Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,044 in Dorset, South West.
Wool grades C overall against UK towns: better than 34% of UK towns. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 22% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is schools (D): primary results beat 11% of towns in England. The median home sold for £305,000 in the last three years, 5.8 times what households in the Dorset council area earn in a year. Wool 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 2 things Wool 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 Wool is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 39 buildings inside Wool’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
5% 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 Wool. Best known first.
MuseumThe Tank Museumin town
Historic house · National TrustClouds Hill500 m outside town, to the northwest
Castle · English HeritageLulworth Castle3.9 km outside town, to the south
ZooMonkey World400 m outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumCider Museum4.1 km outside town, to the westAttractionAttractionLulworth Castle and Park3.9 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Wool.
One of its 4 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bovington AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 180 | C+ |
Social housing holds 19% of households, above Dorset’s towns (12%) and close to England’s towns (18%). 58% of households own their home.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £405,000 | 51 |
| Semi-detached | £305,000 | 39 |
| Terraced | £271,000 | 42 |
| Flat or maisonette | £162,000 | 17 |
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 17% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
17% of workers worked mainly from home, below both Dorset’s towns (28%) and England’s towns (31%). For 42% of commuters, work was under 5 km away.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
In the comparison, Wool comes below both Dorset’s towns (8) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 152 crimes inside Wool’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 50 reports of anti-social behaviour. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Wool has less crime per resident than 77% of them.
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
82% of Wool’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 81% across Dorset’s towns. 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 | Wool | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.2% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Wool has 39 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 5% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
For Wool, that is above both Dorset’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for 14% of residents. Half the people of Wool are older than 37.6.
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Wool is a garrison town: service personnel living in barracks count as residents.
| Wool | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 21% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Dorset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
39 listed buildings in Wool.
Rose Mullion Tea Rooms: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Poorhouse Barn the Old Barn: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gingerbread Cottage: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Burvan House: Photo: Michael Dibb · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wool | 5,044 | — | C | C− | B+ | C+ |
| Bere Regis | 1,320 | 4 | — | D | B | A− |
| Crossways | 2,494 | 4.5 | — | C− | A− | B+ |
| Wareham | 5,876 | 4.7 | C | D− | B− | B |
| Sandford | 2,004 | 5.6 | — | D | A | B+ |
| Milborne St Andrew | 1,090 | 6.2 | — | D | A− | A |
| Puddletown | 1,193 | 6.4 | — | D | A+ | B+ |
| Lytchett Matravers | 3,455 | 7.7 | A− | D− | A | A− |
Bere Regis, Crossways, Sandford, Milborne St Andrew and Puddletown have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.2 times the typical UK town for its size.
Band D council tax in Wool is £2,694 for 2026–27, more than in 95% 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.
Police recorded 152 crimes inside Wool’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 61% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Town in Dorset, England
Wool is a built-up area of 5,044 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.