Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A borough of 214,931 people, one of London’s 32 boroughs.
A town of contrasts. Fewer journeys need a car: 58% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Schools are a strength too: primary results beat 82% of towns in England; secondary results beat 88% of towns in England. Prices are high against local incomes: the median home sold for £542,500, 6.5 years of area income. It lags on hazard risk as well — 1.7% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. The overall grade lands at B+, better than 73% of UK towns. That places it #7 of 33 in London.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Merton 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 Merton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 231 buildings inside Merton’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
27% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1910.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Merton. Best known first.
Abbey or prioryWat Buddhapadipain town
Abbey or prioryMerton Priory Chapter House Museumin town
MuseumWimbledon Lawn Tennis Museumin town
Historic houseSouthside Housein town
MuseumMuseum of Wimbledonin town
MuseumCrystal Palace High Level Station Entry3.9 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Merton.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 43% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
43% of workers worked mainly from home, near London’s towns (42%) and higher than England’s towns (31%). Driving is how 38% of commuters got to work at the census. About 24% of its commuters stay in Merton for work. The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 4.6%.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
At the town’s 43 primary schools, just over two thirds of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are three of its 56 schools, each with why it was picked. Between them, 43 primaries and nine secondaries teach 26,587 pupils in Merton. Benedict Academy’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wimbledon Chase Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 678 | A |
| Ricards Lodge High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,534 | A |
| Benedict AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 177 | A+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 10 of them, Grade I 3. Merton’s listed buildings include the Church of St Lawrence, Grade I. Homes from before 1919 make up 27% of the total, about level with London’s towns (28%) and above England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
56% of households own their home, above London’s towns (45%) but below England’s towns (61%). Council and housing-body homes hold 14% of households. Private renters make up 29% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £2,291,000 | 227 |
| Semi-detached | £830,000 | 744 |
| Terraced | £650,000 | 2,736 |
| Flat or maisonette | £400,000 | 2,582 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Per 1,000 residents, 24.2 violent crimes are recorded each year. Homes saw 14.8 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, lower than London’s towns (21.2) yet higher than England’s towns (9.4). Over the year to August 2026, 12,729 offences were reported in Merton, along with 3,296 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Of all the crimes, 38% were violence and sexual offences.
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.
87% of Merton’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, higher than both London’s towns (85%) and England’s towns (82%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3.4% of the town. 22 GP practices serve the town; 80% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Merton | London | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.4% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 12% | 13% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
People 65 and over make up 13% of the town, above London’s towns (12%) but below England’s towns (18%). Aged 15 to 24: 10% of residents. The median resident of Merton is 37.5 years old.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Merton | London | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 34% | 34% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 13% | 12% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.3% | 3.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 13% | 17% |
| Degree level | 50% | 47% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · London and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
231 listed buildings in Merton, 3 of them Grade I.
Eagle House: Photo: Noel Foster · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Lawrence: Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain · Colliers Wood London Regional Transport Station: Photo: TheFrog001 · CC0 · Tate Almshouses: Photo: Marathon · CC BY-SA 2.0
225 notable people were born in Merton.
Geoffrey Hinton: Cmichel67, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kemi Badenoch: ©House of Commons / Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0 · David Walliams: Peculiar Realm, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Oliver Reed: Jack de Nijs for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merton | 214,931 | — | B+ | C+ | C+ | B− |
| Wandsworth | 326,725 | 3 | B+ | C− | C | B− |
| Sutton | 208,858 | 3 | A | A− | C | B− |
| Worcester Park and Stoneleigh | 15,851 | 3.8 | A+ | C− | A− | A |
| Kingston upon Thames | 166,333 | 4.1 | A | B | C+ | B+ |
| Lambeth | 317,108 | 4.5 | C+ | C− | D | C |
| Ewell | 27,509 | 4.8 | A− | C | C+ | A− |
| Croydon | 389,242 | 5.2 | B− | B | D | C |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C+.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £542,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £400,000, terraced houses £650,000, semi-detached houses £830,000 and detached houses £2,291,000.
GCSE results beat 88% of towns in England, and primary results beat 82% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
London borough in London
Merton is a built-up area of 214,931 people, in the Merton 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.