Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 3,753 residents and lies in Worcestershire, West Midlands.
Getting around depends on the car: on the way to work, 7% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Overall, Kempsey earns a B−: better than nearly half of UK towns, and #12 of 22 in Worcestershire. Residents are healthier than most (B): men here can expect to live to 80.3, women to 83.5. The median home sold for £316,000, 5.9 times what households in the Malvern Hills council area earn in a year. Hazard risk is higher than most (D): 7% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for safety, C+ for schools and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · claimants, DWP.
The 3 things Kempsey 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 Kempsey is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 19 buildings inside Kempsey’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
16% 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 Kempsey. Best known first.
CathedralCathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary, the Virgin of Worcester4.5 km outside town, to the north
Historic house · National TrustCroome Court4.5 km outside town, to the southeast
CastleWorcester Castle4.2 km outside town, to the north
MuseumMuseum of Royal Worcester4.4 km outside town, to the north
Abbey or prioryStanbrook Abbey1.3 km outside town, to the northwest
Historic houseMadresfield Court4.1 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 Kempsey.
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.
Just over nine in ten commuters drove to work at the census. Kempsey counts 0.4 jobs per working resident. Home was the main workplace for 34% of workers at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
At the 4 primary schools within 3 km, three in five pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kempsey Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 386 | C− |
Kempsey has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 3.6 miles away. The nearest A&E to Kempsey is Worcestershire Royal Hospital, 3.9 miles away. At the census, 4.7% of people here described their health as bad or very bad.
| Census 2021 | Kempsey | Worcestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.7% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Private rents average £946 a month across the Malvern Hills council area. Behind the median of £316,000: 150 standard sales inside Kempsey’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026. It is the 11th most expensive of 22 towns of 2,500+ in Worcestershire.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £399,950 | 65 |
| Semi-detached | £283,250 | 52 |
| Terraced | £268,000 | 33 |
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.
Kempsey counts 19 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 1 Grade I. Its listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. It has one scheduled monument.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Reported offences in Kempsey came to 158 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 31. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 56% of recorded crime. Homes saw 7.8 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Worcestershire’s towns (9.4) and England’s towns (9.4).
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.
Residents of Kempsey have a median age of 45.2. Nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24, below both Worcestershire’s towns (10%) and England’s towns (12%). Graduates make up 36% of adults.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
| Kempsey | Worcestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.5% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.3% | 5.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 36% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Worcestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
19 listed buildings in Kempsey, 1 of them Grade I.
The Talbot Inn: Photo: Stephen Richards · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cromwell Cottage: Photo: Sandy Gerrard · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Colne House: Photo: Stephen Richards · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · 6 Old Road North: Photo: Philip Halling · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kempsey | 3,753 | — | B− | B | B− | B |
| Norton (Norton Juxta Kempsey) | 1,592 | 1.8 | — | B | A | A− |
| Collett's Green | 1,542 | 2.2 | — | B− | A− | A− |
| Rushwick | 1,195 | 3.5 | — | B | B+ | B+ |
| Worcester | 105,439 | 3.8 | B− | B+ | D | C |
| Great Malvern | 33,194 | 4.6 | B− | B | C+ | C+ |
| Drakes Broughton | 1,813 | 4.8 | — | B | C | B+ |
| Upton upon Severn | 2,403 | 5.3 | — | B+ | C+ | C+ |
Norton (Norton Juxta Kempsey), Collett's Green, Rushwick, Drakes Broughton and Upton upon Severn have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Primary results trail 57% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Worcestershire council.
Town in Worcestershire, England
Kempsey is a built-up area of 3,753 people, in the Malvern Hills 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.