Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,508 in Surrey, South East.
Shalford grades A+ overall against UK towns: better than 96% of UK towns, and #6 of 65 in Surrey. Its strongest subject is jobs & income (A+): mean household income £76,254; 1.8% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Its weakest is cost of living (C−): median sale £620,000, 8.6 years of area income; rent £1,736 a month.
The 3 things Shalford 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 Shalford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 27 buildings inside Shalford’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
26% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds a map from 1912.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Shalford. Best known first.
CathedralGuildford Cathedral2.5 km outside town, to the northwest
CastleGuildford Castle1.4 km outside town, to the north
MuseumWatts Gallery3.9 km outside town, to the west
Historic houseLoseley Park2.2 km outside town, to the west
Museum · National TrustDapdune Wharf2.4 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Shalford.
At the 7 primary schools within 3 km, just over two thirds of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Attainment 8 at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km averages 57.4, and 67% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shalford Infant SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 90 | – |
For its size, Shalford records less crime per resident than 95% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Violence came to 11.8 per 1,000 residents a year, below Surrey’s towns (19.4) and England’s towns (22) alike. Over the year to August 2026, 49 offences were reported here, along with 11 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Nearly two fifths of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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.
Social housing holds 7% of households. 13% rent privately, below Surrey’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. Behind the median of £620,000: 137 standard sales inside Shalford’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,025,000 | 50 |
| Semi-detached | £600,000 | 33 |
| Terraced | £422,500 | 34 |
| Flat or maisonette | £319,000 | 20 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Asked at the census, 88% of residents of Shalford said they were in good or very good health. At the census, 2.7% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, lower than both Surrey’s towns (3.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%). There is no GP practice here: the nearest is 1.4 miles off.
| Census 2021 | Shalford | Surrey | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 87% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.7% | 3.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 14% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like 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.
Relative to its size, Shalford keeps 108 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above Surrey’s towns (31) and England’s towns (39) alike. Grade II* covers 1 of them. This Surrey town has 27 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 55% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Working mainly from home: 55% of workers, higher than both Surrey’s towns (44%) and England’s towns (31%). Nearly a fifth of commuters left the car at home at the census, walking, cycling or taking public transport. Work in town: 4% of resident commuters. Also worth knowing: for 47% of commuters, work was under 5 km away.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Those 65 and older account for 23% of residents. 7.4% of residents are 15 to 24, below both Surrey’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Shalford has a median age of 46.2 years.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Shalford | Surrey | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.4% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 8.7% | 13% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.2% | 4.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 56% | 42% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Surrey and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
27 listed buildings in Shalford.
The Seahorse Public House: Photo: Switchwitch2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lemon Bridge Cottage: Photo: Switchwitch2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Stone Base to Cross, 1 Yard West of South Porch of Church of St Mary the Virgin: Photo: Switchwitch2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Beech House: Photo: Switchwitch2007 · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shalford | 2,508 | — | A+ | C− | A | A− |
| Chilworth | 1,917 | 1.1 | — | C− | B+ | A |
| Bramley and Wonersh | 4,193 | 1.4 | A+ | C | A | A |
| Farncombe | 13,247 | 2.3 | A | C+ | B+ | B |
| Guildford | 77,870 | 2.4 | B+ | C | D | B+ |
| Shamley Green | 1,200 | 2.6 | — | C | B+ | A |
| Godalming | 10,450 | 3.1 | A | C+ | B | A |
| Wood Street Village | 1,586 | 3.8 | — | C− | C | B+ |
Chilworth, Shamley Green and Wood Street Village 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 £620,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £319,000, terraced houses £422,500, semi-detached houses £600,000 and detached houses £1,025,000.
That is 4.4 times the typical UK town for its size.
GCSE results beat 96% of towns in England, and primary results beat 81% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Shalford has 2 state schools; places are handled by Surrey council.
Town in Surrey, England
Shalford is a built-up area of 2,508 people, in the Guildford 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.