridge 15 Yards North East of Buddle Bridge, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Owners make up 70% of households, higher than both Dorset’s towns (66%) and England’s towns (61%). 16% of households rent from a council or housing body. 189 standard sales inside Lyme Regis’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £450,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £660,000 | 89 |
| Semi-detached | £360,000 | 25 |
| Terraced | £375,000 | 31 |
| Flat or maisonette | £292,500 | 44 |
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 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
39% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. The car took 69% of commuters, below Dorset’s towns (76%) and close to England’s towns (70%). Among 16 to 64s, 3.3% claimed unemployment benefits in 2026. About just over a third of its commuters stay in Lyme Regis for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The nearest A&E to Lyme Regis is Yeovil District Hospital, 19.9 miles away. At the census, 79% of people in Lyme Regis called their health good or very good, below Dorset’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. One GP practice serves the town; 85% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Lyme Regis | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 13.9 reports per 1,000, higher than both Dorset’s towns (8.8) and England’s towns (7.8). Police figures for Lyme Regis’s built-up area: 123 crimes and 40 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences were 57% of the crimes.
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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Lyme Regis. Best known first.
MuseumDinosaurland Fossil Museumin town
MuseumLyme Regis Museumin town
MuseumCharmouth Heritage Coast Centre1.9 km outside town, to the east
FortMusbury Castle4.6 km outside town, to the westAquariumAquariumLyme Regis Marine Aquariumin townAttractionAttractionThe Cobbin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
209 listed buildings in Lyme Regis, 5 of them Grade I.
Parish Church of St Michael: Photo: Jim · CC BY 2.0 · Buddle Bridge: Photo: Chris Talbot · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Cobb Piers and Walls Including North Wall: Photo: Chris Eaton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Town Mills, Mill House: Photo: Paul the Archivist · CC BY-SA 4.0
9 notable people were born in Lyme Regis.
Mary Anning: Credited to 'Mr. Grey' in Crispin Tickell's book 'Mary Anning of Lyme Regis' (1996), Public domain · John Gould: T.H. Maguire (1821–1895), Public domain · Thomas Coram: William Hogarth, Public domain · George Somers: Charles Xavier Harris, Public domain · Eliza Grey: William Gush (1813 - 1888), Public domain · Thomas Larkham: Charles Knowles Bolton, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyme Regis | 3,741 | — | C | D− | B− | B+ |
| Uplyme | 1,053 | 0.9 | — | C− | A | A |
| Charmouth | 1,337 | 1.7 | — | D− | A− | B+ |
| Axminster | 6,094 | 4.5 | D | B | D | C+ |
| Colyton | 1,938 | 5.8 | — | C | A− | A |
| Seaton | 7,429 | 6 | B+ | C+ | B | B− |
| Beer | 1,280 | 7.3 | — | C+ | A− | A |
| Bridport | 12,294 | 7.9 | C− | D | C+ | B− |
Uplyme, Charmouth, Colyton and Beer have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 22.9 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Bridge 15 Yards North East of Buddle Bridge. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Band D council tax in Lyme Regis is £2,692 for 2026–27, more than in 95% 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.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £450,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £292,500, terraced houses £375,000, semi-detached houses £360,000 and detached houses £660,000.
Town in Dorset, England
Lyme Regis is a built-up area of 3,741 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.