Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 4,966 people, this town lies in Gloucestershire, South West. Mortgage-free owners make up 42% of households.
Wotton-under-Edge’s strongest subject is health: life expectancy 81.6 for men, 84.9 for women. It takes 6.1 years of household income in the Stroud council area to buy the median home, at £349,000. Natural hazards weigh more here (C): 1.2% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The overall grade lands at A−, #8 of 48 in Gloucestershire. Set against the rest, it does better than 83% of UK towns. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for safety and B for walkability.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · 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.
The 3 things Wotton-under-Edge 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 Wotton-under-Edge is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 190 buildings inside Wotton-under-Edge’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
27% 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 Wotton-under-Edge.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Wotton-under-Edge’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. It has 190 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 4 Grade II*. 27% of homes were built before 1919. Conservation areas cover 16% of the town’s land, above Gloucestershire’s towns (9%) and England’s towns (7%) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 2 primary schools: 66% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Wotton-under-Edge’s two primaries have 493 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Coat CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 316 | B |
People aged 15 to 24 make up 9.1% of the town, lower than both Gloucestershire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). The middle age in Wotton-under-Edge is 47.6. Children under 15 make up 16% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Wotton-under-Edge | Gloucestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.1% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.1% | 5.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 40% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gloucestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest A&E to Wotton-under-Edge is Southmead Hospital, 14.2 miles away. Men in Wotton-under-Edge can expect to live to 81.6, women to 84.9 (2019–23). Also worth knowing: 2 GP practices serve the town; 84% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Wotton-under-Edge | Gloucestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 37% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Household income came to £64K a year before tax, above Gloucestershire’s towns (£59K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike. 16% of commuters left the car at home at the census, walking, cycling or taking public transport. The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 1.9%.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Owners make up 70% of households, about level with Gloucestershire’s towns (68%) and above England’s towns (61%). Private rents average £1,041 a month across the Stroud council area. 176 standard sales inside Wotton-under-Edge’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £349,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £472,500 | 66 |
| Semi-detached | £314,000 | 53 |
| Terraced | £292,475 | 44 |
| Flat or maisonette | £180,000 | 13 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Of all the crimes, 52% were violence and sexual offences. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 63 recorded crimes inside Wotton-under-Edge’s built-up area, and 31 reports of anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 14.2 reports per 1,000, above Gloucestershire’s towns (9.1) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Wotton-under-Edge. Best known first.
Abbey or priory · English HeritageKingswood Abbey1.1 km outside town, to the southwest
Historic house · National TrustNewark Park1.4 km outside town, to the eastGardenGarden · National TrustEast Garden1.4 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumDursley Heritage Centre4.3 km outside town, to the northAttractionAttractionThe Lake4.5 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
190 listed buildings in Wotton-under-Edge, 1 of them Grade I.
The Ancient Ram Inn: Photo: Brian Robert Marshall · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Court: Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Town Hall: Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chapel at Hugh Perry Almshouses: Photo: Peter Jeffery · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
3 notable people were born in Wotton-under-Edge.
Sean Rigg: EchetusXe, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wotton-under-Edge | 4,966 | — | A− | C+ | B | A− |
| Kingswood | 1,409 | 1 | — | B− | A− | A |
| Charfield | 2,833 | 2.3 | B+ | C | B+ | A |
| Dursley | 7,935 | 3.3 | C | B+ | C+ | C |
| Wickwar | 1,701 | 3.6 | — | D | B | A |
| Hawkesbury Upton | 1,001 | 4.1 | — | D | A | A |
| Cam | 7,730 | 4.5 | B− | B | B− | B |
| Berkeley | 2,250 | 6.1 | — | B | C+ | B− |
Kingswood, Wickwar, Hawkesbury Upton and Berkeley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 15.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary.
Primary results beat 73%. Wotton-under-Edge has 2 state schools; places are handled by Gloucestershire council.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Gloucestershire, England
Wotton-under-Edge is a built-up area of 4,966 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.