Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 49,582 in West Midlands.
Willenhall grades D− overall against UK towns: behind almost every UK town, and #33 of 35 in West Midlands. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 17% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D): 44.1 violent and sexual offences and 28.8 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 10%. The median home sold for £196,500 in the last three years, 4.3 times what households in the Walsall council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Willenhall 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 Willenhall is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 21 buildings inside Willenhall’s built-up area.
6% 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 Willenhall. Best known first.
MuseumWillenhall Lock Museumin town
MuseumWolverhampton Art Gallery3.4 km outside town, to the west · 159K visitors a year
Art galleryThe New Art Gallery1.9 km outside town, to the east
Historic house · National TrustMoseley Old Hall4 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumWednesbury Museum & Art Gallery3 km outside town, to the south
MuseumBliston Craft Gallery and Library1 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 Willenhall.
Young adults of 15 to 24 are just over one in ten residents, below both West Midlands’ towns (14%) and England’s towns (12%). The middle age in Willenhall is 39.2. Those 65 and older account for 18% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Willenhall | West Midlands | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 28% | 24% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 4.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 20% | 28% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Midlands and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
GCSE results at the town’s 2 secondary schools: 22% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 34.7. Of its 21 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. Some 7,386 pupils attend Willenhall’s 14 primaries and two secondaries.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fibbersley Park AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 619 | C− |
| Pool Hayes AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,162 | D |
| County Bridge Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 229 | 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 accounted for just over two fifths of recorded crime. Reported offences in Willenhall came to 5,164 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 251. For its size, Willenhall records more crime per resident than 90% 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.
Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 6.5% of the town, and on top of that 19% of residents have a disability, above West Midlands’ towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%) alike. Men in Willenhall can expect to live to 77.4, women to 81.8 (2019–23). 8 GP practices serve the town; 78% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Willenhall | West Midlands | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.5% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
6% of its homes were built before 1919, lower than both West Midlands’ towns (7%) and England’s towns (16%). Relative to its size, Willenhall keeps 4 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
17% of households are private tenants. 1,208 standard sales inside Willenhall’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £196,500. Private rents average £924 a month across the Walsall council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £270,000 | 186 |
| Semi-detached | £207,000 | 565 |
| Terraced | £170,000 | 363 |
| Flat or maisonette | £99,000 | 94 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 15% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For every resident in work, Willenhall has 0.6 jobs. Of the commuters living here, 18% work in the town itself. Working from home was the norm for 15% of workers at the census. Households had £43K a year before tax, below West Midlands’ towns (£48K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
21 listed buildings in Willenhall.
The Bell Public House: Photo: John M · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of Emmanuel, Bentley and church hall: Photo: Geoff Pick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Willenhall War Memorial, including obelisk and associated First World War stone panels and plaques, Second World War stone panels and plaques, and plaques dedicated to the Boer War.: Photo: Tim Marshall · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Little London Baptist Church: Photo: Derek Bennett · CC BY-SA 2.0
24 notable people were born in Willenhall.
Allan Clarke: lufcfilms, CC0 · Charles Lapworth: Credited to "Central News", Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willenhall | 49,582 | — | D− | C | D | D |
| Darlaston | 21,541 | 2.1 | D− | C | D− | D− |
| Bloxwich | 51,891 | 2.2 | D− | C | D− | D− |
| Essington | 3,471 | 2.3 | D | B | C− | C− |
| Bilston | 34,631 | 2.5 | D− | C− | D− | D− |
| Walsall | 70,777 | 2.8 | D | C− | D− | D |
| Wednesbury | 20,321 | 2.9 | D− | C− | D− | D− |
| Wolverhampton | 234,029 | 3.4 | D | C− | 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.
Large town in West Midlands, England
Willenhall is a built-up area of 49,582 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.