Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 7,094 residents in West Midlands.
The local economy does well (A+): households earn a mean £76,881 a year, and 1.8% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Add health to its strengths: men here can expect to live to 82.6, women to 85.4. Housing is expensive: homes sell for a median £455,000, about 7.5 times local household income. Walkability is weaker too — on the way to work, 11% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Put together, the subjects come to an A− overall, ranking #4 of 35 in West Midlands. That leaves it better than just over four fifths of UK towns.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Balsall Common 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 Balsall Common is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 19 buildings inside Balsall Common’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
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 Balsall Common. Best known first.
Castle · English HeritageKenilworth Castle4.5 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumNational Motorcycle Museum3.6 km outside town, to the northwest · 250K visitors a year
Historic houseNailcote Hall1.2 km outside town, to the eastHistoric houseHistoric houseHampton Manor2.2 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionLittle Virginia4.5 km outside town, to the southeastCastleCastleGaunt Tower4.4 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Balsall Common.
A disability affects 14% of people in Balsall Common. 3.8% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, below West Midlands’ towns (6%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. The nearest A&E to Balsall Common is Warwick Hospital, 7.5 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 75% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Balsall Common | West Midlands | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.8% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Both of its schools are shown below. Between them, one primary and one secondary teach 1,850 pupils in Balsall Common. 65% of pupils at the 6 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balsall Common Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 665 | C+ |
| Heart of England SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,185 | C+ |
Burglary and damage came to 10.2 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than West Midlands’ towns (19.6) yet higher than England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 265 crimes inside Balsall Common’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 13 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were nearly a third 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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 48% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 87% of commuters, higher than both West Midlands’ towns (73%) and England’s towns (70%). Home was the main workplace for 48% of workers at the census. About 10% of its commuters stay in Balsall Common for work. There are 0.6 jobs in Balsall Common for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Social housing holds 4% of households. 11% rent privately, below West Midlands’ towns (20%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. Balsall Common is the second most expensive of the 35 towns in West Midlands, at £455,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £575,000 | 143 |
| Semi-detached | £395,000 | 65 |
| Terraced | £317,000 | 28 |
| Flat or maisonette | £167,750 | 46 |
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. For its size, Balsall Common has more listed buildings than any other town in West Midlands. The town counts 19 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 2 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Young adults of 15 to 24 account for a tenth of the town. People 65 and over make up a quarter of the town, above West Midlands’ towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Children under 15 make up 17% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Balsall Common | West Midlands | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 24% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.9% | 4.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 48% | 28% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Midlands and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
19 listed buildings in Balsall Common.
The Sarcacens Head Inn: Photo: Ian Rob · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hobbe Cottage: Photo: Ian Rob · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Shenstone Grange: Photo: A J Paxton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Pool Orchard: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balsall Common | 7,094 | — | A− | C | B+ | A |
| Burton Green | 1,556 | 2.1 | — | C | B | A |
| Meriden | 2,203 | 3.3 | — | B− | C− | B+ |
| Hampton in Arden | 1,867 | 3.3 | — | C | C+ | A− |
| Knowle and Dorridge | 19,323 | 4.3 | A | C | B | A |
| Kenilworth | 22,239 | 4.5 | A+ | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Kingswood | 1,197 | 5 | — | C | B+ | A+ |
| Leek Wootton | 1,003 | 5.9 | — | C− | A+ | A+ |
Burton Green, Meriden, Hampton in Arden, Kingswood and Leek Wootton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
It has less crime than most places its size: less crime per resident than 80% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £455,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £167,750, terraced houses £317,000, semi-detached houses £395,000 and detached houses £575,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in West Midlands, England
Balsall Common is a built-up area of 7,094 people, in the Solihull 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.