Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
6,502 people call this town in Somerset, South West home.
One weak subject stands out against an otherwise good record. Overall, Paulton earns a B: better than 65% of UK towns, and #10 of 49 in Somerset. Pupils here do better than most (A−): primary results beat 71% of towns in England; secondary results beat 71% of towns in England. The median home sold for £287,000, 4.8 times what households in the Bath and North East Somerset council area earn in a year. What counts against it is walkability: 10% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for safety, B− for health, B− for jobs & income and B for hazard risk.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 2 things Paulton 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 Paulton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 18 buildings inside Paulton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Paulton.
65% of pupils at the 11 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below is one of its 2 schools, and why it was picked. Secondary results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 49.4, with 50% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paulton Junior SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 238 | B− |
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 34% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. About 11% of its commuters stay in Paulton for work. Jobs per working resident: 0.5.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Homes saw 7.1 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, below both Somerset’s towns (8.6) and England’s towns (9.4). Reported offences in Paulton came to 306 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 47. Violence and sexual offences made up 52% 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.
72% of households own their home, above Somerset’s towns (67%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. Council and housing-body homes hold 12% of households. Private rents average £1,885 a month across the Bath and North East Somerset council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £387,000 | 68 |
| Semi-detached | £290,000 | 87 |
| Terraced | £269,750 | 98 |
| Flat or maisonette | £166,250 | 36 |
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.
Paulton has 28 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, lower than both Somerset’s towns (94) and England’s towns (39). Grade II* covers 1 of them.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest A&E to Paulton is Royal United Hospital Bath, 7.6 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 77% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 4.4% of the town.
| Census 2021 | Paulton | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.4% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
The share aged 15 to 24 is 10%. Residents of Paulton have a median age of 39.8. Over-65s are a fifth of the population. Also worth knowing: just over a quarter of adults hold a degree, below Somerset’s towns (32%) and England’s towns (34%) alike.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Paulton | Somerset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.3% | 6.1% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Somerset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
18 listed buildings in Paulton.
Lamb Inn: Photo: Neil Owen · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Paulton Baptist Church: Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
8 notable people were born in Paulton.
Rodney Matthews: Rmssmr, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jason Matthews: https://www.flickr.com/photos/duvallrobbie2, CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paulton | 6,502 | — | B | C+ | B | B− |
| High Littleton | 1,655 | 1.2 | — | C− | B− | B |
| Midsomer Norton | 13,749 | 1.8 | B | C | C | B |
| Timsbury | 2,506 | 1.8 | B | C | B+ | A− |
| Temple Cloud | 1,518 | 1.9 | — | C− | B+ | B− |
| Clutton | 1,630 | 2.2 | — | C− | C+ | B |
| Radstock | 9,983 | 2.4 | C− | B− | C− | C |
| Farmborough | 1,106 | 2.6 | — | D | B+ | A− |
High Littleton, Temple Cloud, Clutton and Farmborough have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results beat 71% of towns in England, and primary results beat 71% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Paulton has 2 state schools; places are handled by Bath and North East Somerset council.
About the middle for its size: 35% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades B.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Somerset, England
Paulton is a built-up area of 6,502 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.
