Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
16% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. In West Midlands, this large town has 56,961 residents.
Stourbridge’s weakest is safety: 33 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 16.1 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has more crime per resident than 21%. Its overall C+ puts it #10 of 35 in West Midlands. Nationally, it does better than 43% of UK towns. It lags on health as well: men here can expect to live to 79.1, women to 83.7. Where it does best is schools: primary results beat nearly two thirds of towns in England; secondary results beat 55% of towns in England. The median home sold for £270,000, 5.6 times what households in the Dudley council area earn in a year.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Stourbridge 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 Stourbridge is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 59 buildings inside Stourbridge’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1903.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Stourbridge. Best known first.
Historic houseHagley Hall900 m outside town, to the southeast
Abbey or priory · English HeritageHalesowen Abbey4.3 km outside town, to the east
MuseumRed House Glass Cone600 m outside town, to the north
MuseumBroadfield House Glass Museum2.3 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumThe Lace Guild Museum300 m outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Stourbridge.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
3,899 crimes and 154 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Stourbridge’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. 44% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Among the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, Stourbridge has less crime per resident than 79% of them.
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.
Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 12 primary schools: 64% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Three of its 17 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Attainment 8 at the town’s 4 secondary schools averages 47, and 45% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gig Mill Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 535 | C |
| Redhill SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,204 | B |
| Pedmore CE Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 219 | A+ |
Residents of Stourbridge have a median age of 44.4. A tenth of the population is aged 15 to 24, lower than both West Midlands’ towns (14%) and England’s towns (12%). In addition, under-15s account for 17% of the population.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Stourbridge | West Midlands | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 24% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.4% | 4.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 28% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Midlands and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
6 GP practices serve the town; 79% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 19% of people here had a disability, above West Midlands’ towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%) alike. The nearest A&E to Stourbridge is Russells Hall Hospital, 3.6 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Stourbridge | West Midlands | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.7% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 27% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Stourbridge counts 0.6 jobs per working resident. Work in town: 22% of resident commuters. Just over four in five commuters drove, higher than both West Midlands’ towns (73%) and England’s towns (70%). The average household earns £51K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
17% live in social housing, below West Midlands’ towns (22%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Home ownership stands at 69% of households. Private rents average £858 a month across the Dudley council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £403,396 | 600 |
| Semi-detached | £270,000 | 782 |
| Terraced | £220,500 | 452 |
| Flat or maisonette | £150,000 | 273 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Stourbridge’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Thomas, Grade I. Scaled to its population, Stourbridge has 10 listed buildings per 10,000 people, between West Midlands’ towns (6) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
59 listed buildings in Stourbridge, 1 of them Grade I.
Parish Church of St Thomas: Photo: Richard Rogerson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Old Swinford Hospital: Photo: Brianboru100 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Stourbridge Quaker Meeting House: Photo: Brianboru100 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Castle: Photo: Brianboru100 · CC BY-SA 3.0
112 notable people were born in Stourbridge.
Jude Bellingham: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Johan Bellingham: Struway2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Joseph Bache: Albert Wilkes, Public domain · Matt Neal: Robk23oxf, CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stourbridge | 56,961 | — | C+ | B | C− | C |
| Brierley Hill | 32,311 | 1.7 | C | A | D | C− |
| Hagley | 7,012 | 2.2 | A+ | B | A− | A+ |
| Kingswinford | 51,900 | 2.8 | C+ | B+ | C+ | C |
| Cradley Heath | 18,819 | 3.4 | D− | C− | D | D |
| Halesowen | 60,103 | 3.6 | B− | B+ | C | C |
| Blakedown | 1,448 | 3.7 | — | D | B− | B+ |
| Kinver | 4,651 | 3.9 | B | C+ | B− | B |
Blakedown has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C−.
Band D council tax in Stourbridge is £2,145 for 2026–27, less than in 84% 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
Stourbridge is a built-up area of 56,961 people, in the Dudley 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.