Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
12,172 residents make their home in this town in Shropshire, West Midlands. 42% of households own their home with no mortgage.
Few extremes here. Its strongest is walkability — 19% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Jobs & income is its weak spot: households earn a mean £48,967 a year, and 2.6% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. It takes 5.2 years of household income in the Shropshire council area to buy the median home, at £260,000. All told, that adds up to a B− overall and a rank of #6 of 19 in Shropshire. On that grade it does better than 53% of UK towns. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: C+ for schools and B− for health.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Bridgnorth 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 Bridgnorth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 238 buildings inside Bridgnorth’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
20% 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 Bridgnorth.
Children under 15 make up 14%, below both Shropshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are nearly a tenth of the population. Typical age in Bridgnorth: 50.5, the median.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Bridgnorth | Shropshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 5.9% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Shropshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Between them, four primaries and two secondaries teach 2,209 pupils in Bridgnorth. Castlefields Primary School’s results beat 89% of schools in England like it. 64% of pupils at the town’s 4 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Of its 6 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Leonard's CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 261 | B− |
| Oldbury Wells SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 740 | C |
| Castlefields Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 226 | A |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Bridgnorth’s listed buildings include Bishop Percy's House, Grade I. Historic England’s list names 238 listed buildings locally: 1 Grade I, 11 Grade II*. Conservation areas cover 16% of the town’s land, higher than both Shropshire’s towns (7%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 27% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
30% of commuters who live in Bridgnorth also work there. The car took 79% of commuters, about level with Shropshire’s towns (80%) and above England’s towns (70%). This Shropshire town counts 0.7 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
13% live in social housing, below both Shropshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). From September 2023 to August 2026, 562 homes sold inside Bridgnorth’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £260,000. Private rents average £823 a month across the Shropshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £385,000 | 138 |
| Semi-detached | £260,000 | 165 |
| Terraced | £242,000 | 169 |
| Flat or maisonette | £150,000 | 90 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violence and sexual offences made up 44% of the total. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 754 recorded crimes inside Bridgnorth’s built-up area, and 116 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violent crime ran at 26.4 per 1,000 residents a year, close to Shropshire’s towns (25.2) and above England’s towns (22).
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.
One GP practice serves the town; nearly two thirds of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Bridgnorth is The Princess Royal Hospital, 12.7 miles away. At the census, 18% of people here had a disability, lower than Shropshire’s towns (19%) yet higher than England’s towns (17%).
| Census 2021 | Bridgnorth | Shropshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.5% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 19% | 17% |
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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Bridgnorth. Best known first.
CastleBridgnorth Castlein town
MuseumNorthgate Museumin town
Historic house · National TrustMorville Hall3.1 km outside town, to the west
Museum · National TrustDudmaston Hall3.4 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseUpton Cressett Hall4.4 km outside town, to the westChurchChurchSaint Leonard's Churchin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
238 listed buildings in Bridgnorth, 1 of them Grade I.
Bridgnorth Castle: Photo: Dr Phillip McCavity · CC BY 3.0 · Church of St. Leonard: Photo: Richard Symonds · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bridgnorth Station: Photo: mattbuck ( category ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Foster Arms Public House: Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0
29 notable people were born in Bridgnorth.
Thomas Percy: J. Hawksworth after a painting by Lemuel Abbott, Public domain · Ashley Westwood: Stew jones, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Katharine Price Collier St. George: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Public domain · Ross Antony: CHR!S, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dominic Sandbrook: Peter, CC BY 2.0 · Francis Moore: From an anonymous Print published at that date, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgnorth | 12,172 | — | B− | B | C+ | B− |
| Broseley | 5,596 | 5.9 | C+ | B | B− | B− |
| Highley | 3,305 | 6 | C+ | A | C+ | B− |
| Alveley | 1,505 | 6.1 | — | B | A− | B |
| Much Wenlock | 1,766 | 7 | — | B− | C+ | B |
| Pattingham | 1,773 | 7.6 | — | B− | B+ | B+ |
| Albrighton | 6,983 | 9 | A | B− | A | B+ |
| Swindon | 1,134 | 9.4 | — | C+ | C | B |
Alveley, Much Wenlock, Pattingham and Swindon have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 8 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Bishop Percy's House. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
About the middle for its size: 36% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C+.
Town in Shropshire, England
Bridgnorth is a built-up area of 12,172 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.