Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town in West Midlands, home to 70,777 people.
Several subjects drag its grade down. Crime is the sore point: 62.9 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 26.3 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 6%. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (A): 25% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Homes sell for a median £210,000, about 4.6 years of what households in the Walsall council area earn. Put together, the subjects come to a D overall, ranking #18 of 35 in West Midlands. That leaves it better than just over a tenth of UK towns. It lags on health as well: life expectancy 76.5 for men, 81.6 for women.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS.
The 3 things Walsall 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 Walsall is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 88 buildings inside Walsall’s built-up area, 4 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
26% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1905.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Walsall. Best known first.
Art galleryThe New Art Galleryin town
MuseumThe Leather Museumin town
MuseumWednesbury Museum & Art Gallery2.2 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumAston Manor Transport Museum3.1 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumWillenhall Lock Museum3 km outside town, to the west
MuseumBliston Craft Gallery and Library4 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Walsall.
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, 9,867 offences were reported in Walsall, along with 300 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Among the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, Walsall has more crime per resident than 94% of them. Violence and sexual offences made up just over two fifths of the total.
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.
Walsall’s 19 primaries and five secondaries have 12,819 pupils between them. Of its 28 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 14 primary schools: 60% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillary Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 675 | C |
| Joseph Leckie AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,524 | C |
| Queen Mary's High SchoolTop results in townSecondary | Secondary | 949 | A+ |
13 GP practices serve the town; 73% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Four fifths of people in Walsall rate their own health good or very good. The nearest A&E to Walsall is Manor Hospital, 0.9 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Walsall | West Midlands | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.2% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 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.
Household income came to £46K a year before tax, about level with West Midlands’ towns (£48K) and below England’s towns (£55K). 28% of commuters who live in Walsall also work there. For every resident in work, Walsall has 1.5 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
23% live in social housing, close to West Midlands’ towns (22%) and above England’s towns (18%). Private renters make up nearly a quarter of households. Half of the 1,436 standard sales inside Walsall’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £210,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £415,000 | 330 |
| Semi-detached | £245,681 | 438 |
| Terraced | £164,000 | 463 |
| Flat or maisonette | £102,275 | 205 |
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.
Walsall has 88 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 4 Grade II*. One scheduled monument lies here. It has 2 registered historic parks and gardens.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Walsall has a median age of 35.3 years. People 65 and over make up 14% of the town, below both West Midlands’ towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are 14% of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Walsall | West Midlands | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 22% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 27% | 24% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.9% | 4.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 28% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Midlands and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
88 listed buildings in Walsall.
Church of St Mary and attached presbytery: Photo: Derek Bennett · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Guildhall: Photo: Martin Richard Phelan · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Matthew: Photo: Derek Bennett · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Brookes Works: Photo: No Swan So Fine · CC BY-SA 4.0
179 notable people were born in Walsall.
Jerome K. Jerome: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress), Public domain · Jorja Smith: Vbrunophotog, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Martin Fowler: Ade Oshineye, CC BY 2.0 · Michael Fitzgerald: Centro Televisivo Vaticano, CC BY 3.0 · Goldie: User:Alkivar, CC0 · John Byrne: Luigi Novi, CC BY 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walsall | 70,777 | — | D | C− | D− | D |
| Wednesbury | 20,321 | 2 | D− | C− | D− | D− |
| Darlaston | 21,541 | 2.5 | D− | C | D− | D− |
| Rushall and Shelfield | 12,844 | 2.6 | D− | C− | C− | D |
| Bloxwich | 51,891 | 2.6 | D− | C | D− | D− |
| Willenhall | 49,582 | 2.8 | D− | C | D | D |
| West Bromwich | 103,099 | 3 | D− | D | D− | D |
| Aldridge | 15,827 | 3.1 | C | D | C | C+ |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £210,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £102,275, terraced houses £164,000, semi-detached houses £245,681 and detached houses £415,000. Household incomes are lower than in 77% of UK towns, so cost of living grades C−.
Large town in West Midlands, England
Walsall is a built-up area of 70,777 people, in the Walsall 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.