Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,665 in Gloucestershire, South West.
Plenty in its favour, and one clear drawback. Its best grade is for health — life expectancy 82.7 for men, 85.7 for women. Overall, Chalford earns an A, which places it #3 of 48 in Gloucestershire. On that grade it does better than 90% of UK towns. What holds it back is walkability: just over one in ten commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Hazard risk is weaker too: 1.3% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. Buying the median home, at £375,000, takes 6.5 years of household income in the Stroud council area.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
Gloucestershire Police published 29 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Chalford 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 Chalford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 113 buildings inside Chalford’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade II*.
28% 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 Chalford.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Per 10,000 residents, Chalford counts 170 listed buildings, above both Gloucestershire’s towns (89) and England’s towns (39). Historic England’s list names 113 listed buildings here: 3 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Two of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 47.3, with 42% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Between them, three primaries and one secondary teach 1,154 pupils in Chalford.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chalford Hill Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 195 | B− |
| Thomas Keble SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 718 | B− |
A disability affects 15% of people in Chalford. 85% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above both Gloucestershire’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%). One GP practice serves the town; 96% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Chalford is Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, 10 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Chalford | Gloucestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.6% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 17% | 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.
Per 1,000 residents, 3.8 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded a year. Violence came to 13.5 per 1,000 residents a year, below Gloucestershire’s towns (23) and England’s towns (22) alike. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 73 recorded crimes inside Chalford’s built-up area, and 18 reports of anti-social behaviour. Also worth knowing: among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Chalford has less crime per resident than 94% 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
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 39% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Unemployment benefit claims came to 1.3% of 16 to 64s in 2026, below Gloucestershire’s towns (2.2%) and England’s towns (2.3%) alike. At the census, 88% of commuters went by car. For a third 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
12% of households are private tenants. Social housing holds 4% of households, below Gloucestershire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £1,041 a month across the Stroud council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £487,475 | 142 |
| Semi-detached | £350,000 | 67 |
| Terraced | £245,000 | 79 |
| Flat or maisonette | £175,000 | 7 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Aged 15 to 24: 9.9% of residents. Chalford has a median age of 49.6 years. Degrees are held by 43% of adults, higher than both Gloucestershire’s towns (34%) and England’s towns (34%).
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Chalford | Gloucestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 32% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 9.9% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.4% | 5.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 43% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gloucestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Chalford. Best known first.
Historic houseGatcombe Park2.7 km outside town, to the south
Historic houseRodmarton Manor4.8 km outside town, to the southeast
Museum · English HeritageDunkirk Mill Museum4 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumRMC: The Cavein townHistoric siteHistoric site · English HeritageWindmill Tump4.4 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
113 listed buildings in Chalford.
Church of St John the Baptist: Photo: ChurchCrawler · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Roman Catholic Church of St Mary of the Angels: Photo: Rodw · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Canal Round House: Photo: David Stowell · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Belvedere Mill: Photo: Christine Johnstone · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chalford | 6,665 | — | A | B− | A | A |
| Brimscombe and Thrupp | 2,187 | 1.4 | — | B− | B− | A |
| Minchinhampton | 3,412 | 2.1 | A− | C | B+ | A |
| Amberley | 1,300 | 2.9 | — | C | A+ | A |
| Stroud | 26,073 | 3.1 | B | B | D | B− |
| Avening | 1,054 | 3.4 | — | C− | A | A |
| Nailsworth | 5,657 | 3.7 | B+ | B− | C | B |
| Painswick | 1,833 | 4.1 | — | C+ | B+ | A+ |
Brimscombe and Thrupp, Amberley, Avening and Painswick have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 7 times the typical UK town for its size.
Police recorded 73 crimes inside Chalford’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 47% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £375,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £175,000, terraced houses £245,000, semi-detached houses £350,000 and detached houses £487,475. Household incomes are higher than in 73% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B−.
Town in Gloucestershire, England
Chalford is a built-up area of 6,665 people, in the Stroud 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.