Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 3,244: a town in Staffordshire, West Midlands. Private rents average £728 a month.
Plenty in its favour, and one clear drawback. Schools are its strong suit (A) — primary results beat 99% of towns in England; secondary results beat 82% of towns in England. At A overall, Upper Tean is better than 88% of UK towns and ranks #3 of 46 in Staffordshire. Buying a home costs less than in most towns: homes sell for a median £205,000, about 4.3 times local household income. It is hard to get around without a car: 8% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for health, B− for jobs & income and C+ 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 Upper Tean 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 Upper Tean is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 13 buildings inside Upper Tean’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
18% 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 Upper Tean.
Upper Tean’s two primaries have 313 pupils between them. Its two schools are below. GCSE results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: 53% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 52.9.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Thomas' Catholic Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 212 | A |
| Great Wood Community Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 101 | A |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 23% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Unemployment benefit claims came to 1.9% of 16 to 64s in 2026, below both Staffordshire’s towns (2.1%) and England’s towns (2.3%). 91% of commuters took the car to work at the census. For every resident in work, Upper Tean has 0.2 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
7% live in social housing, below Staffordshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private renters make up 12% of households. 153 standard sales inside Upper Tean’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £205,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £341,500 | 54 |
| Semi-detached | £210,000 | 45 |
| Terraced | £139,000 | 35 |
| Flat or maisonette | £90,000 | 19 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
46% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 114 recorded crimes inside Upper Tean’s built-up area, and 23 reports of anti-social behaviour. Also worth knowing: for its size, Upper Tean records less crime per resident than 73% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
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 nearest A&E to Upper Tean is Royal Stoke University Hospital, 10 miles away. At the census, 83% of people in Upper Tean called their health good or very good, higher than Staffordshire’s towns (80%) and near England’s towns (82%). 17% of residents in Upper Tean live with a disability.
| Census 2021 | Upper Tean | Staffordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.5% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, 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.
Homes built before 1919 account for 18% of the housing. Conservation areas cover 15% of Upper Tean’s land, higher than both Staffordshire’s towns (4%) and England’s towns (7%). Grade II* covers 2 of them.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Among adults, 29% have a degree. The 15-to-24 age group: 9.3%, lower than both Staffordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Half the people of Upper Tean are older than 46.5.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Upper Tean | Staffordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.3% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.1% | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 29% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Staffordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Upper Tean. Best known first.
Abbey or priory · English HeritageCroxden Abbey4.9 km outside town, to the east
Heritage railwayFoxfield Railway4.7 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionCheadle Discovery and Visitor Centre2.8 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
13 listed buildings in Upper Tean.
The Anchor Inn: Photo: Chris Morgan · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The White Hart: Photo: Graham Hogg · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Tean | 3,244 | — | A | A | B+ | B− |
| Cheadle | 11,403 | 2.1 | B− | A | C− | C |
| Blythe Bridge and Forsbrook | 6,798 | 3.4 | B | A− | C | B− |
| Uttoxeter | 14,024 | 5.9 | B− | B+ | C | C |
| Rocester | 1,679 | 6.2 | — | A | C | B− |
| Werrington | 6,012 | 6.6 | B− | A | C+ | B− |
| Stone | 17,282 | 7.6 | B | A | C | C+ |
| Doveridge | 1,760 | 7.6 | — | B | A+ | A |
Rocester and Doveridge 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 82% of towns in England, and primary results beat 99% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Upper Tean has 2 state schools; places are handled by Staffordshire council.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £205,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £90,000, terraced houses £139,000, semi-detached houses £210,000 and detached houses £341,500.
Town in Staffordshire, England
Upper Tean is a built-up area of 3,244 people, in the Staffordshire Moorlands 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.
