Chertsey grades B− overall against UK towns: better than 50% of UK towns, and #59 of 65 in Surrey. Its strongest subject is schools (A−): primary results beat 61% of towns in England; secondary results beat 90% of towns in England. Its weakest is hazard risk (D−): 33% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £400,000 in the last three years, 5.9 times what households in the Runnymede council area earn in a year.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Chertsey is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Chertsey.
Safety
Violence is recorded more often in Chertsey than in Surrey’s towns or across England’s towns: 50.6 per 1,000 residents a year
Homes saw 17.8 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, higher than both Surrey’s towns (10.5) and England’s towns (9.4). Reported offences in Chertsey came to 1,587 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 173. For its size, Chertsey records more crime per resident than 86% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. 54% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
50.6violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 14% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: more crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual854
Public order172
Damage & arson136
Other theft114
Shoplifting86
Vehicle crime66
Drugs49
Other crime39
Anti-social173
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.
50.6
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
17.8
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
12.9
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
SchoolsA−
School results in Chertsey are better than in 79% of towns in England
Salesian School, Chertsey’s results beat 92% of schools in England like it. Of its 6 schools, two are shown below, each with the reason. The town’s four primaries and one secondary have 2,982 pupils between them.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 6 schools →
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B+
3.2% of 16 to 64s in Chertsey claim unemployment benefits, more than in Surrey’s towns and England’s towns
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.
Households had £64K a year before tax, lower than Surrey’s towns (£72K) yet higher than England’s towns (£55K). About nearly a quarter of its commuters stay in Chertsey for work. This Surrey town counts 1.8 jobs per working resident.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
HousingCost of living grade C
The median home in Chertsey sells for £400K, against £535K in Surrey’s towns and £308K in England’s towns
63% of households own their home, about level with England’s towns (61%) and below Surrey’s towns (70%). The social rented sector houses 17% of households. Private rents average £1,586 a month across the Runnymede council area.
£400Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Chertsey£400K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£652,500
86
Semi-detached
£485,775
166
Terraced
£397,000
141
Flat or maisonette
£255,000
211
63%
of households own their home · England 61%
19%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,586
average private rent a month, Runnymede council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Health
3.8% of people in Chertsey say their health is bad or very bad, against 3.3% in Surrey’s towns and 5.2% in England’s towns
One GP practice serves the town; nearly four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 13% of people here had a disability, about level with Surrey’s towns (14%) and below England’s towns (17%). Also worth knowing: the nearest A&E to Chertsey is St Peter's Hospital, 1.1 miles away.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Who lives here
Chertsey has fewer young adults than Surrey’s towns or England’s towns: 9% are 15 to 24
Degrees are held by 35% of adults, lower than Surrey’s towns (42%) and near England’s towns (34%). Children under 15 make up 19% of residents. Ages in Chertsey split evenly at 39.3: half are older, half younger. Over-65s are 16% of the population.
39.3median age
ChertseySurreyEngland
Ages · share of residents
16%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications17%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level35%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Robert Green: Paul Blank, CC BY 2.5 · Harvey Elliott: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Katie Archibald: Cs-wolves, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Justin Hawkins: JMazing97, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sean Lock: Ghiacand, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tim Brabants: NHS Employers, CC BY 2.0
Lyne and Thorpe have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Chertsey
Does Chertsey flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
How many listed buildings are there in Chertsey?
That is 2.7 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Are schools in Chertsey good?
Secondary schools stand out: GCSE results beat 90% of towns in England. Primary results are closer to the middle, beating 61%.
About Chertsey
Town in Surrey, England
Chertsey is a built-up area of 14,558 people, in the Runnymede 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
Population
14,558 (Census 2021)
Council
Runnymede
County
Surrey
Region
South East
Area
1.6 sq mi (4.1 km²)
ONS code
E63005194
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.
