Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Shropshire, West Midlands has a population of 9,856. People aged 65 and over make up 24% of residents.
What it saves you on housing, it gives back elsewhere. Whitchurch’s overall grade, C, puts it better than 35% of UK towns. It ranks #16 of 19 in Shropshire. Its schools fall short: primary results beat 6% of towns in England; secondary results beat 19% of towns in England. Jobs & income is weaker too — the mean household earns £42,906 a year. Walkability is its strong suit (A−) — on the way to work, 22% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. The median home sold for £239,250, 4.8 times what households in the Shropshire council area earn in a year.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Whitchurch 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 Whitchurch is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 103 buildings inside Whitchurch’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
24% 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 Whitchurch.
Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 40.2, and 39% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Whitchurch’s two primaries and one secondary have 1,456 pupils between them. Key Stage 2 results at the 2 primary schools within 3 km: 48% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitchurch CofE Junior AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 304 | C− |
| Sir John Talbot's SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 861 | C |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Whitchurch’s listed buildings include the Church of Saint Alkmund, Grade I. It has 105 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, above both Shropshire’s towns (71) and England’s towns (39). Also worth knowing: at the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 7 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 19% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For every resident in work, Whitchurch has 0.8 jobs. About 37% of its commuters stay in Whitchurch for work. Nearly a fifth of workers worked mainly from home, below both Shropshire’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (31%). The car carried just over three quarters of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The age that splits Whitchurch in two is 47. Over-65s are nearly a quarter of the population. 9.6% of residents are 15 to 24, below Shropshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Degrees are held by 27% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Whitchurch | Shropshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.7% | 5.9% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Shropshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Private rents average £823 a month across the Shropshire council area. The £239,250 median rests on 552 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026). Social housing holds 15% of households, below Shropshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £360,000 | 193 |
| Semi-detached | £225,000 | 176 |
| Terraced | £167,750 | 148 |
| Flat or maisonette | £100,000 | 35 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The nearest A&E to Whitchurch is Leighton Hospital, 13.6 miles away. Life expectancy here is 83.1 for women and 78.1 for men (2019–23). There is no GP practice here: the nearest is 4.7 miles off.
| Census 2021 | Whitchurch | Shropshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.9% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
There were 11.8 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above Shropshire’s towns (8.1) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 543 crimes and 88 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Whitchurch’s built-up area. Of all the crimes, 52% were violence and sexual offences.
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.
103 listed buildings in Whitchurch, 1 of them Grade I.
Old Eagles Public House: Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Higginson's Almshouses and Adjoining Wall at Rear: Photo: Mike Pennington · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Saint Johns Methodist Church and Adjoining Church Hall: Photo: JThomas · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Churton Memorial Drinking Fountain: Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.0
9 notable people were born in Whitchurch.
Owen Paterson: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0 · Charles Smith: Alfred Martin Ebsworth, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitchurch | 9,856 | — | C | B+ | C+ | C |
| Prees Higher Heath | 1,226 | 3.8 | — | B | A | B |
| Malpas | 1,361 | 4.9 | — | C+ | C− | A− |
| Prees | 1,013 | 5 | — | B+ | B | B+ |
| Audlem | 1,833 | 7.6 | — | C | B+ | A− |
| Wem | 6,287 | 7.9 | C+ | B+ | C+ | C− |
| Market Drayton | 12,062 | 9.2 | C+ | A− | C | C+ |
| Nantwich | 18,741 | 9.7 | B− | B | C− | C+ |
Prees Higher Heath, Malpas, Prees and Audlem have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 4.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of Saint Alkmund. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Whitchurch has 3 state schools; places are handled by Shropshire council.
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
Whitchurch is a built-up area of 9,856 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.