Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Gloucestershire, South West, this town has 5,023 residents.
At C overall, Coleford ranks #46 of 48 in Gloucestershire. On that grade it does better than 28% of UK towns. Work and incomes lag (D): households earn a mean £43,266 a year, and 3.6% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. It also trails on safety — 43.6 violent and sexual offences and 13.9 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 11%. Its best grade is for cost of living — a typical home costs £239,950 and rent runs £828 a month. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for schools and B− for walkability.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021.
Gloucestershire Police published 29 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Coleford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 2 things Coleford does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 22 buildings inside Coleford’s built-up area.
15% 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 1900.
Explore the history →22 listed buildings in Coleford.
Angel Hotel: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Independant Congregational Chapel: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St John: Photo: John Lord · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Caragh House Flats: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Coleford.
There were 27.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above Gloucestershire’s towns (9.1) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 145 offences in Coleford and 41 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up 48% of the total.
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.
At the town’s 2 primary schools, 63% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 45.9, and 48% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Some 348 pupils attend Coleford’s two primaries.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coalway Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 193 | B |
Line up the people of Coleford by age and the one in the middle is 47.2. 9% of the population is aged 15 to 24, below both Gloucestershire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Children are 16% of the town.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Coleford | Gloucestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 5.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gloucestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Coleford has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 4 miles away. At the census, 6.7% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, higher than both Gloucestershire’s towns (4.5%) and England’s towns (5.2%). What’s more, 23% of residents in Coleford live with a disability. The nearest A&E to Coleford is Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, 17.2 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Coleford | Gloucestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.7% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 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.
Coleford is the second cheapest of the 48 towns in Gloucestershire, at £239,950. Owners make up just over three in five households. From September 2023 to August 2026, 253 homes sold inside the town’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £239,950.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £335,497 | 94 |
| Semi-detached | £220,000 | 75 |
| Terraced | £183,000 | 50 |
| Flat or maisonette | £115,000 | 34 |
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 21% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 83% of commuters, above Gloucestershire’s towns (78%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Just over a third of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 3.6%.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 15% of the total, below Gloucestershire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. Listed buildings per head: 44 for every 10,000 residents of Coleford.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Coleford. Best known first.
MuseumColeford Great Western Railway Museumin town
CastleClearwell Castle1.8 km outside town, to the south
MuseumClearwell Caves1.1 km outside town, to the southArt galleryArt galleryForest of Dean Sculpture Trail3.7 km outside town, to the eastPark or estatePark or estate · National TrustThe Kymin3.9 km outside town, to the westAttractionAttraction · National TrustThe Round House3.9 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
9 notable people were born in Coleford.
Emma Hatton: Martello736, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Elmes Yelverton Steele: unknown, circa 1810, Public domain
Town in Gloucestershire, England
Coleford is a built-up area of 5,023 people, in the Forest of Dean 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coleford | 5,023 | — | C | B+ | D | C |
| Broadwell and Coalway | 3,304 | 0.9 | C+ | B | B− | C |
| Berry Hill | 2,211 | 1.1 | — | B− | C | C+ |
| Welsh Bicknor | 1,988 | 3.6 | — | B | B+ | B− |
| Bream | 3,117 | 3.7 | C | B+ | C+ | B− |
| Monmouth | 10,330 | 4.3 | C− | C | C | B− |
| Yorkley and Whitecroft | 2,678 | 4.3 | C+ | B− | B+ | B |
| Ruspidge | 2,431 | 4.9 | — | A− | B− | C− |
Berry Hill, Welsh Bicknor and Ruspidge have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Burglary was rare, with 7 reports in the year.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
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.