Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 22,757 in Surrey, South East.
Caterham grades B+ overall against UK towns: better than 74% of UK towns, and #45 of 65 in Surrey. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 23% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is cost of living (C): median sale £445,000, 6.3 years of area income; rent £1,637 a month.
The 3 things Caterham 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 Caterham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 17 buildings inside Caterham’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
14% 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 Caterham.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 41% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In the comparison, Caterham comes below both Surrey’s towns (40%) and England’s towns (45%). 3.1% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Audley Primary School’s results beat 92% of schools in England like it. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillcroft Primary School & NurseryLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 462 | B |
| de Stafford SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 811 | C+ |
| Audley Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 211 | A |
Owners make up 72% of households, close to Surrey’s towns (70%) and above England’s towns (61%). Social housing holds 11% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £789,500 | 204 |
| Semi-detached | £475,000 | 302 |
| Terraced | £450,000 | 129 |
| Flat or maisonette | £285,000 | 293 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Caterham has 17 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 0 Grade II*. 14% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
For Caterham, that is above both Surrey’s towns (19.3) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 1,469 crimes inside Caterham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 314 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 41% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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
85% of Caterham’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 87% across Surrey’s towns. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Caterham | Surrey | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 87% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.9% | 3.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 14% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Caterham sits above both Surrey’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%) on this measure. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 10% of the population. Half the people of Caterham are older than 40.8.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Caterham | Surrey | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 13% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.4% | 4.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 36% | 42% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Surrey and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Caterham. Best known first.
MuseumCaterham Museumin town
Garden · National TrustSelsdon Wood4.6 km outside town, to the northeastAttractionAttractionGodstone Farm2.7 km outside town, to the southFortFortAlderstead Fort2.9 km outside town, to the westWater parkWater parkMercer's Park2.8 km outside town, to the southwestFortFortPilgrims Fort500 m outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
17 listed buildings in Caterham, 1 of them Grade I.
The King and Queen Public House: Photo: Tag Scientist · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chapel of St Michael the Archangel, Caterham Guards Depot: Photo: Tag Scientist · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Nos 5-7 Including the Cottage Antique Shop: Photo: Tag Scientist · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Caterham Hill War Memorial: Photo: Peter Broster · CC0
13 notable people were born in Caterham.
Bill Nighy: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dar Lyon: unknown employee of "Sports and General" photography agency, Public domain · Mikey Doble: Sizewell, CC0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caterham | 22,757 | — | B+ | C | C+ | B |
| Chaldon | 1,441 | 0.9 | — | D | A | B |
| Whyteleafe | 3,174 | 1.3 | A− | B+ | D | A |
| Warlingham | 8,918 | 2.1 | A | C− | B− | A− |
| Netherne on-the-Hill | 1,475 | 2.3 | — | C− | B | A |
| Woldingham | 2,223 | 2.3 | — | D | A+ | A |
| Godstone | 2,648 | 2.8 | C | C | C− | B− |
| Hooley | 1,010 | 2.9 | — | C | C− | A− |
Chaldon, Netherne on-the-Hill, Woldingham and Hooley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £445,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £285,000, terraced houses £450,000, semi-detached houses £475,000 and detached houses £789,500.
Primary schools stand out: Key Stage 2 results beat 76% of towns in England. Secondary results beat 73%.
About the middle for its size: 38% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C+.
Large town in Surrey, England
Caterham is a built-up area of 22,757 people, in the Tandridge 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.