Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Wiltshire, South West, this town has 3,976 residents.
People here tend to be in good health: men here can expect to live to 82.4, women to 85.7. Jobs & income is another plus: mean household income £63,566; 2.4% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. It takes 5.7 years of household income in the Wiltshire council area to buy the median home, at £340,000. The catch is schools (D) — primary results beat a quarter of towns in England; secondary results beat 9% of towns in England. Put together, the subjects come to an A− overall, ranking #11 of 30 in Wiltshire. That leaves it better than 76% of UK towns.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 2 things Bowerhill 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 Bowerhill is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 3 buildings inside Bowerhill’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
3% 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 Bowerhill.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Inside Bowerhill’s built-up area, Historic England lists 3 listed buildings, 1 Grade II*. 3% of its homes are older than 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 38.3, and 33% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Both of the town’s schools appear below. 56% of pupils at the 8 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowerhill Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 378 | B |
| Melksham Oak Community SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,058 | C− |
85% of Bowerhill’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, higher than both Wiltshire’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%). This Wiltshire town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 0.7 miles away. Also worth knowing: at the census, 3.7% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. The nearest A&E to Bowerhill is Royal United Hospital Bath, 11.8 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Bowerhill | Wiltshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.7% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 17% | 17% |
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.
77% of households own their home. Social housing holds 12% of households, lower than both Wiltshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). The £340,000 median rests on 253 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £397,500 | 128 |
| Semi-detached | £312,500 | 70 |
| Terraced | £245,525 | 52 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Over the year to August 2026, 136 offences were reported in Bowerhill, along with 40 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Bowerhill has less crime per resident than 71% of them. 57% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 31% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Jobs per working resident: 0.4. 84% of commuters drove, above Wiltshire’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. For 36% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. About a tenth of its commuters stay in Bowerhill for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Under-15s account for 16% of the population. Ages in Bowerhill split evenly at 45.4: half are older, half younger. The 15-to-24 age group makes up 11% of residents.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Bowerhill | Wiltshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 22% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Wiltshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowerhill | 3,976 | — | A− | B+ | B+ | A− |
| Berryfield | 1,094 | 1 | — | B | D | B+ |
| Melksham | 18,277 | 1.2 | C+ | A− | C | C |
| Holt | 1,704 | 3.2 | — | B− | A+ | A |
| Bromham | 1,066 | 3.7 | — | B+ | A | B+ |
| Atworth | 1,293 | 4.1 | — | B− | B+ | A− |
| Trowbridge | 43,753 | 4.4 | C+ | A− | C | C+ |
| Bradford-on-Avon | 9,864 | 5.5 | A | C+ | B | A |
Berryfield, Holt, Bromham and Atworth have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Bowerhill has 2 state schools; places are handled by Wiltshire council.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Wiltshire, England
Bowerhill is a built-up area of 3,976 people, in the Wiltshire 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.