Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,208 in Dorset, South West.
Weston grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 21% of UK towns, and #24 of 30 in Dorset. Its strongest subject is hazard risk (A): 0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its weakest is schools (C−): primary results beat 38% of towns in England; secondary results beat 5% of towns in England. The median home sold for £235,000 in the last three years, 4.5 times what households in the Dorset council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Weston 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 Weston is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 62 buildings inside Weston’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
29% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Weston. Best known first.
CastleRufus Castlein town
CastlePennsylvania Castlein town
MuseumPortland Museumin town
Castle · English HeritagePortland Castle1.7 km outside town, to the north
CastleSandsfoot Castle4.9 km outside town, to the north
MuseumTout Quarry200 m outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Weston.
That puts Weston below both Dorset’s towns (31%) and England’s towns (34%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for 9.6% of residents. Half the people of Weston are older than 46.6.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Weston | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.8% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 23% | 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.
On this, Weston is above both Dorset’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (16%). Weston has 119 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents. Weston’s listed buildings include Church of St George, Reforne, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 15% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In the comparison, Weston comes below both Dorset’s towns (48%) and England’s towns (45%). 15% of workers worked mainly from home at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
For Weston, that is above both Dorset’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Weston is Dorset County Hospital, 11.7 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.
| Census 2021 | Weston | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.7% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Weston sits above both Dorset’s towns (66%) and England’s towns (61%) on this measure. Social housing holds 10% of households. Weston is the second cheapest of the 32 towns in Dorset, at £235,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £325,000 | 31 |
| Semi-detached | £255,000 | 34 |
| Terraced | £225,000 | 151 |
| Flat or maisonette | £135,000 | 25 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Burglary and damage came to 11.3 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Dorset’s towns (7.8) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 272 crimes inside Weston’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 101 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 59% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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
62 listed buildings in Weston, 1 of them Grade I.
Rufus Castle: Photo: Mike Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Pennsylvania Castle Hotel with Attached Walls: Photo: Mike Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0 · St George's Centre: Photo: Broichmore · CC BY-SA 4.0 · High Croft Cottage: Photo: Mike Smith · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weston | 5,208 | — | C− | C | C+ | C |
| Southwell | 1,700 | 0.9 | — | C | A | C+ |
| Grove | 1,032 | 1 | — | C | D | C− |
| Fortuneswell | 4,554 | 1.3 | D | C+ | C− | C− |
| Weymouth | 55,540 | 5.3 | D | C− | C− | C |
| Chickerell | 3,973 | 6 | C | D | B+ | B− |
| Dorchester | 21,358 | 12 | C | D | C+ | C+ |
| Crossways | 2,494 | 12 | — | C− | A− | B+ |
Southwell, Grove and Crossways have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 4.9 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St George, Reforne. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Band D council tax in Weston is £2,782 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.
Places are handled by Dorset council.
Town in Dorset, England
Weston is a built-up area of 5,208 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.