Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 8,829 in Wiltshire, South West.
Marlborough grades A− overall against UK towns: better than 80% of UK towns, and #7 of 30 in Wiltshire. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 32% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (C−): 2.2% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £370,000 in the last three years, 6.2 times what households in the Wiltshire council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Marlborough 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 Marlborough is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 280 buildings inside Marlborough’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
21% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Marlborough, Massachusetts, is named after Marlborough.
USUS editionMarlborough, Massachusetts, settled in 1657, takes its name from this town.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Marlborough.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 66% of commuters, below both Wiltshire’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%). The average household earns £54K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marlborough St Mary's CE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 356 | C+ |
| St John's MarlboroughLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,692 | A− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
In the comparison, Marlborough comes above both Wiltshire’s towns (119) and England’s towns (39). Marlborough’s listed buildings include C House, Grade I. Marlborough has 280 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 2 Grade I, 11 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
For Marlborough, that is above both Wiltshire’s towns (10%) and England’s towns (12%). Those 65 and older account for 25% of residents. Half the people of Marlborough are older than 46.
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.
| Marlborough | Wiltshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 17% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.5% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Wiltshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Police recorded 388 crimes inside Marlborough’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 107 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 34% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking, so it runs higher than U.S. “violent crime”.
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
84% of Marlborough’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 83% across Wiltshire’s towns. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Marlborough | Wiltshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.2% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The median sale price was £370K, close to Wiltshire’s towns (£337K) and above England’s towns (£308K). 20% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £560,000 | 103 |
| Semi-detached | £362,000 | 69 |
| Terraced | £300,000 | 107 |
| Flat or maisonette | £190,000 | 75 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
280 listed buildings in Marlborough, 2 of them Grade I.
Parish Church of St Mary: Photo: Brian Robert Marshall · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Marlborough Mound: Photo: William Stukeley · Public domain · The Ailesbury Arms Hotel: Photo: Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cinema: Photo: Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0
36 notable people were born in Marlborough.
Henry Sacheverell: Thomas Gibson, Public domain · Guy Opperman: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0 · Walter Hancock: W. Coutts, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlborough | 8,829 | — | A− | B− | B+ | B+ |
| Burbage | 1,322 | 5.7 | — | C+ | A− | A |
| Ramsbury | 1,541 | 5.7 | — | C+ | A+ | A |
| Pewsey | 3,792 | 5.8 | B | B+ | B | B |
| Aldbourne | 1,686 | 6.2 | — | B− | A | A+ |
| Great Bedwyn | 1,194 | 6.3 | — | B− | B+ | A |
| Chiseldon | 2,033 | 6.7 | — | C− | B− | B− |
| Wroughton | 7,276 | 7.8 | B | C | B+ | B− |
Burbage, Ramsbury, Aldbourne, Great Bedwyn and Chiseldon have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 13 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include C House. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Band D council tax in Marlborough is £2,649 for 2026–27, more than in 92% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Wiltshire, England
Marlborough is a built-up area of 8,829 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.