Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in West Midlands, home to 19,323 people.
Households here earn well (A+): the mean household earns £78,843 a year. Knowle and Dorridge’s overall A puts it #2 of 35 in West Midlands. Set against the rest, it does better than 93% of UK towns. Its schools beat most: primary results beat 95% of towns in England; secondary results beat 91% of towns in England. Buying in is costly: a typical home costs £565,000 and rent runs £1,279 a month. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for safety, B− for walkability and B for hazard risk.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Knowle and Dorridge is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Knowle and Dorridge does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 45 buildings inside Knowle and Dorridge’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
6% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →45 listed buildings in Knowle and Dorridge, 2 of them Grade I.
936, Warwick Road: Photo: Tiger · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Guild House: Photo: Rodw · CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Wilsons Arms Public House: Photo: Graham Taylor · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Lilac Cottage: Photo: Richard Law · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Knowle and Dorridge.
Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 4 primary schools: nearly three quarters of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are three of its 5 schools, each with why it was picked. GCSE results at the 5 secondary schools within 3 km: 61% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 54.7.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dorridge Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 702 | A− |
| ArdenLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,812 | A |
| Knowle Church of England Primary AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 468 | A |
Life expectancy here is 86.6 for women and 81.6 for men (2019–23). 14% of residents have a disability, below both West Midlands’ towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%). Also worth knowing: 2 GP practices serve the town; 86% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Knowle and Dorridge is Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, 7.5 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Knowle and Dorridge | West Midlands | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.5% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
5% live in social housing, below both West Midlands’ towns (22%) and England’s towns (18%). Private tenants account for one in ten households. No town in West Midlands costs more to buy into than Knowle and Dorridge, at £565,000, the highest of 35.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £706,000 | 383 |
| Semi-detached | £475,500 | 174 |
| Terraced | £362,000 | 71 |
| Flat or maisonette | £243,000 | 133 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 692 crimes and 30 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Knowle and Dorridge’s built-up area. There were 2.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below both West Midlands’ towns (6.2) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were 40% 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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
The top grade, Grade I, goes to 2 of them. 6% of its homes were built before 1919, lower than both West Midlands’ towns (7%) and England’s towns (16%). Only one town in West Midlands has more listed buildings for its size than Knowle and Dorridge. The town counts 45 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 2 Grade I, 2 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 51% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Working mainly from home: just over half of workers, above West Midlands’ towns (24%) and England’s towns (31%) alike. About 13% of its commuters stay in Knowle and Dorridge for work. This West Midlands town counts 0.6 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Children under 15 make up 18%, lower than West Midlands’ towns (20%) and near England’s towns (18%). Those 65 and older account for just over a quarter of residents. At 48.2, the median resident of Knowle and Dorridge sits in the middle of the age range. 9.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Knowle and Dorridge | West Midlands | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.4% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 10% | 24% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.5% | 4.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 49% | 28% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Midlands and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Knowle and Dorridge. Best known first.
MuseumNational Motorcycle Museum4.5 km outside town, to the northeast · 250K visitors a year
Historic house · National TrustBaddesley Clinton2.9 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic house · National TrustPackwood House1.6 km outside town, to the southHistoric houseHistoric houseHampton Manor3 km outside town, to the northeastArt galleryArt gallerySolihull Art Gallery4.4 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
3 notable people were born in Knowle and Dorridge.
John Wyndham: Stellar Publishing / unidentified staff artist, Public domain · David John Bird: Rachel Berenson, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town in West Midlands, England
Knowle and Dorridge is a built-up area of 19,323 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knowle and Dorridge | 19,323 | — | A | C | B | A |
| Hockley Heath | 1,899 | 2.3 | — | C | B− | A |
| Cheswick Green | 2,743 | 2.7 | A | B− | B+ | A |
| Kingswood | 1,197 | 3.3 | — | C | B+ | A+ |
| Solihull | 107,754 | 3.5 | B+ | B | C− | B |
| Dickens Heath | 4,797 | 3.6 | A | A− | B− | A |
| Hampton in Arden | 1,867 | 3.7 | — | C | C+ | A− |
| Tidbury Green | 1,552 | 4.3 | — | C | C | A |
Hockley Heath, Kingswood, Hampton in Arden and Tidbury Green have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Among the strongest in England: GCSE results beat 91% of towns in England, and primary results beat 95% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £565,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £243,000, terraced houses £362,000, semi-detached houses £475,500 and detached houses £706,000.
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.