Bath grades B− overall against UK towns: better than 47% of UK towns, and #21 of 49 in Somerset. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 44% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (D): 5.6% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £445,000 in the last three years, 7.4 times what households in the Bath and North East Somerset council area earn in a year.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Bath is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bath.
Who lives here
Bath skews young, with 24% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than Somerset’s towns or England’s towns
Degrees are held by 44% of adults. 13% are under 15, lower than both Somerset’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Retirement age and beyond: 17% of residents are 65 or older. The age that splits Bath in two is 35.2.
35.2median age
BathSomersetEngland
Ages · share of residents
24%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications10%
Apprenticeship3%
A levels or similar25%
Degree level44%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
ONS Census 2021 · Somerset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
SchoolsB
Results at Bath’s schools beat 61% of towns in England
Attainment 8 at the town’s 6 secondary schools averages 53.6, and three in five pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Of its 30 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. At the town’s 17 primary schools, 57% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 30 schools →
History
2,275 listed buildings, 102 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
It is part of the City of Bath World Heritage Site. Scaled to its population, Bath has 242 listed buildings per 10,000 people, above Somerset’s towns (90) and England’s towns (39) alike. Its listed buildings include the Abbey Church of St Peter and St Paul, Grade I. 38% of homes date from before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A
More commuters in Bath work nearby than in Somerset’s towns or England’s towns: 69% travel under 5 km
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 43% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
53% of commuters drove, below both Somerset’s towns (76%) and England’s towns (70%). Working from home was the norm for 43% of workers at the census. Work in town: 67% of resident commuters. The average household earns £61K a year before tax.
44%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving53%
On foot30%
Bus8%
Bicycle5%
Train2%
69%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
43%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£61K
mean household income, before tax
2.1%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
A+
Walkability: more walkable than almost every UK town
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
HousingCost of living grade D
Bath is a renters’ town: 27% of households rent privately, more than in Somerset’s towns or across England’s towns
Owners make up 55% of households. Private rents average £1,885 a month across the Bath and North East Somerset council area. From September 2023 to August 2026, 3,657 homes sold inside the town’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £445,000.
£445Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Bath£445K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£820,000
444
Semi-detached
£500,000
758
Terraced
£450,000
1,336
Flat or maisonette
£315,000
1,119
55%
of households own their home · England 61%
27%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,885
average private rent a month, Bath and North East Somerset council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Safety
Bath records more burglary and damage per resident than Somerset’s towns or England’s towns, at 16.9 per 1,000 a year
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Police recorded 9,719 crimes inside Bath’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 1,927 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violent crime ran at 41.6 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Somerset’s towns (27) and England’s towns (22). Violence and sexual offences were nearly two fifths of the crimes.
41.6violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 53% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual3,810
Shoplifting1,725
Public order986
Other theft773
Damage & arson713
Burglary506
Vehicle crime470
Robbery196
Anti-social1,927
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.
41.6
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
16.9
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
17.7
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
85% of people in Bath say their health is good or very good, more than in Somerset’s towns or across England’s towns
At the census, 3.9% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, lower than both Somerset’s towns (5.1%) and England’s towns (5.2%). 10 GP practices serve the town; 84% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Bath is Royal United Hospital Bath, 1.3 miles away.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Tyrone Mings: DavidPMaynard, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jacqueline Wilson: Edwardx, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Adelard of Bath: Attributed to Meliacin Master, Public domain · PinkPantheress: CamilaAlves.raf, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Scott Sinclair: Ailura, CC BY-SA 3.0 at · Ashley Barnes: Timmy96, CC0
Bathampton, Newton St Loe, Bathford and Winsley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Bath
How many listed buildings are there in Bath?
That is 9.9 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Abbey Church of St Peter and St Paul. It also has 5 scheduled monuments. Part of it is in the City of Bath World Heritage Site.
Does Bath flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Is Bath safe?
About the middle for its size: 47% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades D.
About Bath
Large town in Somerset, England
Bath is a built-up area of 94,080 people, in the Bath and North East 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
Population
94,080 (Census 2021)
Council
Bath and North East Somerset
County
Somerset
Region
South West
Area
8.8 sq mi (22.8 km²)
ONS code
E63005227
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.
