Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,819 in Somerset, South West.
Locking grades D overall against UK towns: better than 13% of UK towns, and #40 of 49 in Somerset. Its strongest subject is hazard risk (A): 0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its weakest is walkability (D−): 6% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The median home sold for £292,250 in the last three years, 5.2 times what households in the North Somerset council area earn in a year.
The 2 things Locking 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 Locking is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 3 buildings inside Locking’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
2% 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 Locking. Best known first.
Theme parkGrand Pier Main Pavilion4.5 km outside town, to the west
MuseumThe Helicopter Museum500 m outside town, to the northwest
CastleBanwell Castle2.5 km outside town, to the east
CastleCastle Batch2.4 km outside town, to the north
MuseumWeston Museum3.8 km outside town, to the west
Theme parkTropicana4.1 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Locking.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Locking sits above both Somerset’s towns (76%) and England’s towns (70%) on this measure. 40% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parklands Educate Together PrimaryLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 424 | D |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Locking has 3 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 2% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
That puts Locking above both Somerset’s towns (27) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 322 crimes inside Locking’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 48 reports of anti-social behaviour. Homes see 11.8 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year.
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
On this, Locking is above both Somerset’s towns (82%) and England’s towns (82%). Women here live to 85.8 on average and men to 84.2 (2019–23). Locking has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Locking | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.5% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
In the comparison, Locking comes above both Somerset’s towns (67%) and England’s towns (61%). Private renters make up 12% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £399,995 | 81 |
| Semi-detached | £299,497 | 134 |
| Terraced | £253,500 | 38 |
| Flat or maisonette | £189,995 | 61 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
For Locking, that is above both Somerset’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). 8.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24. The median resident of Locking is 38.7 years old.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Locking | Somerset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 6.1% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 23% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 29% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Somerset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locking | 3,819 | — | D | C+ | C− | B |
| Hutton | 1,686 | 1 | — | C | A− | B+ |
| West Wick | 2,425 | 1.4 | — | C+ | C+ | C+ |
| Banwell | 2,178 | 1.7 | — | C | C+ | B |
| Weston-super-Mare | 84,600 | 1.9 | D | B− | D | C− |
| Kewstoke | 1,609 | 3.3 | — | C− | D− | B− |
| Winscombe and Sandford | 4,605 | 3.4 | B+ | D | B+ | A |
| Shipham | 1,104 | 5.1 | — | D | A+ | A− |
Hutton, West Wick, Banwell, Kewstoke and Shipham have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: 88% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less. Police recorded 322 crimes inside Locking’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 61% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
GCSE results trail 73% of towns in England, and primary results trail 86% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Locking has 2 state schools; places are handled by North Somerset council.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Somerset, England
Locking is a built-up area of 3,819 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.