Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Mortgage-free owners make up 45% of households. A town of 5,326 in East Sussex, South East.
Where it falls short is cost of living: a typical home costs £365,000 and rent runs £1,165 a month. Safety is weaker too: police record 25.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 13.1 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 37%. School results are strong: primary results beat 71% of towns in England; secondary results beat 68% of towns in England. The overall grade comes out at B−, better than 46% of UK towns. It ranks #9 of 26 in East Sussex. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: C+ for jobs & income and B for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Battle is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Battle does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 138 buildings inside Battle’s built-up area, 5 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
20% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1824.
Explore the history →138 listed buildings in Battle, 5 of them Grade I.
The Ruins of Battle Abbey: Photo: Antony McCallum · CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Almonry: Photo: don cload · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Battle Station: Photo: Paul Gillett · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bull Inn: Photo: Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Battle.
70% of households own their home, above both East Sussex’s towns (62%) and England’s towns (61%). The social rented sector houses 13% of households. The median sale, £365,000, comes from 215 standard sales inside Battle’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £537,500 | 75 |
| Semi-detached | £372,500 | 58 |
| Terraced | £303,700 | 39 |
| Flat or maisonette | £217,500 | 43 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the 5 primary schools within 3 km: nearly two thirds of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Both of the town’s schools appear below. Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 48, with 51% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battle and Langton Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 412 | B |
| Claverham Community CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,147 | B |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Battle’s listed buildings include Battle Abbey School, Grade I. Per 10,000 residents, Battle counts 259 listed buildings, above both East Sussex’s towns (69) and England’s towns (39). Also worth knowing: at the top of the list, 5 are Grade I and 6 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Children under 15 make up 18% of residents. 10% of residents are 15 to 24, below East Sussex’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. The age that splits Battle in two is 48.1.
54% women, 46% men
About 86 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.
| Battle | East Sussex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.9% | 4.9% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 35% | 36% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · East Sussex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Just over four in five commuters drove, above East Sussex’s towns (66%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. The average household earns £59K a year before tax. About 18% of its commuters stay in Battle for work. There are 1.2 jobs in Battle for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 94% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Life expectancy here is 84.7 for women and 81 for men (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Battle is Conquest Hospital, 4.2 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Battle | East Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.8% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 20% | 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.
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 324 offences in Battle and 86 cases of nuisance behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 15.9 reports per 1,000, above East Sussex’s towns (9.4) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. For its size, Battle records more crime per resident than 63% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
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
19 notable people were born in Battle.
William Frankland: Walker2721, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Émile Ali-Khan: Agence Rol, Public domain · Bertram Dobell: Signed by EJW., Public domain
Town in East Sussex, England
Battle is a built-up area of 5,326 people, in the Rother 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle | 5,326 | — | B− | D− | C+ | B+ |
| Ninfield | 1,296 | 3.4 | — | D | B− | A |
| Westfield | 1,271 | 4 | — | D− | D | B |
| Robertsbridge | 1,439 | 4.6 | — | D− | D | A |
| Bexhill-on-Sea | 43,750 | 5 | C− | D− | C | C− |
| Hastings | 91,497 | 5 | D | D− | D | D |
| Burwash | 1,335 | 7 | — | D− | B+ | B+ |
| Hurst Green | 1,181 | 7.1 | — | D− | B | A |
Ninfield, Westfield, Robertsbridge, Burwash and Hurst Green have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 10.6 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Battle Abbey School. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Band D council tax in Battle is £2,770 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.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £365,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £217,500, terraced houses £303,700, semi-detached houses £372,500 and detached houses £537,500.
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.