Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a large town of 93,392 residents in West Midlands.
Schools do well: primary results beat 94% of towns in England; secondary results beat 95% of towns in England. At B overall, Royal Sutton Coldfield ranks #7 of 35 in West Midlands. It comes out better than 57% of UK towns. Jobs and pay hold up well: the mean household earns £63,009 a year. Homes are dear: homes sell for a median £368,000, about 7.8 times local household income. Crime runs high: police record 26.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 17.5 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 86%. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for health, B for walkability and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: income and life expectancy, 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.
The 3 things Royal Sutton Coldfield 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 Royal Sutton Coldfield is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 103 buildings inside Royal Sutton Coldfield’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
9% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Royal Sutton Coldfield.
Social housing holds nearly one in ten households, below West Midlands’ towns (22%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private renters make up 13% of households. 3,643 standard sales inside Royal Sutton Coldfield’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £368,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £530,000 | 1,236 |
| Semi-detached | £361,500 | 1,198 |
| Terraced | £289,000 | 525 |
| Flat or maisonette | £170,000 | 684 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
GCSE results at the town’s 7 secondary schools: 64% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 56.9. Bishop Vesey's Grammar School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Of its 32 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. At the town’s 21 primary schools, 74% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Oscott Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 648 | B+ |
| The Arthur Terry SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,758 | A− |
| Bishop Vesey's Grammar SchoolTop results in townSecondary | Secondary | 1,455 | A+ |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violence and sexual offences were 36% of the crimes. Police figures for Royal Sutton Coldfield’s built-up area: 6,388 crimes and 367 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 5.3 reports per 1,000, below West Midlands’ towns (6.2) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Unemployment benefit claims came to 2.7% of 16 to 64s in 2026, lower than West Midlands’ towns (4.5%) yet higher than England’s towns (2.3%). At the census, just over four in five commuters went by car. About 24% of its commuters stay in Royal Sutton Coldfield for work. For 32% of commuters, work was under 5 km away.
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.
Royal Sutton Coldfield’s listed buildings include the Church of the Holy Trinity, Grade I. The register of parks and gardens lists one in the town. One scheduled monument lies here.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
4 GP practices serve the town; nearly three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 84% of Royal Sutton Coldfield’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above both West Midlands’ towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). Also worth knowing: men in Royal Sutton Coldfield can expect to live to 81.5, women to 84.5 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Royal Sutton Coldfield | West Midlands | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 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 Royal Sutton Coldfield split evenly at 45.4: half are older, half younger. Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, above West Midlands’ towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. The share aged 15 to 24 is 9.5%.
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.
| Royal Sutton Coldfield | West Midlands | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.5% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 24% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.6% | 4.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 42% | 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 Royal Sutton Coldfield. Best known first.
MuseumAston Hall4.5 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumMiddleton Hall3.8 km outside town, to the east
MuseumAston Manor Transport Museum4.5 km outside town, to the northwestHistoric houseHistoric houseMoxhull Hall900 m outside town, to the eastZooZooOak Tree Children's Farm3.2 km outside town, to the northwestRuinsRuinsBooth's Farm farmhouse2.4 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
103 listed buildings in Royal Sutton Coldfield, 1 of them Grade I.
Moat House: Photo: Brianboru100 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · All Saints Church: Photo: Frank Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Three Tuns Hotel: Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Odeon Cinema: Photo: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, England · CC BY 2.0
128 notable people were born in Royal Sutton Coldfield.
Rob Halford: Birgit Fostervold, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Scott Adkins: Miguel Discart, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Rory Delap: Wonker, CC BY 2.0 · Ken Miles: Raycrosthwaite, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Carl Ikeme: https://www.flickr.com/photos/joncandy/, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Paul Manning: Nicola, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Sutton Coldfield | 93,392 | — | B | D− | C | B |
| Streetly | 16,790 | 2.7 | A− | D− | A− | A− |
| Pheasey | 9,498 | 3.4 | B− | D | B | B− |
| Curdworth | 1,146 | 4.4 | — | D | C+ | B |
| Aldridge | 15,827 | 4.9 | C | D | C | C+ |
| Water Orton | 3,484 | 5.1 | C | C | C+ | C+ |
| Shenstone | 2,196 | 5.2 | — | C | C | B+ |
| Stonnall | 1,340 | 5.5 | — | C+ | B+ | B+ |
Curdworth, Shenstone and Stonnall 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 95% of towns in England, and primary results beat 94% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £368,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £170,000, terraced houses £289,000, semi-detached houses £361,500 and detached houses £530,000.
Large town in West Midlands, England
Royal Sutton Coldfield is a built-up area of 93,392 people, in the Birmingham 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.