Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
42% of households own their home outright. Home to 13,749 people, this town lies in Somerset, South West.
Schools are its strong suit: primary results beat 86% of towns in England; secondary results beat 71% of towns in England. The trade-off is safety — 33.1 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 10.1 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 54%. It also trails on cost of living (C): the median home sold for £310,000, 5.2 years of area income. Put together, the subjects come to a B overall, ranking #11 of 49 in Somerset. That leaves it better than 62% of UK towns. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for health, B for jobs & income, B for walkability and B for hazard risk.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Midsomer Norton 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 Midsomer Norton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 39 buildings inside Midsomer Norton’s built-up area, 7 of them Grade II*.
17% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1905.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Midsomer Norton.
Of its 9 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. 69% of pupils at the town’s 5 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Between them, six primaries and two secondaries teach 4,234 pupils in Midsomer Norton.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St John's CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 382 | B |
| Norton Hill AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,757 | B+ |
| Westfield Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 358 | A− |
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 831 crimes and 191 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Midsomer Norton’s built-up area. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 11.5 reports per 1,000, higher than both Somerset’s towns (7.2) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were half of the crimes.
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.
13% of households are private tenants. Social housing holds one in ten households, below both Somerset’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (18%). Also worth knowing: from September 2023 to August 2026, 548 homes sold inside Midsomer Norton’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £310,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £401,425 | 178 |
| Semi-detached | £305,000 | 191 |
| Terraced | £257,500 | 127 |
| Flat or maisonette | £157,750 | 52 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 15% of Midsomer Norton’s land, higher than both Somerset’s towns (8%) and England’s towns (7%). For its size, Midsomer Norton has 28 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. Before 1919: that is when 17% of homes were built.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 25% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For every resident in work, Midsomer Norton has 0.7 jobs. 83% of commuters drove, higher than both Somerset’s towns (76%) and England’s towns (70%). Work in town: 21% of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The nearest A&E to Midsomer Norton is Royal United Hospital Bath, 8.5 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; nearly four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 4.5% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, below Somerset’s towns (5.1%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike.
| Census 2021 | Midsomer Norton | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 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 · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
22% of residents are 65 or over, close to Somerset’s towns (23%) and above England’s towns (18%). Half the people of Midsomer Norton are older than 43.8. One measure of family life: 17% of residents are under 15.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Midsomer Norton | Somerset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.6% | 6.1% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Somerset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
39 listed buildings in Midsomer Norton.
Parish Church of St John the Baptist: Photo: Peter Wood · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of the Holy Ghost: Photo: ChurchCrawler · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Midsomer Norton Bath and North East Somerset Council Offices: Photo: Neil Owen · CC BY-SA 2.0 · White Hart Public House: Photo: Nigel Shoosmith · CC BY-SA 2.0
10 notable people were born in Midsomer Norton.
Anita Harris: SteVader, CC BY 3.0 · Uriah Maggs: Moondaisy, CC BY 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midsomer Norton | 13,749 | — | B | C | C | B |
| Radstock | 9,983 | 1.4 | C− | B− | C− | C |
| Chilcompton | 1,857 | 1.6 | — | D | A− | B |
| Paulton | 6,502 | 1.8 | B | C+ | B | B− |
| High Littleton | 1,655 | 3 | — | C− | B− | B |
| Timsbury | 2,506 | 3.1 | B | C | B+ | A− |
| Coleford | 2,235 | 3.3 | — | B | B+ | B− |
| Peasedown St John | 6,668 | 3.4 | B | C | B | B |
Chilcompton, High Littleton and Coleford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Secondary results beat 71%.
About the middle for its size: 46% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Somerset, England
Midsomer Norton is a built-up area of 13,749 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
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.