Dorking grades A− overall against UK towns: better than 77% of UK towns, and #41 of 65 in Surrey. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 25% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (C): 31.2 violent and sexual offences and 14.6 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 48%. The median home sold for £440,000 in the last three years, 6.2 times what households in the Mole Valley 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 Dorking is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Dorking.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A
Dorking is more walkable than 91% of UK towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 43% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
37% of commuters travelled under 5 km, close to Surrey’s towns (40%) and below England’s towns (45%). Household income averages £72K a year before tax.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 9 schools →
History
Dorking keeps more of its old housing than Surrey or England’s towns: 23% built before 1919
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
That puts Dorking above both Surrey’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (16%). Dorking has 86 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents. Dorking has 151 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 4 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Safety
Dorking has more crime per resident than 74% of UK towns
Homes saw 14.6 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, above both Surrey’s towns (10.5) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 1,151 crimes inside Dorking’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 210 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 40% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
31.2violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearCSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 48% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual466
Shoplifting127
Public order118
Damage & arson110
Burglary95
Other theft82
Vehicle crime46
Drugs44
Anti-social210
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.
31.2
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
14.6
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
12.5
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
Health
85% of residents say their health is good or very good
85% of Dorking’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.
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
Dorking has fewer young adults than Surrey’s towns or England’s towns: 9.1% are 15 to 24
On this, Dorking is below both Surrey’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Under-15s account for 17% of the population. Dorking has a median age of 44.9.
44.9median age
DorkingSurreyEngland
Ages · share of residents
21%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications13%
Apprenticeship4%
A levels or similar15%
Degree level43%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Laurence Olivier: Allan warren, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jamie Mackie: james cumberpatch, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Thomas McMahon: Fr James Bradley from Southampton, UK, CC BY 2.0 · Laila Morse: Garry Knight, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Priscilla Alden: John Rogers, Public domain · Susy Kane: Hallowell3, CC BY-SA 3.0
Westcott, Brockham, Box Hill, Beare Green and Gomshall have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Dorking
How many listed buildings are there in Dorking?
That is 3.5 times the typical UK town for its size.
Are schools in Dorking good?
Primary schools stand out: Key Stage 2 results beat 83% of towns in England. Secondary results beat 73%.
Is Dorking expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £440,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £263,725, terraced houses £432,500, semi-detached houses £540,000 and detached houses £925,000.
Is Dorking safe?
About the middle for its size: 52% 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.
About Dorking
Town in Surrey, England
Dorking is a built-up area of 17,463 people, in the Mole Valley 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
17,463 (Census 2021)
Council
Mole Valley
County
Surrey
Region
South East
Area
2 sq mi (5.2 km²)
ONS code
E63005610
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.
