Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,185 in Surrey, South East.
Virginia Water does the important things well, at a cost. People here tend to be in good health: men here can expect to live to 83, women to 84.9. Households here earn well: households earn a mean £76,857 a year, and 1.9% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Buying in is costly: homes sell for a median £830,000, about 12.3 times local household income. The overall grade comes out at A−, better than 81% of UK towns. Its place in the ranking is #34 of 65 in Surrey. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for safety and B for walkability.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Virginia Water 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 Virginia Water is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 7 buildings inside Virginia Water’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
8% 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 Virginia Water. Best known first.
Garden · National TrustRunnymede2.8 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseCumberland Lodge2.8 km outside town, to the northwest
AttractionColossus1.8 km outside town, to the east
Historic houseTittenhurst Park2.1 km outside town, to the west
AttractionStealth1.7 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Virginia Water.
2.5% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, below Surrey’s towns (3.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. Self-reported good health: 89% of Virginia Water’s residents. One GP practice serves the town; four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Also worth knowing: women here live to 84.9 on average and men to 83 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Virginia Water | Surrey | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 89% | 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 · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Virginia Water’s two primaries have 356 pupils between them. One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Attainment 8 at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km averages 54, and 59% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Ann's Heath Junior SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 231 | C+ |
4% live in social housing, lower than both Surrey’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (18%). Behind the median of £830,000: 179 standard sales inside Virginia Water’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026. Private tenants account for 21% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,265,000 | 89 |
| Semi-detached | £625,000 | 36 |
| Terraced | £795,000 | 17 |
| Flat or maisonette | £348,000 | 37 |
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.
Homes from before 1919 make up 8% of the total. Virginia Water’s listed buildings include the Former Holloway Sanatorium at Virginia Water, Grade I. 2 registered parks and gardens lie in the town.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 57% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
There are 0.7 jobs in Virginia Water for each resident in work. The car took just over four in five commuters, higher than both Surrey’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). 31% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
235 crimes and 44 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Virginia Water’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Burglary and damage came to 11.7 per 1,000 residents a year, higher than both Surrey’s towns (10.5) and England’s towns (9.4). Violence and sexual offences were 47% of the crimes.
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.
The 15-to-24 age group makes up one in ten residents. Children under 15 make up 17%, below Surrey’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Half of Virginia Water is older than 46.6, half younger.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Virginia Water | Surrey | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 32% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 11% | 13% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.1% | 4.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 52% | 42% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Surrey and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Water | 5,185 | — | A− | D | B− | A+ |
| Thorpe | 1,226 | 1.4 | — | C− | C+ | B |
| Lyne | 1,202 | 1.6 | — | D | A+ | B |
| Egham | 28,003 | 2 | B− | C | C+ | B |
| Chertsey | 14,558 | 2.9 | B− | C | D | B− |
| Laleham | 2,521 | 3.3 | B | D | B | A− |
| Staines-upon-Thames | 21,327 | 3.5 | C+ | C− | D | B+ |
| Old Windsor and Wraysbury | 7,689 | 3.8 | B | C− | B− | A− |
Thorpe and Lyne 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 £830,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £348,000, terraced houses £795,000, semi-detached houses £625,000 and detached houses £1,265,000.
Secondary schools stand out: GCSE results beat 89% of towns in England. Primary results are closer to the middle, trailing 59%. Virginia Water has 2 state schools; places are handled by Surrey council.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Surrey, England
Virginia Water is a built-up area of 5,185 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
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.