Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The village, home to 2,178 people, lies in Somerset, South West.
Floods and other hazards weigh less here (A). Walkability is its weak spot — 8% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. A median £330,000 buys a home here, 5.9 times what households in the North Somerset council area earn in a year. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for schools and B for health.
Figures: flood risk, Environment Agency · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS. Below 2,500 residents there is no overall grade, so Banwell has its subject grades alone.
The 3 things Banwell 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 Banwell is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Banwell’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
21% 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 Banwell. Best known first.
CastleBanwell Castlein town
Museum · National TrustKing John's Hunting Lodge (Axbridge Museum)4.7 km outside town, to the southeast
CastleCastle Batch4.6 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumThe Helicopter Museum3.6 km outside town, to the west
Fort · National TrustDolebury Hill Fort4.4 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumBanwell Fire Station Museumin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Banwell.
The 15-to-24 age group: 10%, lower than both Somerset’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Under-15s account for 14% of the population. Banwell has a median age of 50.6. Degrees are held by 30% of adults.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
| Banwell | Somerset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.2% | 6.1% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Somerset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the 5 primary schools within 3 km, 61% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). There is one school here; it is shown below. The town’s primary school has 137 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banwell Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 137 | C− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 31% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Household income came to £52K a year before tax, below Somerset’s towns (£55K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike. The car carried 89% of commuters at the census. 3% of commuters who live in Banwell also work there. 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
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 6 of them, Grade I 1. Banwell’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Andrew, Grade I. Scaled to its population, Banwell has 152 listed buildings per 10,000 people, above Somerset’s towns (90) and England’s towns (39) alike. Homes built before 1919 account for 21% of the housing.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Home ownership stands at 78% of households. From September 2023 to August 2026, 108 homes sold inside Banwell’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £330,000. Private rents average £1,209 a month across the North Somerset council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £391,000 | 54 |
| Semi-detached | £289,950 | 39 |
| Terraced | £266,250 | 8 |
| Flat or maisonette | £190,000 | 7 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Among the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Banwell has more crime per resident than nearly four fifths of them. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 116 recorded crimes inside the town’s built-up area, and 12 reports of anti-social behaviour. Burglary and damage came to 10.6 per 1,000 residents a year, higher than both Somerset’s towns (8.5) and England’s towns (9.4). Violence and sexual offences made up 63% of the total.
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.
At the census, 77% of people in Banwell called their health good or very good, below Somerset’s towns (82%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. 8.2% of residents report bad or very bad health. Men in Banwell can expect to live to 84.2, women to 85.8 (2019–23). There is no GP practice here: the nearest is 2.1 miles off.
| Census 2021 | Banwell | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 8.2% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 24% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
4 notable people were born in Banwell.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banwell | 2,178 | — | — | C | C+ | B |
| Locking | 3,819 | 1.7 | D | C+ | C− | B |
| Winscombe and Sandford | 4,605 | 1.7 | B+ | D | B+ | A |
| West Wick | 2,425 | 2.1 | — | C+ | C+ | C+ |
| Hutton | 1,686 | 2.5 | — | C | A− | B+ |
| Shipham | 1,104 | 3.4 | — | D | A+ | A− |
| Weston-super-Mare | 84,600 | 3.5 | D | B− | D | C− |
| Churchill | 1,989 | 3.7 | — | D | C | A |
West Wick, Hutton, Shipham and Churchill have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 6.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of St Andrew. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Village in Somerset, England
Banwell is a built-up area of 2,178 people, in the North Somerset 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.