Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1,128 residents make their home in this village in Dorset, South West. Walking, cycling and public transport carry 11% of commuters.
Maiden Newton is a safe place by the numbers: 12.1 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 8.3 home and vehicle crimes. Its weakest is cost of living (C): the median home sold for £270,000, 5.2 years of area income. Jobs and pay trail most towns: the mean household earns £47,749 a year. Hazard risk is weaker too: 3.2% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency. An overall grade needs 2,500 residents, so Maiden Newton is graded subject by subject only.
The 3 things Maiden Newton 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 Maiden Newton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
An overall grade needs 2,500 residents, so Maiden Newton is graded subject by subject only.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Maiden Newton’s built-up area, along with 2 scheduled monuments.
41% 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 Maiden Newton.
17% are under 15, about level with England’s towns (18%) and above Dorset’s towns (15%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for 8% of residents. Line up the people of Maiden Newton by age and the one in the middle is 49.7.
54% women, 46% men
About 87 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.
| Maiden Newton | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 34% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Dorset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 32% of Maiden Newton’s land, higher than both Dorset’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (7%). The town’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. It has 177 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents. Grade II* covers 1 of them, Grade I 1.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Reported offences in Maiden Newton came to 47 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 8. Violence and sexual offences made up 36% of the total. There were 7.1 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), lower than both Dorset’s towns (9.8) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
Owners make up two thirds of households. Private rents average £1,056 a month across the Dorset council area. Social housing holds 17% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £395,000 | 15 |
| Semi-detached | £315,000 | 12 |
| Terraced | £235,000 | 20 |
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 28% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
About nearly a tenth of its commuters stay in Maiden Newton for work. The car took 88% of commuters, above both Dorset’s towns (76%) and England’s towns (70%). There are 0.4 jobs in Maiden Newton for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The nearest A&E to Maiden Newton is Dorset County Hospital, 7 miles away. 20% of residents have a disability, near Dorset’s towns (19%) and higher than England’s towns (17%). There is no GP practice in the town: the nearest is 4.7 miles off. Men in Maiden Newton can expect to live to 81.2, women to 85.9 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Maiden Newton | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.5% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maiden Newton | 1,128 | — | — | C | A− | B |
| Charlton Down | 1,487 | 5.3 | — | C | A+ | B+ |
| Charminster | 1,732 | 5.7 | — | D | A− | B+ |
| Dorchester | 21,358 | 7.3 | C | D | C+ | C+ |
| Beaminster | 2,995 | 7.7 | C | D | A− | B |
| Bradpole | 1,257 | 7.7 | — | D | A− | C+ |
| Bridport | 12,294 | 8.8 | C− | D | C+ | B− |
| Barwick and Stoford | 1,095 | 9.9 | — | A− | C | B− |
Charlton Down, Charminster, Bradpole and Barwick and Stoford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 7.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Band D council tax in Maiden Newton is £2,702 for 2026–27, more than in 96% 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.
Village in Dorset, England
Maiden Newton is a built-up area of 1,128 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.