Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 45,188 in West Midlands.
A town with more to fix than most. Safety lags (D): 49.6 violent and sexual offences and 22.7 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 90%. Prices are high against local incomes: homes sell for a median £225,000, about 5.3 times local household income. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (A−): 22% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The overall grade comes out at D−, #26 of 35 in West Midlands. On that grade it does better than 4% of UK towns. It lags on health as well — men here can expect to live to 77.5, women to 82.5.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · life expectancy, ONS.
The 2 things Oldbury 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 Oldbury is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 35 buildings inside Oldbury’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
9% 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 Oldbury. Best known first.
CastleDudley Castle3.2 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumThe Barber Institute of Fine Arts4.2 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumSoho House Museum4.6 km outside town, to the east
CastleWeoley Castle2.7 km outside town, to the southeast
GardenBirmingham Botanical Gardens3.8 km outside town, to the east
Abbey or priory · English HeritageHalesowen Abbey2.6 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Oldbury.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Over the year to August 2026, 4,506 offences were reported in Oldbury, along with 160 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 45% of recorded crime.
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.
Secondary results at the town’s 4 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 46.1, with 42% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Langley Primary School’s results beat 83% of schools in England like it. 59% of pupils at the town’s 11 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are three of its 18 schools, each with why it was picked.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moat Farm Junior SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 477 | A− |
| Q3 Academy LangleyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,490 | B+ |
| Langley Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 440 | A− |
Half of the 1,153 standard sales inside Oldbury’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £225,000. Private rents average £953 a month across the Sandwell council area. Social housing holds 20% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £300,000 | 102 |
| Semi-detached | £240,000 | 592 |
| Terraced | £200,000 | 334 |
| Flat or maisonette | £122,000 | 125 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Nearly four fifths of Oldbury’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, near West Midlands’ towns (80%) and lower than England’s towns (82%). 8 GP practices serve the town; three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 6.4% of people here described their health as bad or very bad.
| Census 2021 | Oldbury | West Midlands | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.4% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 20% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For every resident in work, Oldbury has 1.2 jobs. Households had £46K a year before tax, below both West Midlands’ towns (£48K) and England’s towns (£55K). The next most common way to work was the bus (11%).
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.
9% of homes date from before 1919. Grade II* covers 1 of them. Scaled to its population, Oldbury has 8 listed buildings per 10,000 people, higher than West Midlands’ towns (6) yet lower than England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Typical age in Oldbury: 38.4, the median. The share of residents under 15 is 20%. People aged 15 to 24 make up just over a tenth of the town, below West Midlands’ towns (14%) and close to England’s towns (12%).
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Oldbury | West Midlands | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 27% | 24% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.8% | 4.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 24% | 28% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Midlands and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
35 listed buildings in Oldbury.
Langley Maltings: Photo: AtticTapestry · CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Junction Public House: Photo: Philip Halling · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Christ Church: Photo: Tony Hisgett · CC BY 2.0 · Oldbury Public Library: Photo: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK · CC BY 2.0
29 notable people were born in Oldbury.
Mick Aston: Bedoyere at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Frederick Bridge: Leslie Ward, Public domain · Duane Courtney: Jonesy702, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jeanie A. Welford: pellethepoet, CC BY 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oldbury | 45,188 | — | D− | D | D | D |
| Blackheath | 6,950 | 1.3 | D− | C− | D− | D |
| Smethwick | 56,343 | 1.6 | D | C− | D | D |
| Rowley Regis | 39,052 | 2 | D | C− | C− | D |
| Cradley Heath | 18,819 | 2.7 | D− | C− | D | D |
| Halesowen | 60,103 | 2.7 | B− | B+ | C | C |
| West Bromwich | 103,099 | 3.8 | D− | D | D− | D |
| Dudley | 64,277 | 3.9 | C− | A | D− | D |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Band D council tax in Oldbury is £2,244 for 2026–27, less than in 80% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Large town in West Midlands, England
Oldbury is a built-up area of 45,188 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
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.