Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
3,484 people live in this town in Warwickshire, West Midlands. 43% of households own their home outright.
Water Orton’s schools fall short: primary results beat 43% of towns in England; secondary results beat 11% of towns in England. Its overall grade of C puts it better than 33% of UK towns, #25 of 34 in Warwickshire. It also trails on cost of living: a typical home costs £275,000 and rent runs £982 a month. Work and incomes are strong: households earn a mean £52,727 a year, and 2.5% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Water Orton 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 Water Orton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 4 buildings inside Water Orton’s built-up area.
10% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Water Orton.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Water Orton’s land, 2% lies in conservation areas, below both Warwickshire’s towns (29%) and England’s towns (7%). Before 1919: that is when 10% of homes were built. For its size, Water Orton has 11 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
At the 29 primary schools within 3 km, three in five pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its only school is listed below. GCSE results at the 6 secondary schools within 3 km: 32% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 39.2.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water Orton Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 299 | C− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 31% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
88% of commuters drove to work at the census. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 32%, below both Warwickshire’s towns (41%) and England’s towns (45%). There are 0.7 jobs in Water Orton for each resident in work. Work in town: 4% of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
7% of households live in social housing. Behind the median of £275,000: 145 standard sales inside Water Orton’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £495,000 | 25 |
| Semi-detached | £310,000 | 52 |
| Terraced | £260,000 | 33 |
| Flat or maisonette | £154,000 | 35 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; nearly three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 16% of people here had a disability, near Warwickshire’s towns (17%) and lower than England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Water Orton is Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, 4.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Water Orton | Warwickshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.8% | 4.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · 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.
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 51% of recorded crime. Police figures for Water Orton’s built-up area: 142 crimes and 34 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Violent crime ran at 19.5 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Warwickshire’s towns (21) and 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.
10% of residents are 15 to 24, below Warwickshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. The 65-and-over age group makes up 22% of residents. Typical age in Water Orton: 47.5, the median.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Water Orton | Warwickshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 35% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Warwickshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
4 listed buildings in Water Orton.
Wakefield House: Photo: Richard Law · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · The Chestnuts: Photo: Richard Law · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water Orton | 3,484 | — | C | C | C+ | C+ |
| Curdworth | 1,146 | 1.1 | — | D | C+ | B |
| Coleshill | 6,744 | 1.6 | C | C | D | C+ |
| Kingsbury | 3,555 | 4.2 | C+ | C+ | B | B− |
| Hurley | 1,420 | 5 | — | C+ | C+ | C− |
| Royal Sutton Coldfield | 93,392 | 5.1 | B | D− | C | B |
| Wood End (North Warwickshire) | 1,562 | 6 | — | C | B− | C− |
| Hampton in Arden | 1,867 | 6.4 | — | C | C+ | A− |
Curdworth, Hurley, Wood End (North Warwickshire) and Hampton in Arden have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Warwickshire council.
About the middle for its size: 55% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+. Burglary was rare, with 4 reports in the year.
Band D council tax in Water Orton is £2,539 for 2026–27, more than in 74% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Warwickshire, England
Water Orton is a built-up area of 3,484 people, in the North Warwickshire 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.
