A strong record with one exception. Its best grade is for walkability: 30% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Schools are another plus — primary results beat 56% of towns in England; secondary results beat 91% of towns in England. What counts against it is safety (C−): 34.3 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 15.1 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 60%. Hazard risk is weaker too: 4.5% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. It takes 5.1 years of household income in the Wiltshire council area to buy the median home, at £305,000. Put together, the subjects come to a B+ overall, ranking #17 of 30 in Wiltshire. On that grade it does better than 65% of UK towns.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Salisbury is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Salisbury.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
Work is close at hand in Salisbury: 61% of commuters travel under 5 km, more than in Wiltshire’s towns or England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 30% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
67% of commuters drove, below Wiltshire’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Among 16 to 64s, 2.8% claimed unemployment benefits in 2026. Of the commuters living in Salisbury, 46% work in the town itself. Household income averages £58K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsA−
School results in Salisbury are better than in 77% of towns in England
Attainment 8 at the town’s 5 secondary schools averages 54.3, and 61% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. South Wilts Grammar School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Of its 23 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. Some 8,587 pupils attend Salisbury’s 15 primaries and five secondaries.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 23 schools →
History
A town of 643 listed buildings, 37 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 16% of Salisbury’s land, above Wiltshire’s towns (10%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. Its listed buildings include Ayleswade Bridge Old Harnham Bridge, Grade I. Scaled to its population, that is 135 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in the town. Grade II* covers 139 of them, Grade I 37.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Safety
Crime per resident in Salisbury is higher than in 78% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Salisbury logged 3,778 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 993 complaints of anti-social conduct. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 22 reports per 1,000, above Wiltshire’s towns (7.9) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. 43% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
34.3violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 40% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual1,621
Shoplifting451
Public order417
Damage & arson394
Other theft263
Vehicle crime175
Burglary130
Drugs98
Anti-social993
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.
34.3
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
15.1
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
22
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
Who lives here
More people in Salisbury hold a degree than in Wiltshire’s towns or England’s towns: 37%
People 65 and over make up just over a fifth of the town, above both Wiltshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 account for a tenth of the town. The age that splits Salisbury in two is 43.8. Children under 15 count for 17% of the people here.
43.8median age
SalisburyWiltshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
22%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications15%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level37%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
ONS Census 2021 · Wiltshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
HousingCost of living grade B+
Salisbury earns a B+ for cost of living grade
Private rents average £1,082 a month across the Wiltshire council area. The median sale, £305,000, comes from 2,111 standard sales inside Salisbury’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Social renters account for 18% of households.
£305Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Salisbury£305K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£470,000
485
Semi-detached
£325,000
489
Terraced
£276,500
696
Flat or maisonette
£185,000
441
61%
of households own their home · England 61%
19%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,082
average private rent a month, Wiltshire council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Health
82% of people in Salisbury rate their health good or very good
4 GP practices serve the town; 78% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Salisbury is Salisbury District Hospital, 2.1 miles away. 18% of residents in Salisbury live with a disability.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Joseph Fiennes: Sila from Spain, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Anthony Daniels: Miguel Discart & Kiri Karma, CC BY-SA 4.0 · John of Salisbury: Étienne Colaud, Public domain · David Mitchell (comedian): Pinkboy at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Michael Crawford: Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Charlotte Hope: Allie Holloway/Studio D, CC BY 4.0
Whaddon, Middle Winterslow and Redlynch and Woodfalls have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Salisbury
How many listed buildings are there in Salisbury?
That is 5.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Cathedral Church of St Mary. It also has 6 scheduled monuments.
Does Salisbury flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
How much is council tax in Salisbury?
Band D council tax in Salisbury is £2,742 for 2026–27, more than in 98% 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.
About Salisbury
Large town in Wiltshire, England
Salisbury is a built-up area of 47,690 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
Population
47,690 (Census 2021)
Council
Wiltshire
County
Wiltshire
Region
South West
Area
4.8 sq mi (12.4 km²)
ONS code
E63006038
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.
