Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 1,998 people live in this village, in Somerset, South West.
Health is its strong suit (B): men here can expect to live to 81.5, women to 84.9. Cost of living is its weak spot: the median home sold for £322,500, 6.5 years of area income. School results trail most towns: primary results beat 8% of towns in England; secondary results beat 60% of towns in England. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for safety, B− for jobs & income, B− for walkability and B for hazard risk.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency. Axbridge has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
ONS publishes one rent for all of Somerset, so this town's Cost Grade uses house prices and council tax only.
The 3 things Axbridge 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 Axbridge is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Axbridge has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Axbridge’s built-up area.
27% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Axbridge. Best known first.
Museum · National TrustKing John's Hunting Lodge (Axbridge Museum)in town
AttractionGough's Cave2.7 km outside town, to the east
CastleBanwell Castle4.5 km outside town, to the northwest
Fort · National TrustDolebury Hill Fort4.4 km outside town, to the northeastAttractionAttractionCox's Cave and The Crystal Quest2.5 km outside town, to the eastHistoric siteHistoric site · National TrustDolebury Warren inner wall4.4 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Axbridge.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 25% of Axbridge’s land, above Somerset’s towns (8%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. The town’s listed buildings include the Church of St John the Baptist, Grade I. It counts 86 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 1 Grade I, 6 Grade II*. 27% of homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Its only school is listed below. Key Stage 2 results at the one primary school within 3 km: half of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 48% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 47.2.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axbridge Church of England First School AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 177 | – |
Social housing holds just over one in ten households, lower than both Somerset’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (18%). The median sale, £322,500, comes from 95 standard sales inside Axbridge’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Private rents average £1,016 a month across the Somerset council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £509,997 | 28 |
| Semi-detached | £300,000 | 15 |
| Terraced | £310,000 | 35 |
| Flat or maisonette | £168,000 | 17 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 70% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Axbridge is Weston General Hospital, 7.1 miles away. Women here live to 84.9 on average and men to 81.5 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Axbridge | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.5% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Violent crime runs at 20.2 per 1,000 residents a year. A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 74 offences in Axbridge and 12 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 57% of recorded crime.
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Nearly a third of commuters travelled under 5 km, below Somerset’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%) alike. At the census, 83% of commuters went by car. About 11% of its commuters stay in Axbridge for work. Income per household averages £58K a year, before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
At 49.2, the median resident of Axbridge sits in the middle of the age range. People 65 and over make up 24% of the town, about level with Somerset’s towns (23%) and above England’s towns (18%). Among adults, 39% have a degree.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Axbridge | Somerset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 33% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.5% | 6.1% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 39% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Somerset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
8 notable people were born in Axbridge.
Mark Pizey: John Alfred Hampton, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axbridge | 1,998 | — | — | D | B | B |
| Cheddar | 5,841 | 1.8 | C | D | C | B+ |
| Shipham | 1,104 | 2.2 | — | D | A+ | A− |
| Winscombe and Sandford | 4,605 | 2.4 | B+ | D | B+ | A |
| Draycott | 1,069 | 3.6 | — | D | B− | A |
| Banwell | 2,178 | 3.7 | — | C | C+ | B |
| Churchill | 1,989 | 3.8 | — | D | C | A |
| Wedmore | 1,424 | 4.3 | — | D− | A | A+ |
Shipham, Draycott, Banwell, Churchill and Wedmore have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 17.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St John the Baptist.
One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Somerset council.
Band D council tax in Axbridge is £2,551 for 2026–27, more than in 76% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Village in Somerset, England
Axbridge is a built-up area of 1,998 people, in the Sedgemoor 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.