Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Bedfordshire, East of England, this town has 8,825 residents.
One weak subject stands out against an otherwise good record. With an A overall, Ampthill is better than 86% of UK towns and ranks #3 of 33 in Bedfordshire. It does especially well on health: life expectancy is 83.9 for men and 85.7 for women. Buying the median home, at £420,000, takes 6.4 years of household income in the Central Bedfordshire council area. Pupils here do less well than most (C−): primary results beat 2% of towns in England; secondary results beat 50% of towns in England.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Ampthill 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 Ampthill is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 122 buildings inside Ampthill’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
17% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1908.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ampthill.
The nearest A&E to Ampthill is Bedford Hospital, 7.1 miles away. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 2.6% of the town. Add to that, at the census, 13% of people here had a disability, below both Bedfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (17%). Women here live to 85.7 on average and men to 83.9 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Ampthill | Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.6% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Two of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 45.3, and 46% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Key Stage 2 results at the 2 primary schools within 3 km: 43% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russell Lower SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 437 | – |
| Redborne Upper School and Community CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,657 | B− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
At the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 3 Grade II*. Of Ampthill’s 122 listed buildings on Historic England’s list, Grade I counts 1 and Grade II* 3. Its listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Andrew, Grade I. Conservation areas cover 18% of the town’s land, above Bedfordshire’s towns (4%) and England’s towns (7%) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 51% of recorded crime. Over the year to August 2026, 284 offences were reported in Ampthill, along with 71 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Violent crime ran at 16.1 per 1,000 residents a year, below Bedfordshire’s towns (18.8) and England’s towns (22) alike. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Ampthill has less crime per resident than 78% of them.
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 43% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Short trips to work, under 5 km: 31%, below Bedfordshire’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%) alike; what’s more, the census found 16% of commuters going to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Work in town: 17% of resident commuters. 43% of workers did their job mainly from home at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Just over three quarters of households own their home, higher than both Bedfordshire’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%). Council and housing-body homes hold one in ten households. Private rents average £1,250 a month across the Central Bedfordshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £595,000 | 111 |
| Semi-detached | £429,500 | 120 |
| Terraced | £352,500 | 120 |
| Flat or maisonette | £242,500 | 38 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The under-15s are 18% of the population here. Ampthill has a median age of 43. The 65-and-over age group makes up 18% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Ampthill | Bedfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 29% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 15% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 11% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 41% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Bedfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
122 listed buildings in Ampthill, 1 of them Grade I.
Parish Church of St Andrew: Photo: Paul Billington · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ampthill Park: Photo: Paul Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Prince of Wales Inn: Photo: Cameraman · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Feoffee Almshouses: Photo: Cameraman · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
9 notable people were born in Ampthill.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ampthill | 8,825 | — | A | B− | B+ | A |
| Maulden | 2,486 | 1.3 | — | B− | B+ | B+ |
| Flitwick | 13,668 | 1.6 | A− | B+ | B | B− |
| Flitton | 1,531 | 2 | — | C+ | A+ | A+ |
| Houghton Conquest | 1,867 | 2.7 | — | B+ | B+ | B+ |
| Lidlington | 1,300 | 2.8 | — | B+ | A− | B |
| Westoning | 2,097 | 3.1 | — | B | A | A |
| Clophill | 2,515 | 3.1 | A− | C+ | B+ | A− |
Maulden, Flitton, Houghton Conquest, Lidlington and Westoning have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 5.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of St Andrew. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £420,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £242,500, terraced houses £352,500, semi-detached houses £429,500 and detached houses £595,000. Household incomes are higher than in 97% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B−.
Town in Bedfordshire, England
Ampthill is a built-up area of 8,825 people, in the Central Bedfordshire 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.