Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Over-65s are 34% of the population. Some 1,968 people live in this village, in Shropshire, West Midlands.
Pontesbury is hard to get around without a car: one in ten commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. At a median £328,500, a home costs 6.5 times the yearly income of households in the Shropshire council area. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for safety, B− for schools and B− for health. Hazards are a real consideration (C): 1.3% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency. With fewer than 2,500 residents, Pontesbury has subject grades but no overall one.
The 3 things Pontesbury 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 Pontesbury is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
With fewer than 2,500 residents, Pontesbury has subject grades but no overall one.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Pontesbury’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
23% 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 Pontesbury.
Degrees are held by 36% of adults, above both Shropshire’s towns (29%) and England’s towns (34%). Children are 15% of the town. Pontesbury has a median age of 53.2. The 15-to-24 age group makes up nearly one in ten residents.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Pontesbury | Shropshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.1% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 34% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.2% | 5.9% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 36% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Shropshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the 2 primary schools within 3 km: just over two thirds of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are its two schools. Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 41.1, and 35% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pontesbury CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 211 | C+ |
| Mary Webb School and Science CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 632 | C− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 24% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Driving is how nearly nine in ten commuters got to work at the census. Unemployment benefit claims came to 2.1% of 16 to 64s in 2026, lower than both Shropshire’s towns (2.4%) and England’s towns (2.3%). The town counts 0.6 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 1 of them. Homes from before 1919 make up 23% of the total. One scheduled monument lies in Pontesbury.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Owners make up three quarters of households. Behind the median of £328,500: 102 standard sales inside Pontesbury’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026. Private rents average £823 a month across the Shropshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £397,475 | 60 |
| Semi-detached | £270,000 | 33 |
| Terraced | £270,000 | 6 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violence and sexual offences were nearly three fifths of the crimes. Over the year to August 2026, 87 offences were reported in Pontesbury, along with 19 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Also worth knowing: there were 11 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.
20% of residents have a disability, close to Shropshire’s towns (19%) and above England’s towns (17%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 6.3% of the town. The nearest A&E to Pontesbury is Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, 5.9 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; nearly nine in ten patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Pontesbury | Shropshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.3% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontesbury | 1,968 | — | — | C+ | B− | B− |
| Minsterley | 1,719 | 1.5 | — | A− | C+ | C+ |
| Hanwood | 1,257 | 4 | — | B+ | C | C+ |
| Bayston Hill | 5,221 | 5.4 | A | B | A+ | B |
| Shrewsbury | 76,013 | 7.6 | C+ | B | C− | C |
| Church Stretton | 3,576 | 8.6 | B+ | C | B+ | A− |
| Bomere Heath | 1,364 | 9.7 | — | B | C+ | B− |
| Baschurch | 2,007 | 9.9 | — | B− | A− | A− |
Minsterley, Hanwood, Bomere Heath and Baschurch have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.9 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Village in Shropshire, England
Pontesbury is a built-up area of 1,968 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.