Swanage grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 18% of UK towns, and #26 of 30 in Dorset. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 31% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is cost of living (D−): median sale £365,000, 7 years of area income; rent £1,056 a month.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Swanage is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Swanage.
Who lives here
Older residents shape Swanage: 35% are 65 or over, above Dorset’s towns and England’s towns
On this, Swanage is above both Dorset’s towns (25%) and England’s towns (18%). Children under 15 make up 12% of residents. Swanage has a median age of 56.4.
56.4median age
SwanageDorsetEngland
Ages · share of residents
35%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications17%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar16%
Degree level32%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 92 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.
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
History
Swanage keeps more of its old housing than Dorset or England’s towns: 29% built before 1919
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For Swanage, that is above both Dorset’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (16%). Swanage has 160 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents. Swanage has 146 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 1 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Safety
Swanage has less crime per resident than 57% of UK towns
Police recorded 349 crimes inside Swanage’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 107 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 54% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking, so it runs higher than U.S. “violent crime”.
21.3violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearBSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 61% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual190
Shoplifting37
Other theft32
Damage & arson31
Public order15
Burglary14
Drugs8
Vehicle crime8
Anti-social107
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.
21.3
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
8.1
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
11.4
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
Health
Only 77% of people in Swanage say their health is good or very good, fewer than in Dorset’s towns and England’s towns
Swanage sits below both Dorset’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%) on this measure. The nearest A&E to Swanage is Poole Hospital, 7.8 miles away. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Sandford has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Swanage
How many listed buildings are there in Swanage?
That is 6.6 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
How much is council tax in Swanage?
Band D council tax in Swanage is £2,818 for 2026–27, more than in 99% 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.
Does Swanage flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
About Swanage
Town in Dorset, England
Swanage is a built-up area of 9,115 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
Population
9,115 (Census 2021)
Council
Dorset
County
Dorset
Region
South West
Area
1.3 sq mi (3.4 km²)
ONS code
E63006818
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.
