Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Dorset, South West has a population of 3,565.
Several subjects drag its grade down. With a C− overall, Sturminster Newton is better than nearly a fifth of UK towns and ranks #25 of 30 in Dorset. Its weakest subject is schools: primary results beat 12% of towns in England; secondary results beat 18% of towns in England. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 25% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. A median £276,000 buys a home here, 5.3 times what households in the Dorset council area earn in a year.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
The 3 things Sturminster 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 Sturminster Newton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 98 buildings inside Sturminster Newton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
17% 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 Sturminster Newton.
Children under 15 make up 15%, near Dorset’s towns (15%) and lower than England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are nearly a tenth of the population. At 48.2, the median resident of Sturminster Newton sits in the middle of the age range. Degrees are held by 26% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Sturminster Newton | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.7% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.1% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 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: 36% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 41.4. 52% of pupils at the one primary school within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Between them, one primary and one secondary teach 767 pupils in Sturminster Newton.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Barnes Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 162 | C− |
| Sturminster Newton High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 605 | C |
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.
Sturminster Newton counts 1.1 jobs per working resident. 39% of commuters travelled under 5 km, below Dorset’s towns (48%) and England’s towns (45%) alike. Working from home was the norm for just over a fifth of workers at the census.
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.
Sturminster Newton’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. Historic England’s list names 98 listed buildings in the town: 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. Conservation areas cover 23% of the town’s land, above both Dorset’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
20% live in social housing, above both Dorset’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (18%). Behind the median of £276,000: 198 standard sales inside Sturminster Newton’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026. Households that own their home make up 60%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £375,000 | 56 |
| Semi-detached | £277,000 | 53 |
| Terraced | £250,000 | 63 |
| Flat or maisonette | £126,500 | 26 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Police figures for Sturminster Newton’s built-up area: 190 crimes and 104 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. There were 18.6 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above Dorset’s towns (8.8) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Of all the crimes, 63% were 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.
Just over a fifth of residents in Sturminster Newton live with a disability, and at the census, 6% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above Dorset’s towns (5.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. The nearest A&E to Sturminster Newton is Yeovil District Hospital, 14.7 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 87% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Sturminster Newton | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Sturminster Newton. Best known first.
Historic house · English HeritageFiddleford Manor1 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseStock Gaylard House4.8 km outside town, to the westCastleCastleSturminster Castle200 m outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
98 listed buildings in Sturminster Newton, 1 of them Grade I.
Sturminster Newton Mill: Photo: Marilyn Peddle · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Market Cross: Photo: Trish Steel · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The White Hart Hotel: Photo: Trish Steel · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Red Lion House: Photo: Chris Downer · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sturminster Newton | 3,565 | — | C− | C− | C+ | B− |
| Marnhull | 1,466 | 2.9 | — | D | A− | B |
| Child Okeford | 1,159 | 2.9 | — | D | A | A |
| Shillingstone | 1,165 | 3.4 | — | D− | B− | A− |
| Stalbridge | 2,367 | 3.8 | — | C− | A− | B− |
| Henstridge | 1,579 | 5.1 | — | B | C− | B |
| Templecombe | 1,657 | 6.9 | — | C+ | C+ | B+ |
| Shaftesbury | 9,163 | 7.2 | C− | C− | C+ | B |
Marnhull, Child Okeford, Shillingstone, Stalbridge, Henstridge and Templecombe have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 11.3 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 Sturminster Newton is £2,929 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.
GCSE results trail 82% of towns in England, and primary results trail 88% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Sturminster Newton has 3 state schools; places are handled by Dorset council.
Town in Dorset, England
Sturminster Newton is a built-up area of 3,565 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.