Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,947 in Hampshire, South East.
Fordingbridge grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 45% of UK towns, and #58 of 76 in Hampshire. Its strongest subject is health (B+): life expectancy 82.7 for men, 85.1 for women. Its weakest is hazard risk (D): 3.3% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £360,000 in the last three years, 6.4 times what households in the New Forest council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Fordingbridge 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 Fordingbridge is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 48 buildings inside Fordingbridge’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
19% 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 1907.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Fordingbridge.
Fordingbridge has a median age of 50.1. Children under 15 make up 14%, below Hampshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. People aged 15 to 24 are nearly a tenth of the population.
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.
| Fordingbridge | Hampshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.8% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 29% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.3% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 33% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Hampshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Below are two of its 3 schools, each with why it was picked. GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: nearly three in five pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 52.2. Key Stage 2 results at the 3 primary schools within 3 km: 58% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fordingbridge Junior SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 217 | B− |
| The Burgate School and Sixth FormLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,073 | A− |
Two thirds of households own their home, about level with Hampshire’s towns (64%) and above England’s towns (61%). Private rents average £1,244 a month across the New Forest council area. Half of the 275 standard sales inside Fordingbridge’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £360,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £423,725 | 110 |
| Semi-detached | £350,500 | 78 |
| Terraced | £297,000 | 41 |
| Flat or maisonette | £157,500 | 46 |
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 19% of the total, above Hampshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. Fordingbridge’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. Relative to its size, Fordingbridge keeps 97 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 85% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 19% of people here had a disability, higher than both Hampshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (17%). Women here live to 85.1 on average and men to 82.7 (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Fordingbridge is Salisbury District Hospital, 7.9 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Fordingbridge | Hampshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.5% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 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.
Violence came to 30.1 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Hampshire’s towns (20.7) and England’s towns (22). Police figures for Fordingbridge’s built-up area: 313 crimes and 79 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Also worth knowing: for its size, Fordingbridge records more crime per resident than 76% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Work in town: a fifth of resident commuters. Just over four in five commuters drove to work at the census. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 31%, below both Hampshire’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%). A household here earns £61K a year before tax, on average.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Fordingbridge. Best known first.
Historic houseBreamore House2.7 km outside town, to the north
MuseumRockbourne Roman Villa2.5 km outside town, to the northwestWater parkWater parkNew Forest Water Park2.2 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumBreamore House and Countryside Museum2.4 km outside town, to the northRuinsRuinsIbsley HF-DF Station4.2 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
48 listed buildings in Fordingbridge, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Mary: Photo: Stuart Buchan · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Old Manor House: Photo: Clive Perrin · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Fordingbridge Bridge: Photo: Maigheach-gheal · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Police Station: Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0
5 notable people were born in Fordingbridge.
Frank Jefferis: Phil4 at en.wikipedia, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fordingbridge | 4,947 | — | C+ | C− | C | B+ |
| Sandleheath | 1,546 | 0.8 | — | D | A | A− |
| Alderholt | 2,868 | 2.2 | B | D | A− | A |
| Downton | 2,952 | 4.7 | A | B | B | A |
| Redlynch and Woodfalls | 2,446 | 4.8 | — | C+ | A | A |
| Verwood | 13,706 | 5.3 | A− | D | A | A− |
| Ringwood | 12,789 | 5.6 | B− | C− | C | B+ |
| Hightown | 1,296 | 6.2 | — | D | A+ | A |
Sandleheath, Redlynch and Woodfalls and Hightown have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Police recorded 313 crimes inside Fordingbridge’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 39% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Town in Hampshire, England
Fordingbridge is a built-up area of 4,947 people, in the New Forest 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.