Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 4,268: a town in Shropshire, West Midlands. Over-65s are 29% of the population.
Housing is within reach (A−): a typical home costs £225,000 and rent runs £823 a month. The weak point is jobs & income — mean household income £47,874; 2.6% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Schools are weaker too: primary results beat 46% of towns in England; secondary results beat 30% of towns in England. Put together, the subjects come to a B− overall, ranking #5 of 19 in Shropshire. Nationally, it does better than 55% of UK towns.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
The 3 things Ellesmere 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 Ellesmere is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 106 buildings inside Ellesmere’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
18% 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 Ellesmere.
Aged 15 to 24: 8.8% of residents. Children under 15 make up 16%, below Shropshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Half of Ellesmere is older than 49.4, half younger.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Ellesmere | Shropshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.8% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 29% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.3% | 5.9% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 29% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Shropshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Both of its schools are shown below. Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 42.7, with 40% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Key Stage 2 results at the 3 primary schools within 3 km: just over three in five pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellesmere Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 378 | C+ |
| Lakelands AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 590 | C+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover a fifth of Ellesmere’s land, above both Shropshire’s towns (7%) and England’s towns (7%). The town’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. It has 106 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 2 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
12% live in social housing, lower than both Shropshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). The median sale, £225,000, comes from 280 standard sales inside Ellesmere’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Private renters make up nearly a fifth of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £349,995 | 96 |
| Semi-detached | £220,000 | 113 |
| Terraced | £167,497 | 52 |
| Flat or maisonette | £129,995 | 19 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 18% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Working mainly from home: 18% of workers, below both Shropshire’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (31%). By car: that was how 81% of commuters travelled at the census. There are 0.5 jobs in Ellesmere for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Over the year to August 2026, 235 offences were reported in Ellesmere, along with 42 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up 53% of the total. There were 10.1 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both Shropshire’s towns (8.1) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
The nearest A&E to Ellesmere is Wrexham Maelor Hospital, 10.6 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 72% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 20% of residents have a disability, close to Shropshire’s towns (19%) and above England’s towns (17%).
| Census 2021 | Ellesmere | Shropshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.9% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 19% | 17% |
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.
106 listed buildings in Ellesmere, 1 of them Grade I.
Ellesmere Castle: a motte and bailey castle 200m south west of St Mary's Church: Photo: Jeff Buck · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Black Lion Hotel: Photo: Jonathan Hutchins · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Canal Warehouse of the Shropshire Union Canal (Llangollen Branch): Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Fulwood House (Ellesmere Branch Library): Photo: Jonathan Hutchins · CC BY-SA 2.0
7 notable people were born in Ellesmere.
Peter Lee: Sandro Halank, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellesmere | 4,268 | — | B− | A− | C+ | B− |
| St Martins | 2,692 | 4.6 | B− | A | B | C+ |
| Whittington | 1,618 | 5.1 | — | B+ | B− | B |
| Gobowen | 3,046 | 5.8 | C− | A | C | C |
| Chirk | 3,930 | 6.9 | C | B+ | C− | C |
| Weston Rhyn | 1,381 | 7 | — | A | C+ | C+ |
| Oswestry | 17,500 | 7.1 | C+ | A | C | C |
| Morda | 1,976 | 8 | — | B+ | A− | C+ |
Whittington, Weston Rhyn and Morda have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 10.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
About the middle for its size: 63% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+.
Town in Shropshire, England
Ellesmere is a built-up area of 4,268 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.