Mostly strong, with a single weak spot. Pupils here do better than most: primary results beat 77% of towns in England; secondary results beat 96% of towns in England. Walkability is a strength too (A+) — on the way to work, 37% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. A median £525,000 buys a home here, 7.4 times what households in the Winchester council area earn in a year. Safety lags (C): 35 violent and sexual offences and 10.4 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 49%. Put together, the subjects come to an A− overall, ranking #36 of 76 in Hampshire. On that grade it does better than four fifths of UK towns.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Winchester is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Winchester.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A
The car carries only 60% of commuters in Winchester, fewer than in Hampshire’s towns and England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 44% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
2.5% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026, higher than both Hampshire’s towns (1.9%) and England’s towns (2.3%). For 57% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. About 52% of its commuters stay in Winchester for work. Also worth knowing: at the census, 44% of workers worked mainly from home.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsA
Winchester’s schools outperform 91% of towns in England on results
Between them, 11 primaries and three secondaries teach 7,288 pupils in Winchester. Below are three of its 16 schools, each with why it was picked. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 11 primary schools: two thirds of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). St Faith's Church of England Primary School’s results beat 97% of schools in England like it.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 16 schools →
History
41 Grade I buildings among Winchester’s 488 listed
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Per 10,000 residents, Winchester counts 101 listed buildings, higher than both Hampshire’s towns (25) and England’s towns (39). The town’s listed buildings include Avebury House, Grade I. Homes built before 1919 account for 19% of the housing. Grade II* covers 40 of them, Grade I 41.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Safety
Crime per resident in Winchester is higher than in 73% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Over the year to August 2026, 3,729 offences were reported in Winchester, along with 379 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Of all the crimes, 42% were violence and sexual offences. There were 7.8 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above Hampshire’s towns (5.3) and close to England’s towns (7.8).
35violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearCSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 49% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual1,551
Shoplifting566
Public order358
Other theft306
Drugs305
Damage & arson233
Other crime123
Burglary104
Anti-social379
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.
35
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
10.4
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
7.8
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
HousingCost of living grade C+
More households in Winchester live in social housing than in Hampshire’s towns or England’s towns: 22%
Owners make up 55% of households, below both Hampshire’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%). Private rents average £1,508 a month across the Winchester council area. The £525,000 median rests on 1,918 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
£525Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Winchester£525K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£820,000
481
Semi-detached
£515,000
408
Terraced
£499,975
576
Flat or maisonette
£305,000
453
55%
of households own their home · England 61%
21%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,508
average private rent a month, Winchester council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Health
Is Winchester a healthy place? 86% of its people say their health is good, above Hampshire’s towns and England’s towns
3 GP practices serve the town; 87% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3.8% of the town. Life expectancy here is 85.7 for women and 80.4 for men (2019–23).
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.
Who lives here
Winchester skews young, with 20% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than Hampshire’s towns or England’s towns
Under-15s account for 16% of the population. Typical age in Winchester: 38, the median. Degrees are held by 47% of adults.
38median age
WinchesterHampshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
20%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications10%
Apprenticeship3%
A levels or similar21%
Degree level47%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Henry III of England: Matthew Paris, Public domain · Empress Matilda: PurpleHz, Public domain · Arthur, Prince of Wales: Anglo-Flemish School, Public domain · Danny Ings: Timmy96, CC0 · Richard of Cornwall: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain · Liam Delap: The White House, Public domain
Littleton, Twyford, Compton and Otterbourne have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Winchester
How many listed buildings are there in Winchester?
That is 4.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Cart Shed to West of Hyde Abbey Gateway and Adjoining It. It also has 13 scheduled monuments.
Are schools in Winchester good?
GCSE results beat 96% of towns in England, and primary results beat 77% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Is Winchester expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £525,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £305,000, terraced houses £499,975, semi-detached houses £515,000 and detached houses £820,000.
Is Winchester safe?
About the middle for its size: 51% 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.
About Winchester
Large town in Hampshire, England
Winchester is a built-up area of 48,486 people, in the Winchester 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
Population
48,486 (Census 2021)
Council
Winchester
County
Hampshire
Region
South East
Area
5.2 sq mi (13.5 km²)
ONS code
E63006064
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.
