Strong in places, weak in others. Safety lags: 37.4 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 12.6 home and vehicle crimes. Set beside UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, its crime per resident is higher than in 24%. Overall, Shrewsbury earns a C+, better than 42% of UK towns. The ranking puts it #11 of 19 in Shropshire. Natural hazards weigh more here: 2.3% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: on the way to work, 24% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Buying the median home, at £265,000, takes 5.3 years of household income in the Shropshire council area.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Shrewsbury is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Shrewsbury.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
More commuters in Shrewsbury work nearby than in Shropshire’s towns or England’s towns: 57% travel under 5 km
24%walk, cycle or ride
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.
For every resident in work, Shrewsbury has 1.2 jobs. 73% of commuters drove, between Shropshire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (70%). Unemployment benefit claims reached 2.7% of 16 to 64s in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsC+
On exam results, Shrewsbury’s schools trail 65% of towns in England
C+School Grade
Secondary results at the town’s 4 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 43.1, with 38% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Oxon CofE Primary School’s results beat nearly four in five schools in England like it. Of its 27 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. Some 9,511 pupils attend Shrewsbury’s 20 primaries and four secondaries.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 27 schools →
History
A town of 764 listed buildings, 15 of them Grade I
764listed buildingsA−History Grade
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 16% of Shrewsbury’s land, higher than both Shropshire’s towns (7%) and England’s towns (7%). Its listed buildings include the Abbey Church of the Holy Cross, Grade I. Listed buildings per head: 101 for every 10,000 residents of the town. At the top of the list, 15 are Grade I and 65 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Safety
Shrewsbury records more crime per resident than 79% of UK towns
37.4violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC−Safety Grade
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Among the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, Shrewsbury has less crime per resident than just over three quarters of them. Police figures for the town’s built-up area: 5,671 crimes and 885 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. There were 15.6 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both Shropshire’s towns (8.1) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were 48% of the crimes.
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 76% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: less 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 & sexual2,727
Shoplifting688
Damage & arson599
Public order404
Other theft328
Drugs252
Burglary183
Other crime147
Anti-social885
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.
37.4
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
12.6
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
15.6
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
82% of residents say their health is good or very good
82%good or very good healthCHealth Grade
9 GP practices serve the town; 79% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Shrewsbury is Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, 2 miles away. Women here live to 83.1 on average and men to 79 (2019–23).
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
HousingCost of living grade B
Shrewsbury earns a B for cost of living grade
£265Kmedian sale
Half of the 3,337 standard sales inside Shrewsbury’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £265,000. Social housing holds 15% of households, below Shropshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £823 a month across the Shropshire council area.
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Shrewsbury£265K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£385,000
943
Semi-detached
£255,000
1,109
Terraced
£219,500
880
Flat or maisonette
£160,000
405
65%
of households own their home · England 61%
£823
average private rent a month, Shropshire council area
Charles Darwin: Herbert Rose Barraud, Public domain · Joe Hart: Голубович Дмитрий, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York: John Everett Millais, Public domain · Steven Fletcher: @cfcunofficial (Chelsea Debs) London, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Danny Guthrie: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mickyb59/ mikebrown59, CC BY 2.0
About Shrewsbury
Large town in Shropshire, England
Shrewsbury is a built-up area of 76,013 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.
Hanwood, Bomere Heath, Shawbury, Baschurch, Pontesbury and Minsterley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Shrewsbury
How many listed buildings are there in Shrewsbury?
That is 4.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Abbey Church of the Holy Cross. It also has 9 scheduled monuments.
Does Shrewsbury flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Is Shrewsbury safe?
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C−.
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.
