Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The data are hard on it. Safety lags: police record 52.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 20.2 home and vehicle crimes. Set beside UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, its crime per resident is higher than in 90%. Residents’ health trails most towns (D): men here can expect to live to 76.7, women to 81.5. Homes sell for a median £205,000, about 4.8 years of what households in the Sandwell council area earn. Fewer journeys need a car: on the way to work, 20% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Put together, the subjects come to a D− overall, behind almost every UK town. That places it #32 of 35 in West Midlands.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Cradley Heath is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Cradley Heath does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 8 buildings inside Cradley Heath’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →8 listed buildings in Cradley Heath.
Cradley Heath Baptist Church: Photo: R J Higginson · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Church of the Holy Trinity: Photo: Brian Clift · CC BY-SA 2.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cradley Heath.
The age that splits Cradley Heath in two is 38.2. 19% are under 15, about level with West Midlands’ towns (20%) and above England’s towns (18%). The 15-to-24 age group makes up just over one in ten residents.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Cradley Heath | West Midlands | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 27% | 24% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.2% | 4.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 21% | 28% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Midlands and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
55% of pupils at the town’s 5 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Timbertree Academy’s results beat 93% of schools in England like it. Some 3,148 pupils attend Cradley Heath’s five primaries and one secondary. Of its 6 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reddal Hill Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 420 | D− |
| Ormiston Forge AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,643 | C− |
| Timbertree AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 221 | A |
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 1,738 crimes and 82 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Cradley Heath’s built-up area. Of all the crimes, 53% were violence and sexual offences.
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.
At the census, just over a fifth of people here had a disability, above both West Midlands’ towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%). Self-reported good health: 77% of Cradley Heath’s residents. Also worth knowing: women here live to 81.5 on average and men to 76.7 (2019–23). 3 GP practices serve the town; 79% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Cradley Heath | West Midlands | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.7% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
14% of homes were built before 1919. Cradley Heath has 4 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, lower than both West Midlands’ towns (6) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
54% of households own their home. Private renters make up 17% of households, below both West Midlands’ towns (20%) and England’s towns (21%). Half of the 538 standard sales inside Cradley Heath’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £205,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £310,000 | 99 |
| Semi-detached | £217,000 | 219 |
| Terraced | £180,000 | 157 |
| Flat or maisonette | £113,000 | 63 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 19% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Just over one in ten commuters who live in Cradley Heath also work there. Jobs per working resident: 0.7. Households had £42K a year before tax, below both West Midlands’ towns (£48K) and England’s towns (£55K). The census counted 19% of workers working mainly from home.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Cradley Heath. Best known first.
CastleDudley Castle3.3 km outside town, to the north
Abbey or priory · English HeritageHalesowen Abbey2.5 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumBlack Country Living Museum3.9 km outside town, to the north
GardenWarley Woods4.2 km outside town, to the east
Abbey or prioryPriory Ruins3.6 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
14 notable people were born in Cradley Heath.
Jack Lane: Thebees1889, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town in West Midlands, England
Cradley Heath is a built-up area of 18,819 people, in the Sandwell 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cradley Heath | 18,819 | — | D− | C− | D | D |
| Halesowen | 60,103 | 1.3 | B− | B+ | C | C |
| Blackheath | 6,950 | 1.3 | D− | C− | D− | D |
| Rowley Regis | 39,052 | 2.1 | D | C− | C− | D |
| Brierley Hill | 32,311 | 2.4 | C | A | D | C− |
| Dudley | 64,277 | 2.4 | C− | A | D− | D |
| Oldbury | 45,188 | 2.7 | D− | D | D | D |
| Stourbridge | 56,961 | 3.4 | C+ | B | C− | C |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 79% of towns in England, and primary results trail 81% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £205,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £113,000, terraced houses £180,000, semi-detached houses £217,000 and detached houses £310,000. Household incomes are lower than in 89% of UK towns, so cost of living grades C−.
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.
