Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Secondary school results beat 100% of towns in England. With 6,107 residents, it is a town in Greater Manchester, North West.
Bowdon’s schools beat most: primary results beat 100% of towns in England; secondary results beat 100% of towns in England. Jobs & income is another plus — households earn a mean £64,847 a year, and 1% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Prices are high against local incomes (D−): the median home sold for £907,500, 16.5 years of area income. Natural hazards are less of a worry than in most UK towns (A).
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency. Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Bowdon has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. Its other subjects are graded below.
The 3 things Bowdon 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 Bowdon is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime to police.uk, so Bowdon has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. Its other subjects are graded below.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 30 buildings inside Bowdon’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
36% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Bowdon, North Dakota, is named after Bowdon.
USUS editionBowdon, North Dakota, settled in 1899, takes its name from this town.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Bowdon. Best known first.
Historic house · National TrustDunham Massey Hall1.4 km outside town, to the west
Historic house · National TrustTatton Park Mansion4.2 km outside town, to the south
Historic house · National TrustTatton Park4.6 km outside town, to the south
Historic house · National TrustOld Hall4.4 km outside town, to the south
Garden · National TrustTatton Park Gardens4.4 km outside town, to the southPark or estatePark or estate · National TrustDunham Massey Park1.2 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bowdon.
Three of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Altrincham Grammar School for Boys’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Bowdon’s two primaries and two secondaries have 3,803 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowdon CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 622 | A+ |
| Altrincham Grammar School for BoysLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,432 | A+ |
| Altrincham Grammar School for GirlsTop results in townSecondary | Secondary | 1,381 | A+ |
Private tenants account for 10% of households. Social housing holds 7% of households, lower than both Greater Manchester’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (18%). Bowdon is the most expensive of the 81 towns in Greater Manchester: its median sale is £907,500.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,157,500 | 88 |
| Semi-detached | £886,250 | 40 |
| Terraced | £488,000 | 33 |
| Flat or maisonette | £560,000 | 47 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
88% of Bowdon’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above both Greater Manchester’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%). Disability touches 13% of the town’s population. There is no GP practice locally: the nearest is 0.9 miles off. Also worth knowing: men in Bowdon can expect to live to 82.6, women to 84.5 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Bowdon | Greater Manchester | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.3% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 18% | 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For its size, Bowdon has the second most listed buildings of the towns in Greater Manchester. Of the town’s land, 52% lies in conservation areas, above Greater Manchester’s towns (3%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. Historic England’s list names 30 listed buildings locally: 2 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 50% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
50% of workers worked mainly from home, above both Greater Manchester’s towns (29%) and England’s towns (31%). Of the commuters living in Bowdon, 6% work in the town itself. Jobs per working resident: 0.9.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Under-15s account for 17% of the population. A quarter of residents are 65 or over, higher than both Greater Manchester’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). The 15-to-24 age group makes up 10% of residents. Half of Bowdon is older than 48.6, half younger.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
| Bowdon | Greater Manchester | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 9.2% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 2.7% | 5.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 11% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 58% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Greater Manchester and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
30 listed buildings in Bowdon.
Denzell House: Photo: Mike Faherty · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Griffin: Photo: Richard Sutcliffe · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Moss Cottage: Photo: Richard Sutcliffe · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Water Fountain at Junction with Stamford Road: Photo: Raymond Knapman · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
16 notable people were born in Bowdon.
John Ireland: Herbert Lambert, Public domain · Robert Rowland: European Parliament from EU, CC BY 2.0 · Susan Glazebrook: New Zealand Government, Office of the Governor-General, CC BY 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowdon | 6,107 | — | — | D− | — | A |
| Hale | 16,716 | 1.4 | — | D− | — | A+ |
| Altrincham | 49,672 | 1.8 | — | D | — | B |
| Sale | 62,545 | 3.5 | — | D | — | B− |
| High Legh | 1,145 | 3.9 | — | C− | A+ | B+ |
| Partington | 7,706 | 4.1 | — | B− | — | D− |
| Wythenshawe | 97,665 | 4.2 | — | D− | — | D |
| Mobberley | 1,349 | 4.4 | — | C | A+ | B+ |
High Legh and Mobberley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Hale, Altrincham, Sale, Partington and Wythenshawe have no Safety Grade: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish to police.uk. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £907,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £560,000, terraced houses £488,000, semi-detached houses £886,250 and detached houses £1,157,500.
Among the strongest in England: GCSE results beat almost all towns in England, and primary results beat almost all (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
That is 2 times the typical UK town for its size.
We can’t say from police.uk: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish street-level crime data there, so Bowdon has no Safety Grade. Greater Manchester Police’s own figures cover whole boroughs, not towns.
Town in Greater Manchester, England
Bowdon is a built-up area of 6,107 people, in the Trafford 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.