Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Mortgage-free owners make up 64% of households. The town, home to 3,564 people, lies in Isle of Wight, South East.
Some subjects shine; others lag. Health outcomes beat most towns: life expectancy 83.7 for men, 85.6 for women. Crime is low: 15.9 violent and sexual offences and 4.2 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Prices are high against local incomes: a typical home costs £395,000 and rent runs £951 a month. Put together, the subjects come to a B overall, ranking #1 of 10 in Isle of Wight. Set against the rest, it does better than 56% of UK towns.
Figures: life expectancy, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Bembridge 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 Bembridge is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 17 buildings inside Bembridge’s built-up area.
20% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Bembridge. Best known first.
Fort · National TrustCulver Battery1.6 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumDinosaur Isle4.3 km outside town, to the southwest
Wildlife parkThe Wildheart Animal Sanctuary3.9 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumBrading Roman Villa4.1 km outside town, to the west
GardenNunwell House and Garden4.3 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bembridge.
46% of residents are 65 or over, above both Isle of Wight’s towns (29%) and England’s towns (18%). People aged 15 to 24 are 6.5% of the population. Bembridge has a median age of 62.6. Degrees are held by 33% of adults.
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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.
| Bembridge | Isle of Wight | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 9.5% | 14% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 6.5% | 8.9% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 12% | 20% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 28% | 25% |
| 65+ | 46% | 29% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.5% | 7.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 33% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Isle of Wight and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
There is one school here; it is shown below. 61% of pupils at the 3 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its one primary school teaches 186 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bembridge Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 186 | B |
5% live in social housing, below Isle of Wight’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private renters make up 13% of households. Bembridge is the most expensive of the 10 towns in Isle of Wight: its median sale is £395,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £507,500 | 100 |
| Semi-detached | £375,000 | 33 |
| Terraced | £377,500 | 22 |
| Flat or maisonette | £210,000 | 32 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Disability touches 23% of Bembridge’s population. 76% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, near Isle of Wight’s towns (77%) and lower than England’s towns (82%). The nearest A&E to Bembridge is St Mary's Hospital, 9.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Bembridge | Isle of Wight | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 77% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6% | 6.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 24% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Reported offences in Bembridge came to 80 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 9. There were 2.9 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), lower than both Isle of Wight’s towns (5.5) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences accounted for 56% of recorded crime.
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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The census found 21% of commuters going to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Unemployment benefit claims came to 2.7% of 16 to 64s in 2026, below Isle of Wight’s towns (3.6%) but above England’s towns (2.3%). Just over a third of workers did their job mainly from home at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · 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 a fifth of the total, lower than Isle of Wight’s towns (28%) yet higher than England’s towns (16%). Listed buildings per head: 48 for every 10,000 residents of Bembridge.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
17 listed buildings in Bembridge.
Rose Cottage: Photo: Ian Capper · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Mill House: Photo: Ian Capper · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Drinking Fountain at Entrance to Spithead Hotel: Photo: HJ Mitchell · CC BY 4.0 · Bembridge War Memorial: Photo: HJ Mitchell · CC BY 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bembridge | 3,564 | — | B | D− | A− | A |
| Seaview and Nettlestone | 2,053 | 2.3 | — | D− | A | A |
| Brading | 1,909 | 2.6 | — | D | C+ | C |
| Sandown | 11,652 | 4.1 | D− | D | D | C |
| Ryde | 24,094 | 4.3 | D− | C− | D | C |
| Shanklin | 9,112 | 5.7 | D− | D | C− | C |
| Winford | 1,082 | 5.8 | — | D | A− | C+ |
| Wootton | 3,103 | 7.1 | C− | D− | B− | B |
Seaview and Nettlestone, Brading and Winford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £395,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £210,000, terraced houses £377,500, semi-detached houses £375,000 and detached houses £507,500.
Town in Isle of Wight, England
Bembridge is a built-up area of 3,564 people, in the Isle of Wight 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.