The data are hard on it. Where it falls short is safety (D): police record 50.9 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 11.4 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 20%. Buying the median home, at £225,000, takes 4.9 years of household income in the Isle of Wight council area. Walkability is its strong suit — on the way to work, 28% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. All told, that adds up to a D− overall and a rank of #6 of 10 in Isle of Wight. That leaves it better than 3% of UK towns. Jobs and pay trail most towns: mean household income £45,687; 5.4% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS · claimants, DWP.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Ryde is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ryde.
History
Ryde’s heritage list runs to 351 buildings
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
44% of its homes were built before 1919, above both Isle of Wight’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (16%). Scaled to its population, that is 146 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in Ryde. Grade II* covers 5 of them.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
SchoolsC−
Exam results at Ryde’s schools trail 82% of towns in England
Two of its 7 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. 52% of pupils at the town’s 6 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Ryde’s six primaries and one secondary have 2,871 pupils between them.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 7 schools →
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
Ryde is more walkable than nine in ten UK towns
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.
Short trips to work, under 5 km: 40%, below both Isle of Wight’s towns (45%) and England’s towns (45%). Work in town: 29% of resident commuters. There are 0.6 jobs in Ryde for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Safety
Per resident, Ryde sees more crime than 89% 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.
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 11.8 reports per 1,000, above both Isle of Wight’s towns (4.9) and England’s towns (7.8). Ryde logged 2,076 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 269 complaints of anti-social conduct. Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Ryde has more crime per resident than 80% of them. Violence and sexual offences made up 55% of the total.
50.9violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 20% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: more crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual1,152
Public order195
Damage & arson174
Shoplifting162
Other theft131
Drugs61
Other crime47
Burglary46
Anti-social269
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.
50.9
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
11.4
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
11.8
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−
Ryde is a renters’ town: 27% of households rent privately, more than in Isle of Wight’s towns or across England’s towns
Council and housing-body homes hold 12% of households. Owners make up 60% of households, about level with England’s towns (61%) and below Isle of Wight’s towns (67%). Also worth knowing: half of the 1,055 standard sales inside Ryde’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £225,000.
£225Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Ryde£225K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£372,500
260
Semi-detached
£240,000
339
Terraced
£210,000
173
Flat or maisonette
£135,000
283
60%
of households own their home · England 61%
27%
rent privately · England 21%
£951
average private rent a month, Isle of Wight council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
An older large town: 24% of residents are 65 or over
16% are under 15, between Isle of Wight’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (18%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for 9.8% of residents. Half of Ryde is older than 47.4, half younger. Graduates make up 26% of adults.
47.4median age
RydeIsle of WightEngland
Ages · share of residents
24%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications18%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar19%
Degree level26%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 94 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 · Isle of Wight and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Health
Life expectancy in Ryde is shorter than in 81% of UK towns
The nearest A&E to Ryde is St Mary's Hospital, 6.1 miles away. A disability affects 24% of people locally. At the census, 77% of people in Ryde called their health good or very good, about level with Isle of Wight’s towns (77%) and below England’s towns (82%). 3 GP practices serve the town; nearly four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Arthur Cecil Pigou: John Palmer Clarke, Public domain · Clyde Purnell: Dodobood, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gilbert Clayton: unknown Freedom's Falcon (crop), CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mona Caird: H. S. Mendelssohn, Public domain · Albert Pollard: Blake Studios, Public domain · Charles Du Cane: Unidentified photographer, Public domain
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.
Questions about Ryde
How many listed buildings are there in Ryde?
That is 6 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
How much is council tax in Ryde?
Band D council tax in Ryde is £2,685 for 2026–27, more than in 95% 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.
About Ryde
Large town in Isle of Wight, England
Ryde is a built-up area of 24,094 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
Population
24,094 (Census 2021)
Council
Isle of Wight
County
Isle of Wight
Region
South East
Area
2.4 sq mi (6.2 km²)
ONS code
E63006721
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.
