The data are hard on it. Its weakest subject is jobs & income (D−): the mean household earns £41,126 a year. Cost of living is weaker too — the median home sold for £250,000, 5.5 years of area income. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 28% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. All told, that adds up to a D overall and a rank of #5 of 10 in Isle of Wight. That leaves it better than 8% of UK towns.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · income, 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 Ventnor is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ventnor.
Who lives here
Ventnor skews older, with 34% of residents 65 or over, more than in both Isle of Wight’s towns and England’s towns
56median age
12% are under 15, below both Isle of Wight’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are 7.6% of the population. The age that splits Ventnor in two is 56. Graduates make up 30% of adults.
VentnorIsle of WightEngland
Ages · share of residents
34%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications20%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level30%
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
SchoolsC
Exam results at Ventnor’s schools trail 68% of towns in England
CSchool Grade
Its two schools are listed below. Some 774 pupils attend Ventnor’s one primary and one secondary. 54% of pupils at the 4 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 2 schools →
History
Old homes shape Ventnor: 51% were built before 1919, more than in both Isle of Wight’s towns and England’s towns
117listed buildingsA+History 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, Ventnor keeps 210 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above both Isle of Wight’s towns (76) and England’s towns (39). Grade II* covers 9 of them. This Isle of Wight town has 117 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 9 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D−
More people aged 16 to 64 in Ventnor claim unemployment benefits than in Isle of Wight’s towns or England’s towns: 5.1%
28%walk, cycle or ride
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 26% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
About 29% of its commuters stay in Ventnor for work. For every resident in work, Ventnor has 0.6 jobs. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 35%, below both Isle of Wight’s towns (45%) and England’s towns (45%).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
HousingCost of living grade D
For cost of living grade, Ventnor gets a D
£250Kmedian sale
Renting privately is how 24% of households live. 13% of households live in social housing. Private rents average £951 a month across the Isle of Wight council area.
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Ventnor£250K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£485,000
90
Semi-detached
£230,000
49
Terraced
£197,500
53
Flat or maisonette
£189,750
64
63%
of households own their home · England 61%
24%
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
Safety
Violence is recorded more often in Ventnor than in Isle of Wight’s towns or across England’s towns: 39.6 per 1,000 residents a year
39.6violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC−Safety Grade
There were 10.9 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both Isle of Wight’s towns (4.9) and England’s towns (7.8). Over the year to August 2026, 410 offences were reported in Ventnor, along with 62 incidents of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Ventnor records more crime per resident than just over four fifths of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Violence and sexual offences were 48% of the crimes.
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 18% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 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 & sexual198
Public order56
Damage & arson39
Shoplifting31
Other theft21
Burglary20
Drugs16
Other crime9
Anti-social62
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.
39.6
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
10.9
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.
Health
More people in Ventnor live with a disability than in Isle of Wight’s towns or across England’s towns: 26%
74%good or very good healthCHealth Grade
Nearly three quarters of Ventnor’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below Isle of Wight’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects nearly a tenth of the town. The nearest A&E to Ventnor is St Mary's Hospital, 9 miles away. Men in Ventnor can expect to live to 78.2, women to 82.7 (2019–23).
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Dudley Pound: Bassano, Public domain · George Owen Wynne Apperley: George Owen Wynne Apperley (1884-1960), CC BY-SA 4.0 · Octavius Hadfield: Alexander Turnbull Library, Public domain
About Ventnor
Town in Isle of Wight, England
Ventnor is a built-up area of 5,566 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.
Wroxall, Niton, Godshill, Winford and Brading have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Ventnor
How many listed buildings are there in Ventnor?
That is 8.6 times the typical UK town for its size.
How much is council tax in Ventnor?
Band D council tax in Ventnor is £2,715 for 2026–27, more than in 96% 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.
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.
