The picture is mixed. Where it falls short is safety — 44.8 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 18.2 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has more crime per resident than 59%. Its strongest is walkability — nearly a quarter of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Prices are modest for what you get (B+): the median home sold for £256,500, 4.9 years of area income. Overall, that makes a B−, good for #16 of 22 in Worcestershire. Nationally, it does better than 46% of UK towns. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for schools and C+ for jobs & income.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Worcester is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Worcester.
Safety
Worcester records more crime per resident than 90% 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.
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 19 reports per 1,000, higher than both Worcestershire’s towns (6.3) and England’s towns (7.8). 10,353 crimes and 1,733 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside the town’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences made up 44% of the total.
44.8violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 41% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: 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 & sexual4,555
Shoplifting1,383
Damage & arson954
Public order768
Other theft674
Vehicle crime513
Burglary480
Drugs276
Anti-social1,733
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.
44.8
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
18.2
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
19
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.
SchoolsB
School results in Worcester are better than in 59% of towns in England
Between them, 22 primaries and five secondaries teach 14,193 pupils in Worcester. Below are three of its 34 schools, each with why it was picked. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 21 primary schools: just over three in five pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 34 schools →
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
Work is close at hand in Worcester: 59% of commuters travel under 5 km, more than in Worcestershire’s towns or England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 27% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Unemployment benefit claims came to 3.5% of 16 to 64s in 2026, above both Worcestershire’s towns (2.2%) and England’s towns (2.3%). At the census, 74% of commuters went by car. Of the commuters living locally, 56% work in the town itself. Jobs per working resident: 1.1.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Health
Good or very good health: 83% of Worcester’s residents
9 GP practices serve the town; just over three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Women here live to 83.2 on average and men to 78.8 (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Worcester is Worcestershire Royal Hospital, 1.5 miles away.
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.
HousingCost of living grade B+
For cost of living grade, Worcester gets a B+
Private renters make up 21% of households, about level with England’s towns (21%) and above Worcestershire’s towns (15%). The median sale, £256,500, comes from 4,175 standard sales inside the town’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. The owner-occupied share of households is 61%.
£257Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Worcester£257K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£375,750
944
Semi-detached
£265,000
1,368
Terraced
£230,000
1,224
Flat or maisonette
£147,500
639
61%
of households own their home · England 61%
21%
rent privately · England 21%
£977
average private rent a month, Worcester council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
Students and young workers shape Worcester: 13% are 15 to 24, above Worcestershire’s towns and England’s towns
17% of residents are 65 or over, about level with England’s towns (18%) and below Worcestershire’s towns (22%). The median resident of Worcester is 39.5 years old. Graduates make up 34% of adults.
39.5median age
WorcesterWorcestershireEngland
Ages · share of residents
13%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications17%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar18%
Degree level34%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Nathan Baker: CFC Unofficial (Debs), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Philip Henry Gosse: Maull & Polybank, Public domain · Dave Mason: Carl Lender at https://www.flickr.com/photos/clender/, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Nell Hudson: Nellrosehudson, CC0 · Ellen Wood: Joseph Sydney Willis Hodges, Public domain
Rushwick, Norton (Norton Juxta Kempsey), Lower Broadheath, Hallow and Collett's Green have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Worcester
How many listed buildings are there in Worcester?
That is 2.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Cathedral Church of Christ and St Mary.
Is Worcester safe?
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades D.
Does Worcester flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
About Worcester
City in Worcestershire, England
Worcester is a built-up area of 105,439 people, in the Worcester 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
105,439 (Census 2021)
Council
Worcester (mostly)
County
Worcestershire
Region
West Midlands
Area
9.9 sq mi (25.6 km²)
ONS code
E63003490
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.
