Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
637 people live in this village in West Sussex, South East.
With fewer than 1,000 residents, Bolney is too small for fair grades, though the figures on this page are real. Nearly one in ten commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Its listed buildings number 13, with 1 at Grade I. Homes change hands at a median £518,500.
The 3 things Bolney does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 13 buildings inside Bolney’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
38% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bolney.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 45% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car carried 87% of commuters at the census. Working from home was the norm for 45% of workers at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
A third of pupils at the one primary school within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). There is one school here; it is shown below. The town’s primary school has 106 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bolney CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 106 | D− |
Home ownership stands at 73% of households. Private rents average £1,423 a month across the Mid Sussex council area. 15% live in social housing, higher than West Sussex’s towns (13%) yet lower than England’s towns (18%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £637,500 | 18 |
| Semi-detached | £485,000 | 8 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violence comes to 11.5 per 1,000 residents a year. A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 27 offences in Bolney and 8 cases of nuisance behaviour. There were 8.9 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), between West Sussex’s towns (11.6) and England’s towns (7.8).
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
Self-reported good health: 86% of Bolney’s residents. At the census, 3.6% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, lower than both West Sussex’s towns (4.5%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Seeing a GP means leaving Bolney: the nearest practice is 2.9 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Bolney | West Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.6% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 17% | 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.
Relative to its size, Bolney keeps 204 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, higher than both West Sussex’s towns (50) and England’s towns (39). Its listed buildings include The Parish Church of Mary Magdalene, Grade I. The top grade, Grade I, goes to 1 of them.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Bolney has a median age of 45.9. Under 15: 19% of residents. People 65 and over make up just over a fifth of the town, between West Sussex’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (18%).
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Bolney | West Sussex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.8% | 9.8% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 9.9% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.7% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 41% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Sussex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Bolney. Best known first.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolney | 637 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cuckfield | 3,767 | 2.9 | A+ | C | B+ | A |
| Cowfold | 1,377 | 3.1 | — | C+ | A− | B+ |
| Handcross | 1,399 | 3.9 | — | B | C+ | B |
| Burgess Hill | 33,352 | 4 | A | B | C+ | B+ |
| Haywards Heath | 40,186 | 4.5 | A+ | B | B | A− |
| Mannings Heath | 1,137 | 4.9 | — | C− | A | A+ |
| Partridge Green | 1,911 | 5.1 | — | C+ | A | B+ |
Cowfold, Handcross, Mannings Heath and Partridge Green have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 8.4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is The Parish Church of Mary Magdalene. 38% of Bolney’s homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
By type: semi-detached houses £485,000 and detached houses £637,500.
At the 2021 Census, 9.8% of Bolney’s 637 residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
Village in West Sussex, England
Bolney is a built-up area of 637 people, in the Mid Sussex 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.