Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 3,295 people, lies in Worcestershire, West Midlands. 45% of households own their home with no mortgage.
Good on most counts; one lags. The local economy does well: households earn a mean £58,977 a year, and 1.7% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Fernhill Heath’s overall A− puts it #2 of 22 in Worcestershire. On that grade it does better than 78% of UK towns. Health is a strength too (A−) — life expectancy 82.2 for men, 85.2 for women. Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work: 8% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. A median £365,000 buys a home here, 6.6 times what households in the Wychavon council area earn in a year. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for schools and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Fernhill Heath 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 Fernhill Heath is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 11 buildings inside Fernhill Heath’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
13% 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 Fernhill Heath. Best known first.
CathedralCathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary, the Virgin of Worcester3.4 km outside town, to the south
CastleWorcester Castle3.7 km outside town, to the south
Museum · National TrustElgar's Birthplace Museum5 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumCity Art Gallery & Museum2.5 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumMuseum of Royal Worcester3.5 km outside town, to the south
Historic houseThe Old Palace3.3 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Fernhill Heath.
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.
Short trips to work, under 5 km: 42%, below both Worcestershire’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%). For every resident in work, Fernhill Heath has 0.5 jobs. Of the commuters living locally, 3% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Its one school is below. Attainment 8 at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km averages 44.9, and 43% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. 62% of pupils at the 14 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hindlip CofE First SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 92 | – |
16% are under 15, below both Worcestershire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Ages in Fernhill Heath split evenly at 47.6: half are older, half younger. Degrees are held by 37% of adults.
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.
| Fernhill Heath | Worcestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.2% | 5.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Worcestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the census, 15% of people here had a disability, below both Worcestershire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%). Seeing a GP means leaving Fernhill Heath: the nearest practice is 1.7 miles away. Women here live to 85.2 on average and men to 82.2 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Fernhill Heath | Worcestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.4% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · 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.
Burglary and damage came to 7.8 per 1,000 residents a year, below Worcestershire’s towns (9.4) and England’s towns (9.4) alike. A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 116 offences in Fernhill Heath and 15 cases of nuisance behaviour. Of all the crimes, 49% were violence and sexual offences. For its size, Fernhill Heath records less crime per resident than 75% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, below Worcestershire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. Grade II* covers 1 of them. Listed buildings per head: 33 for every 10,000 residents of Fernhill Heath.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Owners make up four in five households, higher than both Worcestershire’s towns (67%) and England’s towns (61%). The social rented sector houses just over one in ten households. Private rents average £955 a month across the Wychavon council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £449,000 | 86 |
| Semi-detached | £314,000 | 34 |
| Terraced | £255,000 | 9 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernhill Heath | 3,295 | — | A− | B | B+ | A− |
| Hallow | 1,427 | 2.5 | — | C | A | A |
| Worcester | 105,439 | 2.6 | B− | B+ | D | C |
| Droitwich Spa | 26,413 | 2.8 | B− | A− | C+ | C+ |
| Lower Broadheath | 1,889 | 3.6 | — | B− | A | A− |
| Crowle | 1,135 | 4.1 | — | C+ | A+ | A+ |
| Rushwick | 1,195 | 4.4 | — | B | B+ | B+ |
| Norton (Norton Juxta Kempsey) | 1,592 | 4.7 | — | B | A | A− |
Hallow, Lower Broadheath, Crowle, Rushwick and Norton (Norton Juxta Kempsey) have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £365,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £255,000, semi-detached houses £314,000 and detached houses £449,000.
Town in Worcestershire, England
Fernhill Heath is a built-up area of 3,295 people, in the Wychavon 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.