Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
43% of households own their home outright. 27,891 residents make their home in this large town in Staffordshire, West Midlands.
A town of contrasts. Overall, Burntwood earns a B−: better than 54% of UK towns, and #24 of 46 in Staffordshire. Prices are modest for what you get: the median home sold for £245,000, 4.3 years of area income. Its weakest subject is walkability: on the way to work, 11% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for schools and C+ for jobs & income.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Burntwood is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Burntwood does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 9 buildings inside Burntwood’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
8% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →9 listed buildings in Burntwood.
Christchurch: Photo: Bs0u10e01 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Chase Terrace and Boney Hay War Memorial: Photo: Richard Law · CC BY-SA 2.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Burntwood.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 8% of the total, below both Staffordshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (16%). Per 10,000 residents, Burntwood counts 3 listed buildings.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Attainment 8 at the town’s 2 secondary schools averages 45.1, and 39% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Fulfen Primary School’s results beat 81% of schools in England like it. 63% of pupils at the town’s 8 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Of its 11 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ridgeway Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 608 | B− |
| Chase Terrace AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,172 | C+ |
| Fulfen Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 409 | A− |
Private renters make up 12% of households, below both Staffordshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (21%). 13% of households live in social housing. Half of the 1,025 standard sales inside Burntwood’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £245,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £340,000 | 286 |
| Semi-detached | £240,000 | 447 |
| Terraced | £205,000 | 229 |
| Flat or maisonette | £135,000 | 63 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Children under 15 count for 16% of the people here. 25% of residents are 65 or over, higher than both Staffordshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (18%). Line up the people of Burntwood by age and the one in the middle is 46.8. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 9.6% of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Burntwood | Staffordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 24% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Staffordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 22% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Driving is how 88% of commuters got to work at the census. Household income came to £49K a year before tax, below Staffordshire’s towns (£54K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike. Nearly a fifth of commuters who live in Burntwood also work there. For every resident in work, Burntwood has 0.6 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The nearest A&E to Burntwood is Manor Hospital, 7.4 miles away. 2 GP practices serve the town; just over four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 20% of residents have a disability, about level with Staffordshire’s towns (19%) and above England’s towns (17%).
| Census 2021 | Burntwood | Staffordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.8% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 19% | 17% |
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.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violent crime ran at 27.5 per 1,000 residents a year, higher than both Staffordshire’s towns (24) and England’s towns (22). A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 1,549 offences in Burntwood and 279 cases of nuisance behaviour. Half of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Burntwood. Best known first.
Heritage railwayChasewater Railwayin town
CathedralLichfield Cathedral3.5 km outside town, to the east
MuseumThe Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum3.6 km outside town, to the east · 16K visitors a year
Historic houseErasmus Darwin House3.3 km outside town, to the east
MuseumLichfield Heritage Centre3.6 km outside town, to the eastRuinsRuins · English HeritageLetocetum Roman Baths and Museum2.8 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
6 notable people were born in Burntwood.
Alan Wiley: Sdo216, CC BY-SA 3.0
Large town in Staffordshire, England
Burntwood is a built-up area of 27,891 people, in the Lichfield 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burntwood | 27,891 | — | B− | A− | C+ | C |
| Norton Canes | 8,155 | 2.2 | C | B− | C− | C− |
| Brownhills | 21,238 | 2.5 | D− | C− | D | D |
| Clayhanger | 1,698 | 2.8 | — | D | B− | C |
| Rawnsley | 2,470 | 2.8 | — | B+ | B− | C− |
| Stonnall | 1,340 | 3.4 | — | C+ | B+ | B+ |
| Pelsall | 10,455 | 4 | D | D | C | C |
| Cannock | 63,057 | 4 | C− | B | C− | C− |
Clayhanger, Rawnsley and Stonnall have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
It has less crime than most places its size: less crime per resident than 67% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. 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.
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.
