Wolverhampton grades D overall against UK towns: better than 10% of UK towns, and #19 of 35 in West Midlands. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 21% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D): 50.6 violent and sexual offences and 21.7 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 23%. The median home sold for £220,000 in the last three years, 4.9 times what households in the Wolverhampton council area earn in a year.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Wolverhampton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Wolverhampton.
Safety
Wolverhampton has more crime per resident than 94% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Police recorded 22,899 crimes inside Wolverhampton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 911 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Wolverhampton records more crime per resident than 77% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more. Violence and sexual offences made up 47% of the total.
50.6violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 23% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: more crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual10,671
Shoplifting2,739
Damage & arson1,940
Vehicle crime1,714
Other theft1,490
Public order1,364
Burglary736
Drugs628
Anti-social911
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.
50.6
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
21.7
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
7.3
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
SchoolsB
Exam results at Wolverhampton’s schools top 62% of towns in England
GCSE results at the town’s 16 secondary schools: 44% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 46.4. Below are three of its 98 schools, each with why it was picked. Some 40,953 pupils attend Wolverhampton’s 65 primaries and 16 secondaries.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 98 schools →
Health
Wolverhampton’s life expectancy trails 87% of UK towns
Nearly four fifths of Wolverhampton’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below West Midlands’ towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. 26 GP practices serve the town; 77% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Wolverhampton is New Cross Hospital, 1.3 miles away.
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.
HousingCost of living grade C−
More households in Wolverhampton live in social housing than in West Midlands’ towns or England’s towns: 24%
5,720 standard sales inside Wolverhampton’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £220,000. 56% of households own their home, close to West Midlands’ towns (57%) and below England’s towns (61%). Private rents average £945 a month across the Wolverhampton council area.
£220Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Wolverhampton£220K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£330,000
1,129
Semi-detached
£226,497
2,694
Terraced
£185,000
1,331
Flat or maisonette
£107,250
566
56%
of households own their home · England 61%
19%
rent privately · England 21%
£945
average private rent a month, Wolverhampton council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
Benefit claims run higher in Wolverhampton, 7% of 16 to 64s, than in West Midlands’ towns or across England’s towns
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.
75% of commuters drove, about level with West Midlands’ towns (73%) and above England’s towns (70%). About 48% of its commuters stay in Wolverhampton for work. For every resident in work, Wolverhampton has 1.1 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
History
A town of 339 listed buildings, 2 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Wolverhampton’s listed buildings include the Church of St Peter, Grade I. Homes from before 1919 make up just over a tenth of the total, between West Midlands’ towns (7%) and England’s towns (16%). Grade II* covers 20 of them, Grade I 2.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
A typical mix of ages for England
The share of residents under 15 is 19%. Half of Wolverhampton is older than 38.9, half younger. Just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24, below West Midlands’ towns (14%) and close to England’s towns (12%). Degrees are held by 27% of adults.
38.9median age
WolverhamptonWest MidlandsEngland
Ages · share of residents
12%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications25%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar15%
Degree level27%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Liam Payne: Soccer Aid for UNICEF, CC BY 3.0 · Ashley Williams: Steindy 16:12, 10 November 2016 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sam Morsy: Ben Sutherland from Crystal Palace, London, UK, CC BY 2.0 · Anya Chalotra: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Stuart Baxter: Mika Heikkinen, CC BY 2.5 · Andre Gray: @cfcunofficial (Chelsea Debs) London, CC BY-SA 2.0
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £220,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £107,250, terraced houses £185,000, semi-detached houses £226,497 and detached houses £330,000. Household incomes are lower than in 79% of UK towns, so cost of living grades C−.
How much is council tax in Wolverhampton?
Band D council tax in Wolverhampton is £2,537 for 2026–27, more than in 73% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
About Wolverhampton
City in West Midlands, England
Wolverhampton is a built-up area of 234,029 people, in the Wolverhampton 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
Population
234,029 (Census 2021)
Council
Wolverhampton (mostly)
County
West Midlands
Region
West Midlands
Area
22.4 sq mi (57.9 km²)
ONS code
E63002713
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.
