Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 75,655 in Surrey, South East.
Woking grades A− overall against UK towns: better than 78% of UK towns, and #38 of 65 in Surrey. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 25% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (C): 31.9 violent and sexual offences and 11 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 89%. The median home sold for £425,000 in the last three years, 5.8 times what households in the Woking council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Woking 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 Woking is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 97 buildings inside Woking’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1903.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Woking. Best known first.
Art galleryThe Lightboxin town
CathedralGuildford Cathedral4.9 km outside town, to the south
GardenRHS Garden, Wisley3.8 km outside town, to the east
Museum · National TrustDapdune Wharf4.7 km outside town, to the south
Art galleryLewis Elton Gallery4.7 km outside town, to the south
MuseumNRA Museum1.5 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 Woking.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 45% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Working mainly from home: 45% of workers, close to Surrey’s towns (44%) and above England’s towns (31%). Household income averages £72K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
St Hugh of Lincoln Catholic Primary School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Three of its 24 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Dunstan's Catholic Primary School, WokingLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 629 | A |
| St John the Baptist Catholic Comprehensive School, WokingLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,512 | A |
| St Hugh of Lincoln Catholic Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 216 | A+ |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Police recorded 5,182 crimes inside Woking’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 918 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 45% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking, so it runs higher than U.S. “violent crime”.
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
86% of Woking’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.
| Census 2021 | Woking | Surrey | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 87% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.4% | 3.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 14% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Woking has 97 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 2 Grade I, 5 Grade II*. 11% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Private renters make up 23% of households, above both Surrey’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £775,000 | 714 |
| Semi-detached | £490,000 | 651 |
| Terraced | £396,750 | 676 |
| Flat or maisonette | £258,750 | 842 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
On this, Woking is above both Surrey’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (34%). People 65 and over make up 15% of the town. Woking has a median age of 39.2.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Woking | Surrey | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 30% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 13% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.8% | 4.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 45% | 42% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Surrey and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
97 listed buildings in Woking, 2 of them Grade I.
Shah Jahan Mosque: Photo: RHaworth · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Church of St Peter: Photo: Akoliasnikoff · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Whitfield Court: Photo: Alan Hunt · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Cricketers Public House: Photo: 1209b · CC BY-SA 4.0
107 notable people were born in Woking.
Sarah Mullally: Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0 · Ron Dennis: Tristram Biggs, CC BY 2.0 · Paul Weller: maccosta, CC BY 2.0 · Rick Parfitt: Håkan Henriksson (Narking), CC BY 3.0 · Kenneth Frampton: Columbia GSAPP, CC BY 2.0 · Sam Underwood: Gage Skidmore, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woking | 75,655 | — | A− | B− | C | B |
| Bisley | 4,045 | 2.8 | A− | C+ | C+ | B+ |
| Brookwood | 1,428 | 2.8 | — | C+ | B | A |
| Send | 4,094 | 2.9 | A− | C− | B+ | A |
| West End and Chobham | 8,877 | 3.2 | A | C | A− | A− |
| Jacobs Well | 1,122 | 3.3 | — | C− | A− | A− |
| Ripley | 1,714 | 3.5 | — | D | B | A |
| New Haw, West Byfleet and Sheerwater | 33,035 | 3.5 | A− | D | B | B+ |
Brookwood, Jacobs Well and Ripley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C.
Secondary schools stand out: GCSE results beat 89% of towns in England. Primary results are closer to the middle, beating 62%.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £425,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £258,750, terraced houses £396,750, semi-detached houses £490,000 and detached houses £775,000. Household incomes are higher than in 92% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B−.
Large town in Surrey, England
Woking is a built-up area of 75,655 people, in the Woking 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.