Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
34,631 residents make their home in this large town in West Midlands.
More weak spots than strong ones. Where it falls short is safety — 58.9 violent and sexual offences and 29.4 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set beside UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, its crime per resident is higher than in 96%. Taken together, its subjects give Bilston a D− overall, better than 3% of UK towns. Its place in the ranking is #28 of 35 in West Midlands. At a median £195,000, a home costs 4.4 times the yearly income of households in the Wolverhampton council area. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (A): 23% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Health is a weak point (D−): men here can expect to live to 75.1, women to 79.9.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS.
The 3 things Bilston 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 Bilston is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 25 buildings inside Bilston’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
6% 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 Bilston. Best known first.
MuseumBliston Craft Gallery and Libraryin town
MuseumWolverhampton Art Gallery2.2 km outside town, to the northwest · 159K visitors a year
CastleDudley Castle3.8 km outside town, to the south
Art galleryThe New Art Gallery4.6 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumWednesbury Museum & Art Gallery1 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumWillenhall Lock Museum1 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bilston.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Police figures for Bilston’s built-up area: 4,353 crimes and 162 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences made up 43% of the total. There were 10.1 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both West Midlands’ towns (6) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
Between them, nine primaries and three secondaries teach 7,062 pupils in Bilston. Loxdale Primary School’s results beat 83% of schools in England like it. Of its 15 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. Secondary results at the town’s 3 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 42.2, with 38% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Villiers Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 662 | B+ |
| St Thomas More Catholic School, WillenhallLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,464 | C− |
| Loxdale Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 450 | A− |
Nearly a fifth of residents have a disability, higher than both West Midlands’ towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%). Asked at the census, 78% of residents of Bilston said they were in good or very good health. 6 GP practices serve the town; 74% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 7.2% of the town.
| Census 2021 | Bilston | West Midlands | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.2% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Ages in Bilston split evenly at 35.3: half are older, half younger. 14% of residents are 65 or over, lower than both West Midlands’ towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Aged 15 to 24: 12% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Bilston | West Midlands | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 30% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 30% | 24% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.9% | 4.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 21% | 28% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Midlands and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 14% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Working mainly from home: 14% of workers, lower than both West Midlands’ towns (24%) and England’s towns (31%). Jobs per working resident: 1. Before tax, the average household brings in £41K a year.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Before 1919: that is when 6% of homes were built. Grade II* covers 2 of them. For its size, Bilston has 7 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Owners make up 46% of households, lower than both West Midlands’ towns (57%) and England’s towns (61%). Private rents average £943 a month across the Wolverhampton council area. Behind the median of £195,000: 642 standard sales inside Bilston’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £295,000 | 111 |
| Semi-detached | £202,750 | 286 |
| Terraced | £177,500 | 183 |
| Flat or maisonette | £105,000 | 62 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
25 listed buildings in Bilston.
Church of St Mary: Photo: Brianboru100 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bilston Town Hall: Photo: Brianboru100 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Prospect House: Photo: Roger D Kidd · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Church of St Leonard: Photo: Derek Bennett · CC BY-SA 2.0
45 notable people were born in Bilston.
Henry Newbolt: George Charles Beresford, Public domain · Don Powell: Jamiespilsbury, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mark Grew: EchetusXe, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilston | 34,631 | — | D− | C− | D− | D− |
| Darlaston | 21,541 | 1.4 | D− | C | D− | D− |
| Coseley | 25,206 | 2 | C− | A− | C− | D |
| Tipton | 47,202 | 2.2 | D− | C− | D | D− |
| Wednesbury | 20,321 | 2.5 | D− | C− | D− | D− |
| Willenhall | 49,582 | 2.5 | D− | C | D | D |
| Wolverhampton | 234,029 | 2.8 | D | C− | D | D |
| Sedgley | 31,976 | 3.3 | C | B+ | C− | C |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £195,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £105,000, terraced houses £177,500, semi-detached houses £202,750 and detached houses £295,000. Household incomes are lower than in 92% of UK towns, so cost of living grades C−.
Large town in West Midlands, England
Bilston is a built-up area of 34,631 people, in the Wolverhampton 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.