Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
4,645 people call this town in Wiltshire, South West home.
On safety it is strong: police record 10.9 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 2.5 home and vehicle crimes. The drawback is schools (C): primary results beat 36% of towns in England. It takes 4.8 years of household income in the Wiltshire council area to buy the median home, at £288,500. Put together, the subjects come to an A+ overall, better than almost every UK town.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS. Lyneham is a military garrison town: most residents serve or work for the armed forces and live in service housing, so it keeps its grades but isn’t ranked against other towns.
The 3 things Lyneham 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 Lyneham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 14 buildings inside Lyneham’s built-up area.
8% 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 1930.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Lyneham.
5% of residents have reached 65. Children under 15 make up 14%, below Wiltshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Lyneham has a median age of 25.6 years.
33% women, 67% men
About 49 women for every 100 men. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Lyneham is a garrison town: service personnel living in barracks count as residents.
| Lyneham | Wiltshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 34% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 35% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 12% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 5% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 8.4% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 11% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 26% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 24% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Wiltshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the 2 primary schools within 3 km, 59% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its only school is listed below. 305 pupils attend Lyneham’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyneham Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 305 | C+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 49% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 49% of workers worked mainly from home. Unemployment benefit claims came to 1% of 16 to 64s in 2026, lower than both Wiltshire’s towns (2.1%) and England’s towns (2.3%). Also worth knowing: average household income comes to £63K a year before tax. Nearly a fifth of commuters who live in Lyneham also work there.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
There were 2.8 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below both Wiltshire’s towns (8) and England’s towns (7.8). The 12 months to August 2026 brought 102 recorded crimes inside Lyneham’s built-up area, and 11 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 52% of the crimes.
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.
Social housing holds 10% of households, lower than both Wiltshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Home ownership stands at 39% of households. Private rents average £1,082 a month across the Wiltshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £442,500 | 29 |
| Semi-detached | £280,000 | 17 |
| Terraced | £237,500 | 35 |
| Flat or maisonette | £180,000 | 7 |
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.
Listed buildings per head: 30 for every 10,000 residents of Lyneham. 8% of its homes were built before 1919, below Wiltshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (16%) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest A&E to Lyneham is Great Western Hospital, 10.7 miles away. A disability affects nearly a tenth of people locally, and at the census, 1.5% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, below Wiltshire’s towns (4.4%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. There is no GP practice here: the nearest is 3.7 miles off.
| Census 2021 | Lyneham | Wiltshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 93% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.5% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 8.4% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyneham | 4,645 | — | A+ | A | A+ | B+ |
| Royal Wootton Bassett | 13,002 | 4 | A− | B+ | B− | C+ |
| Sutton Benger | 1,270 | 4.7 | — | B− | A− | A+ |
| Calne | 19,725 | 4.8 | B− | A− | B− | C+ |
| Derry Hill and Studley | 1,027 | 6.2 | — | B− | B+ | A− |
| Purton | 3,193 | 6.7 | A | B | A− | B |
| Chippenham | 36,084 | 7.5 | B+ | B+ | C+ | B− |
| Wroughton | 7,276 | 7.8 | B | C | B+ | B− |
Sutton Benger and Derry Hill and Studley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Primary results trail 64% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Wiltshire council.
Town in Wiltshire, England
Lyneham is a built-up area of 4,645 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.