Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 4,796 residents, it is a town in Hampshire, South East.
Some subjects shine; others lag. With a B+ overall, Rownhams and Nursling is better than nearly two thirds of UK towns and ranks #46 of 76 in Hampshire. Jobs & income is its strong suit: the mean household earns £68,426 a year. Health is another plus: life expectancy 80.8 for men, 86.4 for women. What holds it back is safety: 27.4 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 22.9 home and vehicle crimes. Set beside UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, its crime per resident is higher than in 82%. A median £440,000 buys a home here, 6.7 times what households in the Test Valley council area earn in a year.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Rownhams and Nursling is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Rownhams and Nursling does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 7 buildings inside Rownhams and Nursling’s built-up area.
4% 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 Rownhams and Nursling.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
4% of homes date from before 1919. Per 10,000 residents, Rownhams and Nursling counts 15 listed buildings.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the 20 primary schools within 3 km: 62% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). There is one school here; it is shown below. Attainment 8 at the 6 secondary schools within 3 km averages 42.1, and 37% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rownhams St John's Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 334 | C+ |
Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3.6% of the town. At the census, 86% of people in Rownhams and Nursling called their health good or very good, above Hampshire’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. There is no GP practice in the town: the nearest is 0.6 miles off. Women here live to 86.4 on average and men to 80.8 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Rownhams and Nursling | Hampshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.6% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 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 12 months to August 2026 brought 406 recorded crimes inside Rownhams and Nursling’s built-up area, and 38 reports of anti-social behaviour. Of all the crimes, 35% were violence and sexual offences. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 7.9 reports per 1,000, above Hampshire’s towns (5.3) and close to England’s towns (7.8).
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.
15% are under 15, below both Hampshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Rownhams and Nursling has a median age of 46.3. Among adults, 35% have a degree.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Rownhams and Nursling | Hampshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 35% | 33% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Hampshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Of the commuters living in Rownhams and Nursling, 4% work in the town itself. The car took 87% of commuters, above both Hampshire’s towns (75%) and England’s towns (70%). Also worth knowing: this Hampshire town counts 0.9 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Social housing holds 7% of households, below both Hampshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Renting privately is how 10% of households live. The £440,000 median rests on 211 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £511,500 | 126 |
| Semi-detached | £375,000 | 41 |
| Terraced | £324,000 | 32 |
| Flat or maisonette | £175,000 | 12 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Rownhams and Nursling. Best known first.
Big drawTheme parkPaultons Park4.5 km outside town, to the west · 1.1M visitors a year (2019)
Historic shipShieldhall3.5 km outside town, to the southHistoric houseHistoric houseBroadlands3.6 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionChildren's Pleasure Park2.1 km outside town, to the eastAttractionAttractionEling Tide Mill2.5 km outside town, to the southArt galleryArt gallerySpecial Collections Gallery3.9 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Town in Hampshire, England
Rownhams and Nursling is a built-up area of 4,796 people, in the Test Valley 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rownhams and Nursling | 4,796 | — | B+ | B | C− | A− |
| North Baddesley | 6,996 | 2.2 | A | B+ | B | A− |
| Chilworth | 1,169 | 2.6 | — | C+ | C+ | A− |
| Totton | 28,093 | 2.7 | C | C | C− | B− |
| Southampton | 249,633 | 3.4 | D | C | D− | C− |
| Romsey | 19,923 | 3.6 | A | B+ | B− | A− |
| Marchwood | 5,776 | 3.8 | B− | C | B− | B+ |
| Ashurst | 2,370 | 4.2 | — | D | A− | B+ |
Chilworth and Ashurst have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £440,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £175,000, terraced houses £324,000, semi-detached houses £375,000 and detached houses £511,500. Household incomes are higher than in 86% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B.
GCSE results trail 76% of towns in England, and primary results beat 50% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Hampshire council.
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.