Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
3,193 people live in this town in Wiltshire, South West.
Purton does especially well on safety — 15.6 violent and sexual offences and 4.9 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. With an A overall, Purton is better than 85% of UK towns and ranks #5 of 30 in Wiltshire. The local economy does well: mean household income £60,680; 1.5% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. At a median £346,250, a home costs 5.8 times the yearly income of households in the Wiltshire council area. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for schools, B for health and C+ for walkability.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Purton 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 Purton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 25 buildings inside Purton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
25% 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 1922.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Purton.
Police figures for Purton’s built-up area: 92 crimes and 12 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences accounted for just over three fifths of recorded crime. There were 4.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), lower than both Wiltshire’s towns (8) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 43.5, with 44% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Both of its schools are shown below. Key Stage 2 results at the 10 primary schools within 3 km: 63% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Mary's Church of England Primary School & Nursery, PurtonLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 318 | C |
| Bradon Forest SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 987 | C+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Historic England’s list names 25 listed buildings in Purton: 1 Grade II*. Scaled to its population, Purton has 78 listed buildings per 10,000 people, between Wiltshire’s towns (124) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Households that own their home make up 78%. Behind the median of £346,250: 130 standard sales inside Purton’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £526,000 | 53 |
| Semi-detached | £275,000 | 50 |
| Terraced | £255,000 | 19 |
| Flat or maisonette | £126,500 | 8 |
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 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car carried 85% of commuters at the census. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 25%, below both Wiltshire’s towns (44%) and England’s towns (45%). Work in town: 8% of resident commuters. For every resident in work, Purton has 0.5 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The nearest A&E to Purton is Great Western Hospital, 7.2 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 90% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Women here live to 84.2 on average and men to 80.9 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Purton | Wiltshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.7% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 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.
Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, higher than both Wiltshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%). At 49.3, the median resident of Purton sits in the middle of the age range. Degrees are held by 31% of adults.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Purton | Wiltshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 32% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Wiltshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Purton. Best known first.
MuseumSTEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway4.9 km outside town, to the southeast
Heritage railwaySwindon and Cricklade Railway1.8 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumRoyal Wottoon Bassett Museum4.8 km outside town, to the south
MuseumLydiard House2.7 km outside town, to the southeastHistoric siteHistoric siteDitcheat Manor 78214.8 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
25 listed buildings in Purton.
College Farmhouse: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Maltster Public House: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Collins Lane Gate: Photo: Alan Rosevear · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Tudor Cottages: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purton | 3,193 | — | A | B | A− | B |
| Royal Wootton Bassett | 13,002 | 3.1 | A− | B+ | B− | C+ |
| Swindon | 183,687 | 3.7 | C+ | B | C− | C |
| Cricklade | 4,030 | 3.8 | A− | B | B+ | A− |
| Broad Blunsdon | 6,507 | 4.1 | B+ | C− | B | A− |
| Ashton Keynes | 1,425 | 4.8 | — | C+ | A+ | A |
| Stratton St Margaret | 20,689 | 5.5 | C+ | B− | C | C+ |
| Wroughton | 7,276 | 5.5 | B | C | B+ | B− |
Ashton Keynes has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.2 times the typical UK town for its size.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £346,250, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £126,500, terraced houses £255,000, semi-detached houses £275,000 and detached houses £526,000. Household incomes are higher than in 70% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B.
Town in Wiltshire, England
Purton is a built-up area of 3,193 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.