Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 16,629 residents and lies in Dorset, South West.
Real strengths, and real weak spots. Where it falls short is cost of living (D−): the median home sold for £390,000, 7.4 years of area income. Wimborne Minster’s overall grade is C+, better than 43% of UK towns. Its place in the ranking is #11 of 30 in Dorset. Schools are weaker too: primary results beat 33% of towns in England; secondary results beat 43% of towns in England. Health is its strong suit: life expectancy is 81.4 for men and 86.7 for women. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for safety, B for jobs & income and B− for walkability.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Wimborne Minster 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 Wimborne Minster is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 183 buildings inside Wimborne Minster’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 4 scheduled monuments.
14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1903.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Wimborne Minster.
70% of households are owner-occupiers. Behind the median of £390,000: 837 standard sales inside Wimborne Minster’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026. Private rents average £1,056 a month across the Dorset council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £520,000 | 289 |
| Semi-detached | £388,750 | 218 |
| Terraced | £325,000 | 182 |
| Flat or maisonette | £220,000 | 148 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Attainment 8 at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km averages 45.1, and 43% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Below are two of its 7 schools, each with why it was picked. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 2 primary schools: 58% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wimborne First School and NurseryLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 400 | – |
| St Michael's Church of England Middle School, ColehillLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 563 | B− |
2 GP practices serve the town; 83% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Wimborne Minster is Poole Hospital, 5.7 miles away. Disability touches 18% of the town’s population.
| Census 2021 | Wimborne Minster | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.1% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Wimborne Minster’s listed buildings include Dean's Court, Grade I. Per 10,000 residents, Wimborne Minster counts 110 listed buildings, above both Dorset’s towns (98) and England’s towns (39). At the top of the list, 2 are Grade I and 9 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 32% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
15% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below Dorset’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (27%) alike. Average household income comes to £58K a year before tax. Work in town: 19% of resident commuters. For every resident in work, Wimborne Minster has 0.9 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Children under 15 make up 16%, higher than Dorset’s towns (15%) yet lower than England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are 9% of the population. The middle age in Wimborne Minster is 48.6. Degrees are held by 37% of adults.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
| Wimborne Minster | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.1% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Dorset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 15.6 reports per 1,000, above Dorset’s towns (8.8) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 781 crimes and 304 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Wimborne Minster’s built-up area. Also worth knowing: of all the crimes, 51% 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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Wimborne Minster. Best known first.
MuseumMuseum of East Dorsetin town
Historic house · National TrustKingston Lacy Estate2.3 km outside town, to the west
Fort · National TrustBadbury Rings4.6 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionWalford Mill Craftsin townAttractionAttraction · National TrustWhite Mill4.3 km outside town, to the westAttractionAttractionHoneyBrook Farm1.3 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
183 listed buildings in Wimborne Minster, 2 of them Grade I.
The Minster Church of St Cuthburga: Photo: Chris Downer · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dean's Court: Photo: Mike Searle · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Priest's House Museum: Photo: Mike Searle · CC BY-SA 2.0 · House Adjoining King's Head Hotel: Photo: Ethan Doyle White · CC BY-SA 4.0
19 notable people were born in Wimborne Minster.
Robert Fripp: Sean Coon from Greensboro, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Montague Druitt: Unknown English photographer, Public domain · George Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk: Brendandh at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Alex Burghart: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0 · Alfred Dudley Ward: Harry Pot for Anefo, CC0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wimborne Minster | 16,629 | — | C+ | D− | B− | A− |
| Merley | 5,489 | 1.5 | A | D− | A+ | A |
| Bearwood | 4,134 | 3.1 | C | D | C+ | C |
| Corfe Mullen | 10,036 | 3.2 | A− | D− | A | A |
| Ferndown | 13,267 | 3.3 | B− | D− | A− | B+ |
| West Parley | 3,665 | 3.9 | A | D− | A | A |
| West Moors | 10,432 | 4 | C− | D | B+ | B− |
| Sturminster Marshall | 1,504 | 4.7 | — | D− | A− | A |
Sturminster Marshall has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 4.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include The Minster Church of St Cuthburga. It also has 4 scheduled monuments.
Band D council tax in Wimborne Minster is £2,745 for 2026–27, more than in 98% 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.
Town in Dorset, England
Wimborne Minster is a built-up area of 16,629 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.