Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 8,364 people, lies in Staffordshire, West Midlands. Over-65s are 26% of the population.
Neither a standout nor a worry on most counts. Prices are modest for what you get: homes sell for a median £275,000, about 5.2 times local household income. With a B overall, Penkridge is better than three fifths of UK towns and ranks #19 of 46 in Staffordshire. School results trail most towns: primary results beat 28% of towns in England; secondary results beat 52% of towns in England. Getting around depends on the car: 11% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for health, B for jobs & income and B for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Penkridge 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 Penkridge is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 46 buildings inside Penkridge’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
7% 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 Penkridge.
At 47, the median resident of Penkridge sits in the middle of the age range. The share of residents under 15 is 16%; what’s more, 9.9% of residents are 15 to 24, below Staffordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Among adults, 31% have a degree.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Penkridge | Staffordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Staffordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
GCSE results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: 46% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 45.9. Of its 4 schools, two are shown below, each with the reason. Between them, three primaries and one secondary teach 1,086 pupils in Penkridge.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princefield First SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 253 | – |
| Penkridge Middle SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 509 | C |
73% of households own their home, higher than both Staffordshire’s towns (67%) and England’s towns (61%). Behind the median of £275,000: 343 standard sales inside Penkridge’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026. Council and housing-body homes hold 14% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £386,250 | 140 |
| Semi-detached | £260,000 | 109 |
| Terraced | £195,000 | 71 |
| Flat or maisonette | £131,250 | 23 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 28% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
87% of commuters drove, above Staffordshire’s towns (82%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. There are 0.6 jobs in Penkridge for each resident in work. Income per household averages £57K a year, before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Violence came to 27.5 per 1,000 residents a year, higher than both Staffordshire’s towns (24) and England’s towns (22). Reported offences in Penkridge came to 466 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 82.
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 nearest A&E to Penkridge is County Hospital, 6.3 miles away. Life expectancy here is 85.3 for women and 81.4 for men (2019–23). 18% of residents in Penkridge live with a disability.
| Census 2021 | Penkridge | Staffordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.7% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Penkridge’s listed buildings include the Church of St Michael and All Angels, Grade I. Homes from before 1919 make up 7% of the total, lower than both Staffordshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (16%). Relative to its size, Penkridge keeps 55 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
46 listed buildings in Penkridge, 1 of them Grade I.
The Boat Inn: Photo: Roger Kidd · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Lock Up: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · School House: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Corner Cottage: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penkridge | 8,364 | — | B | B+ | C+ | B |
| Huntington | 4,715 | 3.1 | C+ | A | C+ | C |
| Brewood | 2,552 | 3.8 | C | C+ | C+ | B+ |
| Coven | 2,399 | 4.4 | — | B+ | A− | C+ |
| Cannock | 63,057 | 4.4 | C− | B | C− | C− |
| Wheaton Aston | 1,995 | 4.6 | — | B | B | B+ |
| Featherstone | 7,096 | 5.3 | B− | A− | B− | C− |
| Great Wyrley and Cheslyn Hay | 17,647 | 5.6 | B− | A− | C+ | C |
Coven and Wheaton Aston have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Michael and All Angels.
Against all UK towns, it grades C+. Police recorded 466 crimes inside Penkridge’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 54% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Town in Staffordshire, England
Penkridge is a built-up area of 8,364 people, in the South Staffordshire 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.