Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 14,994 people live in this town, in Hampshire, South East.
Petersfield’s strongest is schools: primary results beat 97% of towns in England; secondary results beat 94% of towns in England. Add health to its strengths (A): life expectancy is 82.2 for men and 86 for women. What holds it back is safety — 28.2 violent and sexual offences and 10.4 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Only 65% of UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have more crime per resident. A median £445,000 buys a home here, 6.7 times what households in the East Hampshire council area earn in a year. Put together, the subjects come to an A overall, better than 94% of UK towns. In the ranking it comes #18 of 76 in Hampshire.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Petersfield 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 Petersfield is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 121 buildings inside Petersfield’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
14% 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 Petersfield.
The Petersfield School’s results beat 86% of schools in England like it. At the 5 primary schools within 3 km, just over three quarters of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are its two schools. Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 56, with 64% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petersfield Infant SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 282 | – |
| The Petersfield SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,401 | A |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 39% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Nearly two in five workers worked mainly from home, higher than both Hampshire’s towns (32%) and England’s towns (31%). Household income averages £62K a year before tax. Also worth knowing: of the commuters living in Petersfield, 28% work in the town itself. The town counts 1.1 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Women here live to 86 on average and men to 82.2 (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Petersfield is Queen Alexandra Hospital, 12.3 miles away. 2 GP practices serve the town; 81% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Petersfield | Hampshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.8% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Petersfield has 81 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, above Hampshire’s towns (25) and England’s towns (39) alike. Its listed buildings include the Church of St Peter, Grade I. Grade II* covers 6 of them, Grade I 2.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 847 offences in Petersfield and 119 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up 44% of the total. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 7.6 reports per 1,000, about level with England’s towns (7.8) and above Hampshire’s towns (5.3).
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.
Two thirds of households own their home, above Hampshire’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. Private tenants account for 17% of households. The £445,000 median rests on 650 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £745,000 | 196 |
| Semi-detached | £462,500 | 140 |
| Terraced | £390,500 | 168 |
| Flat or maisonette | £232,500 | 146 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
A quarter of residents are 65 or over, above both Hampshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). People aged 15 to 24 make up nearly a tenth of the town. The median resident of Petersfield is 46.4 years old. Children under 15 count for 16% of the people here.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
| Petersfield | Hampshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.4% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 42% | 33% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Hampshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
121 listed buildings in Petersfield, 2 of them Grade I.
Statue of William III: Photo: Captain Fishy - Purveyor of fine cod milkshakes since 1842 · Public domain · Goodyers: Photo: undefined · CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Market Inn: Photo: Djm-leighpark · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Petersfield Signal Box: Photo: Djm-leighpark · CC BY-SA 4.0
21 notable people were born in Petersfield.
Calum Chambers: Ronnie McDonald, CC BY 2.0 · Jon Schofield: Ollie Harding, CC BY 2.0 · Joseph Truman: Nicola, CC BY-SA 4.0 · William Poynter: James Ramsay, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petersfield | 14,994 | — | A | B | C+ | A |
| Hill Brow and Rake | 1,200 | 3.2 | — | C+ | A | A− |
| Liss | 4,749 | 3.3 | A− | B | B | B+ |
| Clanfield | 1,254 | 5.6 | — | B | B+ | A+ |
| Whitehill | 5,178 | 7.2 | B+ | A | B | B |
| Liphook | 7,128 | 7.4 | A | B | B− | A− |
| Horndean | 34,046 | 7.5 | B+ | A | B− | A− |
| Bordon | 9,349 | 8.1 | C+ | A | C− | C |
Hill Brow and Rake and Clanfield have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Among the strongest in England: GCSE results beat 94% of towns in England, and primary results beat 97% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Petersfield has 2 state schools; places are handled by Hampshire council.
That is 3.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Church of St Peter. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £445,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £232,500, terraced houses £390,500, semi-detached houses £462,500 and detached houses £745,000. Household incomes are higher than in 73% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B.
About the middle for its size: 35% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C+.
Town in Hampshire, England
Petersfield is a built-up area of 14,994 people, in the East Hampshire 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.