Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,287 in Shropshire, West Midlands.
Wem grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 37% of UK towns, and #14 of 19 in Shropshire. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 18% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is jobs & income (D): mean household income £43,745; 2.8% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The median home sold for £240,000 in the last three years, 4.8 times what households in the Shropshire council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Wem 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 Wem is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 89 buildings inside Wem’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
17% 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 Wem.
13% of the population is aged 15 to 24, above both Shropshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%); what’s more, over-65s are 27% of the population. Ages in Wem split evenly at 47.6: half are older, half younger. Degrees are held by 25% of adults.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Wem | Shropshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.9% | 5.9% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Shropshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Below are its two schools. Three in five pupils at the one primary school within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Some 1,618 pupils attend Wem’s one primary and one secondary.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Peter's CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 404 | C+ |
| The Thomas Adams SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,214 | C |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 3 of them. Per 10,000 residents, Wem counts 142 listed buildings, above both Shropshire’s towns (71) and England’s towns (39). The national list protects one ancient monument locally.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 79% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 78% of people in Wem called their health good or very good, below both Shropshire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 6.3% of the town. The nearest A&E to Wem is Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, 10.5 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Wem | Shropshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.3% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 17% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Wem counts 0.5 jobs per working resident. Working mainly from home: 17% of workers, below both Shropshire’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (31%). 80% of commuters drove to work at the census. About 19% of its commuters stay in Wem for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
14% live in social housing, below both Shropshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). 285 standard sales inside Wem’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £240,000. Private rents average £823 a month across the Shropshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £305,000 | 133 |
| Semi-detached | £220,000 | 81 |
| Terraced | £172,750 | 60 |
| Flat or maisonette | £115,000 | 11 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 365 crimes and 63 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Wem’s built-up area. 58% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Wem has more crime per resident than 65% of them.
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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Wem. Best known first.
CastleRed Castle4.1 km outside town, to the eastZooZooShropshire Falconry2.1 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumWartime Aircraft Recovery Group Museum2.9 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
89 listed buildings in Wem.
Church of St Peter and St Paul: Photo: Eirian Evans · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wem Castle: a motte castle immediately south west of St Peter and St Paul's Church: Photo: Jennymutual · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Former White Horse Hotel: Photo: Philip Halling · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Former National Westminster Bank: Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0
6 notable people were born in Wem.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wem | 6,287 | — | C+ | B+ | C+ | C− |
| Prees | 1,013 | 3.7 | — | B+ | B | B+ |
| Prees Higher Heath | 1,226 | 5 | — | B | A | B |
| Shawbury | 1,962 | 5.4 | — | A− | B | B− |
| Bomere Heath | 1,364 | 6.3 | — | B | C+ | B− |
| Baschurch | 2,007 | 7.1 | — | B− | A− | A− |
| Whitchurch | 9,856 | 7.9 | C | B+ | C+ | C |
| Ellesmere | 4,268 | 8.2 | B− | A− | C+ | B− |
Prees, Prees Higher Heath, Shawbury, 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 5.8 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
GCSE results trail 71% of towns in England, and primary results trail 58% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Wem has 2 state schools; places are handled by Shropshire council.
Against all UK towns, it grades C+.
Town in Shropshire, England
Wem is a built-up area of 6,287 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.
