Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The village, home to 1,679 people, lies in Staffordshire, West Midlands.
Rocester’s best grade is for cost of living — homes sell for a median £206,500, about 4.1 times local household income. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (A−): on the way to work, 21% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Schools lag: primary results beat a fifth of towns in England. Safety is weaker too: 35 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 11.1 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, it has less crime per resident than 12%. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for health and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS · flood risk, Environment Agency. Rocester is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall grade.
The 2 things Rocester 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 Rocester is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Rocester is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall grade.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Rocester’s built-up area, along with 2 scheduled monuments.
16% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Rocester. Best known first.
Big drawTheme parkAlton Towers Resort4.1 km outside town, to the northwest · 2.5M visitors a year (2024)
AttractionThe Smiler4.3 km outside town, to the northwest
Abbey or priory · English HeritageCroxden Abbey2.9 km outside town, to the west
Historic house · National TrustNorbury Manor2.6 km outside town, to the northeast
AttractionGalactica3.6 km outside town, to the northwest
AttractionOblivion4.3 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Rocester.
16% of households are private tenants. Private rents average £858 a month across the East Staffordshire council area. Behind the median of £206,500: 82 standard sales inside Rocester’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £313,500 | 19 |
| Semi-detached | £211,500 | 29 |
| Terraced | £160,000 | 34 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Below are two of its 3 schools, each with why it was picked. Some 314 pupils attend Rocester’s one primary and one secondary. 55% of pupils at the 3 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dove CofE AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 113 | – |
| Ryecroft CofE Middle SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 201 | C |
Half the people of Rocester are older than 42.2. The 15-to-24 age group: 9.9%, lower than both Staffordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Over-65s are 18% of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Rocester | Staffordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.9% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 23% | 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 17% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, just over three quarters of commuters went by car. 3% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026, above both Staffordshire’s towns (2.1%) and England’s towns (2.3%). Rocester counts 4.9 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Over the year to August 2026, 103 offences were reported in Rocester, along with 9 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up 55% of the total. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 9.5 reports per 1,000, above Staffordshire’s towns (7.3) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Scaled to its population, Rocester has 71 listed buildings per 10,000 people, above both Staffordshire’s towns (25) and England’s towns (39). Grade II* covers 1 of them. The national list protects 2 ancient monuments here.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest A&E to Rocester is Queens Hospital, 12 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 84% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 5.1% of the town.
| Census 2021 | Rocester | Staffordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
6 notable people were born in Rocester.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocester | 1,679 | — | — | A | C | B− |
| Doveridge | 1,760 | 3.3 | — | B | A+ | A |
| Uttoxeter | 14,024 | 3.8 | B− | B+ | C | C |
| Mayfield | 1,099 | 4.7 | — | A− | B | B− |
| Upper Tean | 3,244 | 6.2 | A | A | B+ | B− |
| Ashbourne | 8,854 | 6.2 | B+ | A | C+ | B− |
| Cheadle | 11,403 | 6.6 | B− | A | C− | C |
| Hatton | 2,560 | 8.6 | A− | A+ | B− | B− |
Doveridge and Mayfield have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.9 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Primary results trail 80% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). Rocester has 3 state schools; places are handled by Staffordshire council.
Village in Staffordshire, England
Rocester is a built-up area of 1,679 people, in the East 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.