Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village in Shropshire, West Midlands, home to 407 people.
There are no grades for Acton Burnell: with fewer than 1,000 residents, they wouldn’t be fair. The figures on this page are still real. Roughly one resident in 2 is aged 15 to 24. 17 listed buildings, 2 of them Grade I.
The 3 things Acton Burnell does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 17 buildings inside Acton Burnell’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
41% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Acton Burnell.
People 65 and over make up 7.4% of the town, below both Shropshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (18%). Ages in Acton Burnell split evenly at 19.6: half are older, half younger. Graduates make up 32% of adults.
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Acton Burnell is a campus town: students living in halls or boarding houses count as residents.
| Acton Burnell | Shropshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 41% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 15% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 22% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 7.4% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 6.9% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.6% | 5.9% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 21% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Shropshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Unemployment benefit claims reached 0.8% of 16 to 64s in 2026. The car took 63% of commuters, below Shropshire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Two in five commuters travelled under 5 km to work. Of the commuters living in Acton Burnell, 37% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Social housing holds 1% of households. Private rents average £823 a month across the Shropshire council area. Owners make up 58% of households, lower than Shropshire’s towns (64%) and near England’s towns (61%).
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violence came to 6.6 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Shropshire’s towns (25.4) and England’s towns (22). Acton Burnell logged 2 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 2 complaints of anti-social conduct.
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
Self-reported good health: 92% of Acton Burnell’s residents. 10% of residents have a disability, below Shropshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (17%) alike. Seeing a GP means leaving Acton Burnell: the nearest practice is 5.4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Acton Burnell | Shropshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 92% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.2% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 10% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Acton Burnell’s land, 89% lies in conservation areas, above Shropshire’s towns (8%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. The town’s listed buildings include Acton Burnell Castle, Grade I. Scaled to its population, that is 418 listed buildings for every 10,000 people here. Grade II* covers 1 of them, Grade I 2.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acton Burnell | 407 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bayston Hill | 5,221 | 5.3 | A | B | A+ | B |
| Much Wenlock | 1,766 | 5.6 | — | B− | C+ | B |
| Church Stretton | 3,576 | 7.2 | B+ | C | B+ | A− |
| Shrewsbury | 76,013 | 7.3 | C+ | B | C− | C |
| Hanwood | 1,257 | 7.4 | — | B+ | C | C+ |
| Broseley | 5,596 | 8.7 | C+ | B | B− | B− |
| Pontesbury | 1,968 | 8.8 | — | C+ | B− | B− |
Much Wenlock, Hanwood and Pontesbury have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 17.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Acton Burnell Castle. It also has 1 scheduled monument. 41% of Acton Burnell’s homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Band D council tax in Acton Burnell is £2,429 for 2026–27, less than in 54% 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.
Village in Shropshire, England
Acton Burnell is a built-up area of 407 people, in the Shropshire 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.