Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
13% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. The town, home to 2,952 people, lies in Wiltshire, South West.
Downton’s strongest subject is health: life expectancy is 81.8 for men and 86.3 for women. The town’s overall grade, A, puts it better than nearly nine in ten UK towns. It ranks #3 of 30 in Wiltshire. What counts against it is hazard risk (C+): 0.6% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. The median home sold for £352,250, 5.9 times what households in the Wiltshire council area earn in a year. The rest of its grades are middling: B for safety and B− for walkability.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Downton 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 Downton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 107 buildings inside Downton’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade I, and 3 scheduled monuments.
24% 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 Downton.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
The pre-1919 share of homes is 24%. Downton’s listed buildings include the Church of St Laurence, Grade I. Historic England’s list names 107 listed buildings in the town: 3 Grade I, 2 Grade II*. Conservation areas cover 30% of the town’s land, above Wiltshire’s towns (10%) and England’s towns (7%) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Its two schools are listed below. Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 45.7, and 45% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Downton’s one primary and one secondary have 1,080 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downton CofE VA Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 272 | A− |
| The Trafalgar School at DowntonLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 808 | B− |
Residents of Downton have a median age of 48.9. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 7.6% of residents, lower than both Wiltshire’s towns (10%) and England’s towns (12%). Under-15s account for 16% of the population.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
| Downton | Wiltshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.6% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Wiltshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 68% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 84% of people in Downton rate their own health good or very good. At the census, 4.3% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, near Wiltshire’s towns (4.4%) and lower than England’s towns (5.2%).
| Census 2021 | Downton | Wiltshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.3% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Police recorded 95 crimes inside Downton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 28 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence accounts for 13.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Also worth knowing: 34% 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.
10% live in social housing, lower than both Wiltshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). The private rented sector houses just over one in ten households. Private rents average £1,082 a month across the Wiltshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £409,500 | 34 |
| Semi-detached | £340,000 | 48 |
| Terraced | £342,000 | 36 |
| Flat or maisonette | £209,250 | 12 |
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 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
85% of commuters took the car to work at the census. Households had £71K a year before tax, above both Wiltshire’s towns (£62K) and England’s towns (£55K). Downton counts 0.9 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Downton. Best known first.
Historic houseBreamore House2.5 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumBreamore House and Countryside Museum2.9 km outside town, to the southwestCastleCastleLongford Castle4.6 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
107 listed buildings in Downton, 3 of them Grade I.
Manor House: Photo: AndyScott · CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Moot with Attached Kitchen: Photo: Mike Searle · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Bull Hotel: Photo: Judith Green · CC BY-SA 2.0 · County Bridge: Photo: Trish Steel · CC BY-SA 2.0
3 notable people were born in Downton.
Roger Curtis: British school of the 18th century, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downton | 2,952 | — | A | B | B | A |
| Redlynch and Woodfalls | 2,446 | 1.4 | — | C+ | A | A |
| Whaddon | 2,283 | 3.3 | — | B− | A | A+ |
| Fordingbridge | 4,947 | 4.7 | C+ | C− | C | B+ |
| Sandleheath | 1,546 | 5.1 | — | D | A | A− |
| Salisbury | 47,690 | 6.1 | B+ | B+ | C− | C+ |
| Alderholt | 2,868 | 6.7 | B | D | A− | A |
| West Wellow | 1,584 | 7.1 | — | C+ | B+ | A− |
Redlynch and Woodfalls, Whaddon, Sandleheath and West Wellow have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 14.9 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Church of St Laurence. It also has 3 scheduled monuments.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £352,250, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £209,250, terraced houses £342,000, semi-detached houses £340,000 and detached houses £409,500. Household incomes are higher than in 89% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B.
Town in Wiltshire, England
Downton is a built-up area of 2,952 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.