Warminster is an important service centre for its large rural catchment of villages stretching along the Deverill Valley to the south, the Wylye Valley to the south east, the Longleat estate to the west and the fringes to Salisbury Plain to the north and east.

Warminster is home to a major military garrison, which uses Salisbury Plain as a training area. The effects of this can be felt not only by the immediate impact of a visiting regiment, but also by the tendency of many military personnel to make the town their home on retirement.

Some manufacturing still takes place in the town and there are small industrial sites across the community area. However the town has become largely dependent on the service sector with many people commuting in excess of an hour in each direction. A major feature of the shopping environment is a concentration of antiques and collectibles shops and there is also a weekly open-air market and regular Farmers’ Market in the town.