Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Walking, cycling and public transport carry 13% of commuters. 3,229 residents make their home in this town in Staffordshire, West Midlands.
Plenty in its favour, and one clear drawback. Its standout strength is health: men here can expect to live to 83.8, women to 84.2. With an A− overall, Eccleshall is better than just over four fifths of UK towns and ranks #6 of 46 in Staffordshire. It is strong on cost of living as well (A−): homes sell for a median £315,000, about 5.8 times local household income. School results trail most towns: primary results beat 37% of towns in England. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for jobs & income and C+ for walkability.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Eccleshall is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Eccleshall does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 56 buildings inside Eccleshall’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
18% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →56 listed buildings in Eccleshall, 1 of them Grade I.
Royal Oak Hotel: Photo: AtticTapestry · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Police Station: Photo: Richard Law · CC BY-SA 2.0 · London House: Photo: Richard Law · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Midland Bank: Photo: Richard Law · CC BY-SA 2.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Eccleshall.
Young adults of 15 to 24 are 7.2% of residents, below both Staffordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). The median resident of Eccleshall is 50.1 years old. Among adults, 39% have a degree.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Eccleshall | Staffordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.2% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 29% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.7% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 39% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Staffordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Its one school is below. Nearly three in five pupils at the one primary school within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop Lonsdale Church of England Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 287 | C+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Eccleshall’s listed buildings include the Church of the Holy Trinity, Grade I. Historic England’s list names 56 listed buildings here: 1 Grade I. Of the town’s land, 20% lies in conservation areas, above both Staffordshire’s towns (4%) and England’s towns (7%). Homes built before 1919 account for 18% of the housing.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 88% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 16% of residents have a disability, below both Staffordshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (17%). Asked at the census, 83% of residents of Eccleshall said they were in good or very good health. The nearest A&E to Eccleshall is County Hospital, 7.1 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Eccleshall | Staffordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.5% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 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.
13% live in social housing, below both Staffordshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Owners make up 72% of households. Also worth knowing: the £315,000 median rests on 155 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £397,000 | 85 |
| Semi-detached | £262,000 | 42 |
| Terraced | £228,000 | 17 |
| Flat or maisonette | £160,000 | 11 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violence and sexual offences were 58% of the crimes. A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 132 offences in Eccleshall and 27 cases of nuisance behaviour. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Eccleshall has less crime per resident than 71% of them.
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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Just over a third of workers worked mainly from home, above Staffordshire’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (31%) alike. A household here earns £59K a year before tax, on average. Of the commuters living in Eccleshall, 9% work in the town itself. There are 0.5 jobs in Eccleshall for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Eccleshall. Best known first.
CastleEccleshall Castle200 m outside town, to the northwestWildlife parkWildlife parkGentleshaw Wildlife Centre300 m outside town, to the eastAttractionAttractionMill Meece Pumping Station4.4 km outside town, to the northGardenGardenSugnall Walled Garden3.1 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
5 notable people were born in Eccleshall.
David Hibbert: Jonesy702, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town in Staffordshire, England
Eccleshall is a built-up area of 3,229 people, in the Stafford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eccleshall | 3,229 | — | A− | A− | B+ | A− |
| Yarnfield | 2,144 | 3.2 | — | A | A− | A− |
| Gnosall | 4,039 | 4.9 | A+ | A | B+ | A− |
| Stone | 17,282 | 5.3 | B | A | C | C+ |
| Barlaston | 1,418 | 6.8 | — | A− | C+ | B− |
| Stafford | 71,695 | 6.9 | B | A | C− | C |
| Loggerheads | 2,523 | 7.2 | B | C | A− | B+ |
| Baldwin's Gate | 1,121 | 7.6 | — | C− | A | B+ |
Yarnfield, Barlaston and Baldwin's Gate have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 7.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of the Holy Trinity.
Primary results trail 64% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Staffordshire council.
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.