Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Life expectancy is 86.8 for women and 85.4 for men. Population 4,652: a town in Bedfordshire, East of England.
Bromham’s best grade is for safety — 8.5 violent and sexual offences and 5.2 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Overall, Bromham earns an A−, which places it #4 of 33 in Bedfordshire. It comes out better than 83% of UK towns. What holds it back is cost of living: a typical home costs £415,000 and rent runs £1,173 a month. Hazards are a real consideration: 1.5% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Bromham 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 Bromham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 19 buildings inside Bromham’s built-up area.
2% 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 1831.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Bromham. Best known first.
CastleBedford Castle4.1 km outside town, to the east
MuseumJohn Bunyan museum4 km outside town, to the east
MuseumThe Higgins4.1 km outside town, to the east
MuseumMoot Hall4.8 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumPanacea Museum4.1 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseum1940's Re-enactors3.4 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bromham.
Over the year to August 2026, 85 offences were reported in Bromham, along with 21 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Bromham has less crime per resident than 98% of them. There were 4.1 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), lower than both Bedfordshire’s towns (10.3) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were 47% of the crimes.
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.
Key Stage 2 results at the 11 primary schools within 3 km: 57% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). There is one school here; it is shown below. Secondary results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 44.9, with 44% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bromham CofE Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 496 | B+ |
At the census, 3.6% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. Seeing a GP means leaving Bromham: the nearest practice is 1.6 miles away. Also worth knowing: 15% of residents have a disability, close to Bedfordshire’s towns (15%) and below England’s towns (17%).
| Census 2021 | Bromham | Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.6% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 15% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 2% of the total, below both Bedfordshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (16%). For its size, Bromham has 41 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, about level with both Bedfordshire’s towns (40) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 41% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Home was the main workplace for 41% of workers at the census. At the census, 11% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below Bedfordshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (27%) alike. Driving is how 87% of commuters got to work at the census. 5% of commuters who live in Bromham also work there.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Private renters make up 8% of households. Social housing holds 4% of households, below Bedfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Behind the median of £415,000: 225 standard sales inside Bromham’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £510,000 | 129 |
| Semi-detached | £377,500 | 72 |
| Terraced | £282,500 | 24 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
People aged 15 to 24 make up a tenth of the town, below both Bedfordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Children under 15 count for 16% of the people here. Half of Bromham is older than 49.3, half younger. Degrees are held by 40% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Bromham | Bedfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 29% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 15% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.5% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 40% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Bedfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
19 listed buildings in Bromham.
Bromham Mill: Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Berry Farmhouse: Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 38-40, Village Road: Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · 1, Thistley Lane: Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bromham | 4,652 | — | A− | C | A+ | A+ |
| Great Denham | 4,363 | 1.8 | B+ | B− | B− | A |
| Oakley | 2,507 | 1.8 | A | C+ | A | B+ |
| Clapham | 4,502 | 1.9 | B | B+ | B | B |
| Kempston | 22,779 | 2.7 | C | B+ | C− | C− |
| Bedford | 97,226 | 3.2 | C− | B | D | C− |
| Wootton | 7,567 | 3.6 | B | C+ | A− | B− |
| Harrold | 1,668 | 4.9 | — | B− | B+ | A− |
Harrold has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £415,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £282,500, semi-detached houses £377,500 and detached houses £510,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
GCSE results trail 55% of towns in England, and primary results trail 74% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Bedford council.
Town in Bedfordshire, England
Bromham is a built-up area of 4,652 people, in the Bedford 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.