Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 4,941 people live in this town, in Bedfordshire, East of England.
Barton-le-Clay’s best grade is for safety (A) — 10 violent and sexual offences and 7.5 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Jobs and pay hold up well (A): households earn a mean £65,540 a year, and 1.6% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. At a median £380,000, a home costs 5.8 times the yearly income of households in the Central Bedfordshire council area. Schools lag: primary results beat 4% of towns in England. All told, that adds up to an A− overall, better than just over three quarters of UK towns. The ranking puts it #8 of 33 in Bedfordshire.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Barton-le-Clay is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Barton-le-Clay does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 27 buildings inside Barton-le-Clay’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
5% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →27 listed buildings in Barton-le-Clay, 1 of them Grade I.
The Bull Inn: Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Barton Mill: Photo: PAUL FARMER · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Plum Tree Cottage: Photo: Peter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Royal Oak Inn: Photo: Stuart Shepherd · CC BY-SA 2.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Barton-le-Clay.
At the one primary school within 3 km, 47% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Both of the town’s schools appear below. Barton-le-Clay’s one primary and one secondary have 997 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ramsey Manor Lower SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 293 | – |
| Arnold AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 704 | D |
Over the year to August 2026, 120 offences were reported in Barton-le-Clay, along with 63 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up 47% of the total. There were 11 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both Bedfordshire’s towns (10.2) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
One GP practice serves the town; 88% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Barton-le-Clay is Luton and Dunstable Hospital, 5.5 miles away. Life expectancy here is 86.2 for women and 82 for men (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Barton-le-Clay | Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.5% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 15% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
88% of commuters drove, higher than both Bedfordshire’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%). For 15% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. About 11% of its commuters stay in Barton-le-Clay for work. The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 1.6%.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
10% rent privately, below both Bedfordshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (21%). Social renters account for 7% of households. Private rents average £1,250 a month across the Central Bedfordshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £582,500 | 47 |
| Semi-detached | £375,000 | 91 |
| Terraced | £320,000 | 41 |
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.
Of Barton-le-Clay’s land, 16% lies in conservation areas, above both Bedfordshire’s towns (4%) and England’s towns (7%). The town’s listed buildings include the Church of St Nicholas, Grade I. Also worth knowing: 5% of homes date from before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Young adults of 15 to 24 account for just over a tenth of the town. People 65 and over make up just over a fifth of the town, above Bedfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. The median resident of Barton-le-Clay is 47.8 years old.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Barton-le-Clay | Bedfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 29% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 32% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 15% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.4% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Bedfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Town in Bedfordshire, England
Barton-le-Clay is a built-up area of 4,941 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barton-le-Clay | 4,941 | — | A− | B | A | A− |
| Silsoe | 3,419 | 2.8 | A+ | B | A | A |
| Harlington | 2,287 | 2.8 | — | B− | B | A |
| Flitton | 1,531 | 3.2 | — | C+ | A+ | A+ |
| Westoning | 2,097 | 3.2 | — | B | A | A |
| Shillington | 1,629 | 3.4 | — | B+ | B | B+ |
| Flitwick | 13,668 | 4 | A− | B+ | B | B− |
| Pirton | 1,452 | 4.1 | — | C− | A | A− |
Harlington, Flitton, Westoning, Shillington and Pirton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Primary results trail 96% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). Barton-le-Clay has 2 state schools; places are handled by Central Bedfordshire council.
That is 2.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Nicholas.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £380,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £320,000, semi-detached houses £375,000 and detached houses £582,500. Household incomes are higher than in 81% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B.
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.