Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1,833 people call this village in Gloucestershire, South West home.
Health is a strength: life expectancy 82.9 for men, 86.5 for women. Its lowest grade is for cost of living — homes sell for a median £429,000, about 7.5 times local household income. Natural hazards weigh more here: 0.6% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for schools and B for walkability.
Figures: life expectancy, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency · commuting, Census 2021. An overall grade needs 2,500 residents, so Painswick is graded subject by subject only.
Gloucestershire Police published 29 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Painswick 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 Painswick is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
An overall grade needs 2,500 residents, so Painswick is graded subject by subject only.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Painswick’s built-up area.
45% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Painswick.
Children under 15 make up 14%, below both Gloucestershire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for 6.4% of residents. The median resident of Painswick is 55.4 years old. Degrees are held by 57% of adults.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
| Painswick | Gloucestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 6.4% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 15% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 36% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 9.2% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 2.6% | 5.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 57% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gloucestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the 4 primary schools within 3 km: 63% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). There is one school here; it is shown below. 132 pupils attend Painswick’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Croft Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 132 | B |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Scaled to its population, Painswick has 1,320 listed buildings per 10,000 people, higher than both Gloucestershire’s towns (89) and England’s towns (39). Its listed buildings include Beacon House, Grade I. Grade II* covers 12 of them, Grade I 3. Of the town’s 242 listed buildings on Historic England’s list, Grade I counts 3 and Grade II* 12.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest A&E to Painswick is Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, 5.8 miles away. At the census, 4% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. One GP practice serves the town; 85% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Painswick | Gloucestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 16 offences in Painswick and 9 cases of nuisance behaviour. 69% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Property crime (burglary and damage) runs at 7.2 per 1,000 residents a year.
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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 49% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Nearly half of workers worked mainly from home, above Gloucestershire’s towns (32%) and England’s towns (31%) alike. Before tax, the average household brings in £66K a year. Work in town: 9% of resident commuters. Unemployment benefit claims reached 1.7% of 16 to 64s in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Council and housing-body homes hold 8% of households. 14% rent privately, below Gloucestershire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. From September 2023 to August 2026, 102 homes sold inside Painswick’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £429,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £785,000 | 37 |
| Semi-detached | £421,300 | 14 |
| Terraced | £370,625 | 24 |
| Flat or maisonette | £270,000 | 27 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Painswick. Best known first.
Historic housePainswick House300 m outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumThe Museum in the Park3.7 km outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionStroud Subscription Rooms4 km outside town, to the southArt galleryArt galleryLansdown Hall & Gallery3.8 km outside town, to the southZooZooPrinknash Bird and Deer Park3 km outside town, to the northAbbey or prioryAbbey or priorySaint Peter's Grange2.7 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
5 notable people were born in Painswick.
Hugh Algernon Weddell: Léopold Dubois, Public domain · Edward Stanton: Karol Beyer, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Painswick | 1,833 | — | — | C+ | B+ | A+ |
| Whiteshill and Randwick | 1,442 | 2.4 | — | C | A | B− |
| Stroud | 26,073 | 3.1 | B | B | D | B− |
| Upton St Leonards | 1,132 | 3.3 | — | C | A− | B+ |
| Brockworth | 12,007 | 4.1 | B | A− | C− | C |
| Chalford | 6,665 | 4.1 | A | B− | A | A |
| Brimscombe and Thrupp | 2,187 | 4.5 | — | B− | B− | A |
| Quedgeley and Hardwicke | 21,125 | 4.5 | B | C+ | C+ | B− |
Whiteshill and Randwick, Upton St Leonards and Brimscombe and Thrupp have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 54.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Beacon House.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £429,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £270,000, terraced houses £370,625, semi-detached houses £421,300 and detached houses £785,000.
Village in Gloucestershire, England
Painswick is a built-up area of 1,833 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.