Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Over-65s are 30% of the population. With 5,366 residents, it is a town in West Sussex, South East.
Buying in is costly (D): the median home sold for £371,950, 6.5 years of area income. Midhurst’s overall grade, B−, puts it better than 45% of UK towns. It ranks #21 of 40 in West Sussex. Incomes are on the low side: households earn a mean £52,587 a year, and 3.5% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Where it does best is health (B+) — men here can expect to live to 80.5, women to 86.4.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · claimants, DWP.
The 3 things Midhurst 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 Midhurst is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 110 buildings inside Midhurst’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
17% 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 1903.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Midhurst.
15% of residents are children under 15. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 7.7% of residents, lower than both West Sussex’s towns (9.8%) and England’s towns (12%). Midhurst has a median age of 50.2.
54% women, 46% men
About 84 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Midhurst | West Sussex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.7% | 9.8% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 30% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 33% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Sussex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Below are its two schools. 46% of pupils at the 2 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Midhurst’s one primary and one secondary have 1,327 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midhurst CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 183 | D |
| Midhurst Rother CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,144 | B+ |
60% of households own their home, lower than West Sussex’s towns (68%) and near England’s towns (61%). Half of the 252 standard sales inside Midhurst’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £371,950. Private rents average £1,333 a month across the Chichester council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £615,000 | 61 |
| Semi-detached | £402,500 | 36 |
| Terraced | £352,500 | 92 |
| Flat or maisonette | £222,500 | 63 |
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.
Midhurst counts 110 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 2 Grade II*. Homes from before 1919 make up 17% of the total, higher than both West Sussex’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest A&E to Midhurst is St Richard's Hospital, 9.7 miles away. Seeing a GP means leaving Midhurst: the nearest practice is 0.9 miles away. 82% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below West Sussex’s towns (83%) and close to England’s towns (82%).
| Census 2021 | Midhurst | West Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.7% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 28% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For 32% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. 81% of commuters drove, above West Sussex’s towns (75%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. There are 0.6 jobs in Midhurst for each resident in work. Work in town: nearly a fifth of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Of all the crimes, 48% were violence and sexual offences. 187 crimes and 50 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Midhurst’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Midhurst has less crime per resident than 71% of them.
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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Midhurst. Best known first.
CastleCowdray Castle300 m outside town, to the northeast
Abbey or prioryChithurst Buddhist Monastery3.7 km outside town, to the northwestGardenGarden · National TrustWoolbeding Gardens. National Trust.800 m outside town, to the northwestZooZooCowdray Model Farm900 m outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
110 listed buildings in Midhurst.
The Parish Church of St Mary: Photo: The Voice of Hassocks · CC0 · The Spread Eagle Hotel: Photo: Michael Coppins · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chichester District Council Offices: Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bridge on Former Rother Navigation (At SU88942135): Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0
5 notable people were born in Midhurst.
Helen Joseph: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midhurst | 5,366 | — | B− | D | B+ | B+ |
| Easebourne | 1,396 | 1.1 | — | D | A− | B+ |
| Fernhurst | 1,830 | 4.8 | — | D | A− | B |
| Petworth | 2,592 | 5.9 | C+ | D | B+ | B+ |
| Hill Brow and Rake | 1,200 | 6.5 | — | C+ | A | A− |
| Liphook | 7,128 | 6.9 | A | B | B− | A− |
| Haslemere | 11,897 | 7.3 | A | C+ | B | B |
| Liss | 4,749 | 7.6 | A− | B | B | B+ |
Easebourne, Fernhurst and Hill Brow and Rake 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.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £371,950, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £222,500, terraced houses £352,500, semi-detached houses £402,500 and detached houses £615,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in West Sussex, England
Midhurst is a built-up area of 5,366 people, in the Chichester 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.