Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,770 in Dorset, South West.
Pimperne grades A− overall against UK towns: better than 79% of UK towns. Its strongest subject is safety (A+): 6.3 violent and sexual offences and 3.4 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Its weakest is cost of living (D): median sale £410,000, 7.8 years of area income; rent £1,056 a month. Pimperne is a military garrison town: most residents serve or work for the armed forces and live in service housing, so it keeps its grades but isn’t ranked against other towns.
The 3 things Pimperne 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 Pimperne is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 10 buildings inside Pimperne’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
24% 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 Pimperne.
17% are under 15, between Dorset’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). The 65-and-over age group makes up 16% of residents. Ages in Pimperne split evenly at 32.9: half are older, half younger.
42% women, 58% men
About 72 women for every 100 men. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Pimperne is a garrison town: service personnel living in barracks count as residents.
| Pimperne | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 20% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 31% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 16% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 9.1% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 9.2% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 22% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Dorset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the town’s 2 primary schools, 58% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Pimperne Church of England VC Primary School’s results beat just over four in five schools in England like it. GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 37% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 43.2. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downlands Community SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 201 | D |
| Pimperne Church of England VC Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 183 | A− |
Reported offences in Pimperne came to 27 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 3. For its size, Pimperne records less crime per resident than 100% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. There were 1.1 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below Dorset’s towns (9.8) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Nearly three fifths of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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.
Of the 52 towns in Dorset, Pimperne has the second-smallest share in bad or very bad health: 2.4%. At the census, 91% of people in Pimperne called their health good or very good, above both Dorset’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%). Women here live to 86.8 on average and men to 83.2 (2019–23). This Dorset town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 2.3 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Pimperne | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 91% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.4% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 11% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Owners make up 58% of households, below Dorset’s towns (66%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. The social rented sector houses nearly one in ten households. Half of the 70 standard sales inside Pimperne’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £410,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £445,000 | 39 |
| Semi-detached | £427,000 | 13 |
| Terraced | £267,500 | 18 |
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 42% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
54% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. Work in town: nearly a quarter of resident commuters. Jobs per working resident: 1. Household income came to £64K a year before tax, higher than both Dorset’s towns (£52K) and England’s towns (£55K).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Pimperne counts 10 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 1 Grade II*. Scaled to its population, Pimperne has 36 listed buildings per 10,000 people, lower than Dorset’s towns (103) and near England’s towns (39). One scheduled monument lies here.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Pimperne. Best known first.
MuseumRoyal Signals Museumin town
Fort · National TrustHod Hill4.7 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumBlandford Fashion Museum2.8 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumBlandford Town Museum2.9 km outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionHall & Woodhouse Visitor Centre3.2 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pimperne | 2,770 | — | A− | D | A+ | A+ |
| Blandford Forum | 11,805 | 2.1 | C | C− | C+ | B− |
| Charlton Marshall | 1,084 | 2.9 | — | D | B+ | A |
| Sturminster Marshall | 1,504 | 5.6 | — | D− | A− | A |
| Shillingstone | 1,165 | 5.8 | — | D− | B− | A− |
| Child Okeford | 1,159 | 6 | — | D | A | A |
| Wimborne Minster | 16,629 | 8 | C+ | D− | B− | A− |
| Lytchett Matravers | 3,455 | 8.2 | A− | D− | A | A− |
Charlton Marshall, Sturminster Marshall, Shillingstone and Child Okeford 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 Pimperne is £2,657 for 2026–27, more than in 93% 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.
GCSE results trail 73% of towns in England, and primary results trail 69% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Pimperne has 2 state schools; places are handled by Dorset council.
Town in Dorset, England
Pimperne is a built-up area of 2,770 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.