Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 17,505 in Surrey, South East.
Cobham grades A overall against UK towns: better than 89% of UK towns, and #25 of 65 in Surrey. Its strongest subject is health (A+): life expectancy 83 for men, 86.4 for women. Its weakest is hazard risk (C−): 2.7% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £1,000,000 in the last three years, 12.2 times what households in the Elmbridge council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Cobham 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 Cobham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 45 buildings inside Cobham’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
12% 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 Cobham. Best known first.
Historic houseClaremont1.3 km outside town, to the north
Garden · National TrustNational Trust - Claremont Landscape Gardens1.2 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseOatlands Palace4.4 km outside town, to the northwest
GardenPainshill600 m outside town, to the west
GardenRHS Garden, Wisley4.2 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cobham.
Women here live to 86.4 on average and men to 83 (2019–23). At the census, 90% of people in Cobham called their health good or very good, above both Surrey’s towns (87%) and England’s towns (82%). 2 GP practices serve the town; 78% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Cobham | Surrey | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 90% | 87% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.5% | 3.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 11% | 14% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Cobham Free School’s results beat 88% of schools in England like it. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Royal Kent CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 204 | A− |
| Cobham Free SchoolLargest secondary schoolAll-through | All-through | 983 | A |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 58% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For Cobham, that is above both Surrey’s towns (£71K) and England’s towns (£55K). 58% of workers worked mainly from home at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Cobham sits above both Surrey’s towns (70%) and England’s towns (61%) on this measure. Social housing holds 10% of households. Only one of the 66 towns in Surrey costs more to buy into than Cobham, whose median sale is £1,000,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,595,000 | 409 |
| Semi-detached | £742,000 | 149 |
| Terraced | £560,000 | 83 |
| Flat or maisonette | £530,000 | 162 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Police recorded 847 crimes inside Cobham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 141 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 44% 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
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Cobham has 45 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 4 Grade II*. 12% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
That puts Cobham above both Surrey’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (34%). Under-15s account for 20% of the population. Half the people of Cobham are older than 44.6.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Cobham | Surrey | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 11% | 13% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 2.8% | 4.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 54% | 42% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Surrey and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
45 listed buildings in Cobham, 1 of them Grade I.
Cedar House: Photo: Len Williams · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church Stile House: Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Plough Public House: Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cobham Mill: Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0
8 notable people were born in Cobham.
Esmé Chinnery: Gérald Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cobham | 17,505 | — | A | C− | B− | A+ |
| Hersham | 12,622 | 2.6 | A | C | B− | A− |
| Esher | 9,484 | 2.9 | A | C− | B− | A+ |
| Leatherhead | 11,482 | 3.3 | B+ | B | D | B− |
| Great Bookham and Fetcham | 21,655 | 3.4 | A | C− | A− | A+ |
| Byfleet | 14,187 | 3.5 | B+ | C | C+ | B+ |
| Ashtead | 14,830 | 3.8 | A+ | C− | A− | A |
| Walton-on-Thames | 27,016 | 3.8 | A− | C+ | C | A− |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £1,000,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £530,000, terraced houses £560,000, semi-detached houses £742,000 and detached houses £1,595,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Primary schools stand out: Key Stage 2 results beat 87% of towns in England. Secondary results beat 67%. Cobham has 3 state schools; places are handled by Surrey council.
Town in Surrey, England
Cobham is a built-up area of 17,505 people, in the Elmbridge 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.