Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 43,753 people live in this large town, in Wiltshire, South West.
Trowbridge’s schools fall short: primary results beat 9% of towns in England; secondary results beat 26% of towns in England. Overall, Trowbridge earns a C+: better than 44% of UK towns, and #26 of 30 in Wiltshire. Cost of living is its strong suit — a typical home costs £270,000 and rent runs £1,082 a month. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (A−): on the way to work, 20% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. The rest of its grades are middling: C+ for jobs & income and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 2 things Trowbridge 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 Trowbridge is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 356 buildings inside Trowbridge’s built-up area, 6 of them Grade I.
14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Trowbridge. Best known first.
MuseumTrowbridge Museumin town
Castle · English HeritageFarleigh Hungerford Castle3.4 km outside town, to the west
Museum · National TrustWestwood Manor2.5 km outside town, to the west
Historic house · National TrustGreat Chalfield Manor2.6 km outside town, to the north
Garden · National TrustThe Courts Garden1.2 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseIford Manor3.6 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Trowbridge.
GCSE results at the town’s 3 secondary schools: 37% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 42.9. Of its 16 schools, two are shown below, each with the reason. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 13 primary schools: 51% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Mead Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 489 | C |
| The John of Gaunt SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,295 | C |
Owners make up nearly two thirds of households, near Wiltshire’s towns (65%) and higher than England’s towns (61%). Half of the 1,868 standard sales inside Trowbridge’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £270,000. 18% of households rent privately.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £373,000 | 531 |
| Semi-detached | £280,000 | 512 |
| Terraced | £232,925 | 550 |
| Flat or maisonette | £140,000 | 275 |
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.
Trowbridge’s listed buildings include Lloyd's Bank, Grade I. Per 10,000 residents, Trowbridge counts 81 listed buildings, below Wiltshire’s towns (124) but above England’s towns (39). 14% of homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 28% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Jobs per working resident: 0.7. Work in town: a third of resident commuters. Household income came to £55K a year before tax, lower than Wiltshire’s towns (£63K) and near England’s towns (£55K). By car: that was how 78% of commuters travelled at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Each year, 12 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded per 1,000 residents. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 3,245 crimes and 874 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Trowbridge’s built-up area. There were 21.1 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above Wiltshire’s towns (7.9) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences were 45% 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.
2 GP practices serve the town; 85% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Trowbridge is Royal United Hospital Bath, 9.4 miles away. Also worth knowing: 18% of residents have a disability, above Wiltshire’s towns (17%) and close to England’s towns (17%).
| Census 2021 | Trowbridge | Wiltshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Residents of Trowbridge have a median age of 41.4. People aged 15 to 24 make up just over a tenth of the town.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Trowbridge | Wiltshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Wiltshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
356 listed buildings in Trowbridge, 6 of them Grade I.
Parade House: Photo: Moonraker · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Midland Bank: Photo: Ade100 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Union Street Almshouses: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ashton Mills: Photo: JohnLeBrocq · CC BY-SA 4.0
39 notable people were born in Trowbridge.
Nathan Dyer: Ronnie Macdonald, CC BY 2.0 · Stephen Lee: Benutzer:Bill da Flute, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Daniel Talbot: Ben Sutherland from Forest Hill, London, European Union, CC BY 2.0 · George Keate: John Keyse Sherwin / After John Plott, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trowbridge | 43,753 | — | C+ | A− | C | C+ |
| North Bradley | 1,555 | 1.7 | — | A− | A | A− |
| Southwick | 1,856 | 2 | — | A | B− | A− |
| Bradford-on-Avon | 9,864 | 2.6 | A | C+ | B | A |
| Holt | 1,704 | 2.6 | — | B− | A+ | A |
| Westwood | 1,001 | 3.2 | — | C+ | A+ | A+ |
| Berryfield | 1,094 | 3.8 | — | B | D | B+ |
| Winsley | 1,365 | 4 | — | C+ | A+ | A+ |
North Bradley, Southwick, Holt, Westwood, Berryfield and Winsley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Lloyd's Bank.
Band D council tax in Trowbridge is £2,640 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.
About the middle for its size: 52% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C.
Large town in Wiltshire, England
Trowbridge is a built-up area of 43,753 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.