Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 47,202 in West Midlands.
Tipton grades D− overall against UK towns: behind almost every UK town. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 21% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is health (D−): life expectancy 74.5 for men, 79.2 for women. The median home sold for £200,000 in the last three years, 4.7 times what households in the Sandwell council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Tipton 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 Tipton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 19 buildings inside Tipton’s built-up area.
3% 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 Tipton. Best known first.
CastleDudley Castle900 m outside town, to the southwest
MuseumBlack Country Living Museum300 m outside town, to the southwest
MuseumWednesbury Museum & Art Gallery400 m outside town, to the northeast
Art galleryThe New Art Gallery5 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumThe Oak House Museum2.5 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumBliston Craft Gallery and Library1.8 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Tipton.
People 65 and over make up 14% of the town. Children under 15 make up 21%, above both West Midlands’ towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). Half the people of Tipton are older than 36.6.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Tipton | West Midlands | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 31% | 24% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5% | 4.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 20% | 28% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Midlands and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Secondary results at the town’s 2 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 36.3, with 21% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Ocker Hill Academy’s results beat 85% of schools in England like it. Tipton’s 13 primaries and two secondaries have 7,322 pupils between them. Of its 16 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summerhill Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 778 | C− |
| Q3 Academy TiptonLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,563 | D− |
| Ocker Hill AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 248 | A |
78% of Tipton’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below both West Midlands’ towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). 5 GP practices serve the town; 58% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 7.3% of the town.
| Census 2021 | Tipton | West Midlands | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.3% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 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.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Of all the crimes, 46% were violence and sexual offences. Burglary and damage come to 21.6 per 1,000 residents a year. Police figures for Tipton’s built-up area: 4,422 crimes and 164 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. For its size, Tipton records more crime per resident than 89% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
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.
Homes built before 1919 account for 3% of the housing. For its size, Tipton has 4 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, lower than both West Midlands’ towns (6) and England’s towns (39). The register of parks and gardens lists one here.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 16% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Households had £41K a year before tax, below both West Midlands’ towns (£48K) and England’s towns (£55K). There are 0.7 jobs in Tipton for each resident in work. Work in town: 15% of resident commuters. By car: that was how 75% of commuters travelled at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
17% rent privately, lower than both West Midlands’ towns (20%) and England’s towns (21%). Owners make up half of households. Behind the median of £200,000: 979 standard sales inside Tipton’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £285,000 | 114 |
| Semi-detached | £215,000 | 401 |
| Terraced | £190,000 | 283 |
| Flat or maisonette | £95,000 | 181 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
19 listed buildings in Tipton.
The Tilted Barrel Public House: Photo: Stephen Rogerson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Towpath Bridge over Entrance to Canal Basin (Approximately 150 Metres West of Watery Lane) Birmingham Canal Birmingham Level: Photo: RexxS · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Footbridge to South of Junction with Tame Valley Canal, East of Bayleys Lane Walsall Canal: Photo: Oosoom · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bottom Lock and Attached Cantilever Footbridge, Factory Locks (Approximately 50 Meters North of Furnace Parade) Birmingham Canal Birmingham Level: Photo: Gordon Griffiths · CC BY-SA 2.0
40 notable people were born in Tipton.
Steve Bull: VEO15, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Philip Bradbourn: Me, User:Mholland, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Chris Brookes: Cjx59940, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tipton | 47,202 | — | D− | C− | D | D− |
| Coseley | 25,206 | 1.6 | C− | A− | C− | D |
| Bilston | 34,631 | 2.2 | D− | C− | D− | D− |
| Rowley Regis | 39,052 | 2.3 | D | C− | C− | D |
| Darlaston | 21,541 | 2.4 | D− | C | D− | D− |
| Wednesbury | 20,321 | 2.5 | D− | C− | D− | D− |
| Dudley | 64,277 | 2.6 | C− | A | D− | D |
| Sedgley | 31,976 | 2.9 | C | B+ | C− | C |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
At the 2021 Census, 12% of Tipton’s 47,202 residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
GCSE results trail 98% of towns in England, and primary results trail 58% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Large town in West Midlands, England
Tipton is a built-up area of 47,202 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.