A tough set of grades. Overall, Nottingham earns a D−: better than 4% of UK towns, and #47 of 49 in Nottinghamshire. Police record more crime here than in most towns: 53.3 violent and sexual offences and 23.3 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set beside UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, its crime per resident is higher than in 84%. At a median £194,000, a home costs 4.3 times the yearly income of households in the Nottingham council area. It is easy to get around without a car: 38% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Health is a weak point (D): life expectancy 76 for men, 80.4 for women.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Nottingham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Nottingham.
Who lives here
Students and young workers shape Nottingham: 24% are 15 to 24, above Nottinghamshire’s towns and England’s towns
11% of residents have reached 65. Nottingham has a median age of 30.9 years. Degrees are held by 29% of adults, near Nottinghamshire’s towns (29%) and lower than England’s towns (34%).
30.9median age
NottinghamNottinghamshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
24%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications19%
Apprenticeship4%
A levels or similar25%
Degree level29%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
ONS Census 2021 · Nottinghamshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
SchoolsC+
Results at Nottingham’s schools trail 61% of towns in England
Of its 94 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. St Teresa's Catholic Primary School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Some 42,614 pupils attend Nottingham’s 66 primaries and 17 secondaries.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 94 schools →
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
More people aged 16 to 64 in Nottingham claim unemployment benefits than in Nottinghamshire’s towns or England’s towns: 6.2%
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.
Jobs per working resident: 1.8. Work in town: just over three fifths of resident commuters. 58% of commuters took the car to work at the census. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 57%, above both Nottinghamshire’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
Safety
Crime per resident in Nottingham is higher than in 96% 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.
Police figures for Nottingham’s built-up area: 41,708 crimes and 7,047 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 29.5 reports per 1,000, above both Nottinghamshire’s towns (10.7) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences accounted for 38% of recorded crime.
53.3violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearD−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 16% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: 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 & sexual15,781
Shoplifting5,383
Damage & arson3,709
Other theft3,331
Public order3,254
Vehicle crime2,460
Drugs1,886
Burglary1,519
Anti-social7,047
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.
53.3
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
23.3
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
29.5
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
People in Nottingham live shorter lives than in 94% of UK towns
40 GP practices serve the town; 74% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 81% of people in Nottingham called their health good or very good, higher than Nottinghamshire’s towns (80%) and near England’s towns (82%). A disability affects 18% of people here.
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.
HousingCost of living grade D
Fewer households own their home in Nottingham than in Nottinghamshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 44%
The private rented sector houses 30% of households. 25% live in social housing, above both Nottinghamshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £1,012 a month across the Nottingham council area.
£194Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Nottingham£194K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£300,000
1,270
Semi-detached
£210,000
2,367
Terraced
£170,000
2,427
Flat or maisonette
£135,000
1,031
44%
of households own their home · England 61%
30%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,012
average private rent a month, Nottingham council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
History
Listed buildings in Nottingham: 767, with 9 at Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Nottingham’s listed buildings include Building D10 at Boots Factory Site, Grade I. 19% of its homes were built before 1919, above both Nottinghamshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (16%). Also worth knowing: for its size, Nottingham has 26 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
M. Stanley Whittingham: Stanford Energy, CC BY 3.0 · Andy Cole: Norio NAKAYAMA from saitama, japan, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Samantha Morton: PhilipRomano, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bella Ramsey: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · William Booth: Unknown photographer, Public domain · Robert Harris: C.Stadler/Bwag, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bestwood Village and Gamston (Rushcliffe) have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Nottingham
How much is council tax in Nottingham?
Band D council tax in Nottingham is £2,752 for 2026–27, more than in 98% 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.
Does Nottingham flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
About Nottingham
City in Nottinghamshire, England
Nottingham is a built-up area of 299,786 people, in the Nottingham 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
299,786 (Census 2021)
Council
Nottingham (mostly)
County
Nottinghamshire
Region
East Midlands
Area
23.2 sq mi (60 km²)
ONS code
E63001992
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.
