Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The large town has 47,144 residents and lies in Surrey, South East.
Plenty to like here, at a price. Its standout strength is schools (A+): primary results beat 97% of towns in England; secondary results beat 87% of towns in England. Jobs & income is a strength too: mean household income £86,727; 2.1% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Buying in is costly (C−): homes sell for a median £690,000, about 8.4 times local household income. Hazard risk is weaker too (D) — 7.2% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. The overall grade lands at A, #14 of 65 in Surrey. It comes out better than 93% of UK towns.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things West Molesey 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 West Molesey is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 85 buildings inside West Molesey’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
18% 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 West Molesey. Best known first.
Historic house · Historic Royal PalacesHampton Court Palace300 m outside town, to the north
Historic houseStrawberry Hill House3.5 km outside town, to the north
Historic house · National TrustHam House4.8 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseClaremont1.1 km outside town, to the southwest
Art galleryOrleans House Gallery4.9 km outside town, to the north · 56K visitors a yearPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in West Molesey.
Some 5,127 pupils attend West Molesey’s 11 primaries and one secondary. Three of its 13 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. St Alban's Catholic Primary School’s results beat 98% of schools in England like it. 77% of pupils at the town’s 8 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinchley Wood Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 624 | A |
| Hinchley Wood SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,422 | A |
| St Alban's Catholic Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 418 | A+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 54% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The census counted 54% of workers working mainly from home, and on top of that 29% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, above both Surrey’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (27%). Work in town: 18% of resident commuters. There are 0.6 jobs in West Molesey for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Just over one in ten residents in West Molesey live with a disability. At the census, 88% of people in West Molesey called their health good or very good, above both Surrey’s towns (87%) and England’s towns (82%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 2.9% of the town. 5 GP practices serve the town; 71% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | West Molesey | Surrey | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 87% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.9% | 3.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 12% | 14% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Private renters make up 14% of households, below both Surrey’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%). 9% of households rent from a council or housing body. Also worth knowing: from September 2023 to August 2026, 1,859 homes sold inside West Molesey’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £690,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,215,000 | 460 |
| Semi-detached | £805,000 | 545 |
| Terraced | £592,500 | 424 |
| Flat or maisonette | £393,750 | 430 |
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 built before 1919 account for 18% of the housing. West Molesey’s listed buildings include the Church of St Nicholas, Grade I. At the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 4 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violence and sexual offences made up 45% of the total. Reported offences in West Molesey came to 1,945 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 324. Violent crime ran at 19.1 per 1,000 residents a year, about level with Surrey’s towns (19.4) and below England’s towns (22).
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.
People aged 15 to 24 are 9.2% of the population. Children under 15 make up 21%, higher than both Surrey’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). Residents of West Molesey have a median age of 43.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| West Molesey | Surrey | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 10% | 13% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.1% | 4.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 54% | 42% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Surrey and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
85 listed buildings in West Molesey, 1 of them Grade I.
Thames View (Former Home of Compassion): Photo: AndyScott · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Henry Bridge's Almshouses: Photo: Marathon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Angel Public House: Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Picton House: Photo: Poliphilo · CC0
36 notable people were born in West Molesey.
Christian de Duve: Julien Doornaert, CC BY 2.5 · Laurence Naismith: Kmcody001, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Josefina de Vasconcellos: RHL Images, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Pat Moss: Harry Pot for Anefo ]], CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Clare Francis: Phil Guest from Bournemouth, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Molesey | 47,144 | — | A | C− | B | A |
| Esher | 9,484 | 1.5 | A | C− | B− | A+ |
| Kingston upon Thames | 166,333 | 2.5 | A | B | C+ | B+ |
| Walton-on-Thames | 27,016 | 2.8 | A− | C+ | C | A− |
| Hersham | 12,622 | 3 | A | C | B− | A− |
| Sunbury-on-Thames | 21,476 | 3.7 | B− | D | C− | B |
| Upper Halliford | 2,337 | 4.1 | — | D | B− | B |
| Worcester Park and Stoneleigh | 15,851 | 4.2 | A+ | C− | A− | A |
Upper Halliford has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets 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 £690,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £393,750, terraced houses £592,500, semi-detached houses £805,000 and detached houses £1,215,000.
GCSE results beat 87% of towns in England, and primary results beat 97% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Large town in Surrey, England
West Molesey is a built-up area of 47,144 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.