Ross-on-Wye’s grades pull in different directions. The weak point is jobs & income: mean household income £45,336; 3.2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. This Herefordshire town grades B− overall, better than 47% of UK towns, and ranks #2 of 5 in Herefordshire. Health lags: life expectancy 78 for men, 82.5 for women. Walkability is its strong suit (A−) — 22% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. School results are strong (B+): primary results beat 85% of towns in England; secondary results beat 51% of towns in England. Homes sell for a median £285,000, about 5.8 years of what households in the Herefordshire council area earn.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · 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 Ross-on-Wye is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ross-on-Wye.
Who lives here
Older residents shape Ross-on-Wye: 29% are 65 or over, above Herefordshire’s towns and England’s towns
49.6median age
Children under 15 make up 15% of residents. The 15-to-24 age group: 8.8%, lower than both Herefordshire’s towns (9.7%) and England’s towns (12%). The median resident of Ross-on-Wye is 49.6 years old.
Ross-on-WyeHerefordshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
29%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications21%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar15%
Degree level30%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenEnglandMen
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.
ONS Census 2021 · Herefordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
SchoolsB+
Exam results at Ross-on-Wye’s schools top 72% of towns in England
B+School Grade
Between them, three primaries and one secondary teach 1,815 pupils in Ross-on-Wye. Below are three of its 4 schools, each with why it was picked. At the town’s 3 primary schools, 69% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 4 schools →
History
Much of Ross-on-Wye is a conservation area: 24% of its land, more than in Herefordshire’s towns and across England’s towns
147listed buildingsAHistory Grade
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Relative to its size, Ross-on-Wye keeps 134 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. Its listed buildings include the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Grade I. It counts 147 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 1 Grade I, 9 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
Only 41% of Ross-on-Wye’s commuters work within 5 km, fewer than in Herefordshire’s towns and across England’s towns
22%walk, cycle or ride
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 20% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
About 37% of its commuters stay in Ross-on-Wye for work. 76% of commuters drove, near Herefordshire’s towns (75%) and higher than England’s towns (70%). The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 3.2%.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Health
Life expectancy in Ross-on-Wye is shorter than in 76% of UK towns
79%good or very good healthCHealth Grade
Asked at the census, 79% of residents of Ross-on-Wye said they were in good or very good health. The nearest A&E to Ross-on-Wye is The County Hospital, 11.3 miles away. 2 GP practices serve the town; 86% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Also worth knowing: a fifth of residents have a disability, close to Herefordshire’s towns (19%) and above England’s towns (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.
Safety
Crime per resident in Ross-on-Wye is higher than in 64% of UK towns
28.4violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC+Safety Grade
Just over two fifths of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Police figures for Ross-on-Wye’s built-up area: 711 crimes and 120 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence came to 28.4 per 1,000 residents a year, above Herefordshire’s towns (26.5) and England’s towns (22) alike.
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 62% 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 & sexual290
Shoplifting148
Damage & arson81
Public order62
Other theft45
Burglary20
Drugs18
Vehicle crime18
Anti-social120
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.
28.4
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
11
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
12.8
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+
For cost of living grade, Ross-on-Wye gets a C+
£285Kmedian sale
Ross-on-Wye is the most expensive of the 5 towns in Herefordshire: its median sale is £285,000. The £285,000 median rests on 590 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026). Private rents average £821 a month across the Herefordshire, County of council area.
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Ross-on-Wye£285K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£370,000
230
Semi-detached
£285,000
170
Terraced
£210,000
89
Flat or maisonette
£120,000
101
£821
average private rent a month, Herefordshire, County of council area
Henry Edwards: not credited, uploader:Binksternet, Public domain · John Stephen Vaughan: RexGregorian, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mark Porter: Dr Mark Porter, CC BY-SA 3.0
About Ross-on-Wye
Town in Herefordshire, England
Ross-on-Wye is a built-up area of 10,993 people, in the Herefordshire 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.
Ruardean, Welsh Bicknor, Mitcheldean and Berry Hill have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Ross-on-Wye
How many listed buildings are there in Ross-on-Wye?
That is 5.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary the Virgin. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
How much is council tax in Ross-on-Wye?
Band D council tax in Ross-on-Wye is £2,642 for 2026–27, more than in 92% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Is Ross-on-Wye safe?
About the middle for its size: 38% 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+.
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.
