Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,900 in Hampshire, South East.
Botley grades B overall against UK towns: better than 62% of UK towns, and #49 of 76 in Hampshire. Its strongest subject is jobs & income (A−): mean household income £73,762; 3% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Its weakest is walkability (D): 8% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The median home sold for £414,997 in the last three years, 6.5 times what households in the Eastleigh council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Botley 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 Botley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 46 buildings inside Botley’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
6% 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 Botley.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 89% of commuters, above both Hampshire’s towns (75%) and England’s towns (70%). 38% of workers did their job mainly from home at the census. Work in town: 4% of resident commuters. Jobs per working resident: 0.4.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Of its 3 schools, two are shown below, each with the reason. Botley’s two primaries have 737 pupils between them. Key Stage 2 results at the 14 primary schools within 3 km: two thirds of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boorley ParkLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 380 | – |
| Botley Church of England Controlled Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 357 | A |
Violence and sexual offences made up 54% of the total. Burglary and damage came to 13.5 per 1,000 residents a year, higher than both Hampshire’s towns (8.5) and England’s towns (9.4). The 12 months to August 2026 brought 413 recorded crimes inside Botley’s built-up area, and 86 reports of anti-social behaviour. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Botley has more crime per resident than 85% 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 police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Seeing a GP means leaving Botley: the nearest practice is 3 miles away. Asked at the census, 86% of residents of Botley said they were in good or very good health. 15% of residents have a disability, below both Hampshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (17%). Life expectancy here is 85.2 for women and 81.3 for men (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Botley | Hampshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.1% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Households that own their home make up 70%. Private rents average £1,214 a month across the Eastleigh council area. Behind the median of £414,997: 594 standard sales inside Botley’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £520,000 | 331 |
| Semi-detached | £363,750 | 190 |
| Terraced | £277,500 | 52 |
| Flat or maisonette | £215,000 | 21 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · 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 6% of the total, below both Hampshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (16%). Scaled to its population, that is 78 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in Botley. Grade II* covers 1 of them.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Degrees are held by 36% of adults, above both Hampshire’s towns (33%) and England’s towns (34%). The share aged 15 to 24 is 8.3%. Half the people of Botley are older than 36.9.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Botley | Hampshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.3% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 30% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 22% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 11% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.5% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 21% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 36% | 33% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Hampshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Botley. Best known first.
Historic house · English HeritageBishop's Waltham Palace4.6 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumBursledon Windmill2.1 km outside town, to the southwest
Historic houseNew Place, Shirrell Heath4.9 km outside town, to the eastAttractionAttractionWickham Vineyard2.8 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumBishop's Waltham Museum4.6 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumBursledon Brickworks2.1 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
46 listed buildings in Botley.
The Dolphin Hotel the Dolphin Public House: Photo: Hassocks5489 · CC0 · Manor Farm; Farmhouse: Photo: grumpylumixuser · CC BY 3.0 · Old Gate House: Photo: Alan Rosevear · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cobbett's Cottage: Photo: John Sutton · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botley | 5,900 | — | B | B− | C− | B+ |
| Hedge End | 23,195 | 1.3 | A | B+ | B | B+ |
| Horton Heath | 3,047 | 2 | A+ | B | A | A |
| West End | 10,865 | 2.8 | B+ | A− | C+ | B+ |
| Whiteley | 9,350 | 3 | A− | B | C+ | A |
| Bursledon | 8,072 | 3.1 | C+ | A− | C− | C+ |
| Waltham Chase | 2,830 | 3.3 | A | B | A− | A |
| Bishop's Waltham | 6,957 | 3.4 | A− | B+ | B− | A |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.2 times the typical UK town for its size.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £414,997, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £215,000, terraced houses £277,500, semi-detached houses £363,750 and detached houses £520,000. Household incomes are higher than in 94% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B−.
Town in Hampshire, England
Botley is a built-up area of 5,900 people, in the Eastleigh 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.