Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 4,502 residents, it is a town in Bedfordshire, East of England. 41% of households own their home outright.
A solid town with one catch. Cost of living is its strong suit: homes sell for a median £295,000, about 4.9 times local household income. Its schools fall short (C): primary results beat 27% of towns in England; secondary results beat 46% of towns in England. It lags on hazard risk as well (C) — 1.5% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The overall grade comes out at B, #15 of 33 in Bedfordshire. Set against the rest, it does better than 65% of UK towns. The rest of its grades are middling: B for safety, B for health, B for jobs & income and C+ for walkability.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021.
The 2 things Clapham 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 Clapham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 4 buildings inside Clapham’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
8% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Clapham. Best known first.
CastleBedford Castle2.8 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumJohn Bunyan museum2.7 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumThe Higgins2.8 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumMoot Hall4.7 km outside town, to the south
MuseumPanacea Museum2.8 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseum1940's Re-enactors1.4 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 Clapham.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
The pre-1919 share of homes is 8%. Clapham’s listed buildings include the Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, Grade I. For its size, Clapham has 9 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, lower than both Bedfordshire’s towns (41) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
At the 18 primary schools within 3 km, 57% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its only school is listed below. GCSE results at the 4 secondary schools within 3 km: 45% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 44.9.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ursula Taylor Church of England SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 350 | C− |
Three quarters of households are owner-occupiers. Social housing holds just over one in ten households, below Bedfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Clapham is the second cheapest of the 33 towns in Bedfordshire, at £295,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £575,000 | 34 |
| Semi-detached | £295,000 | 88 |
| Terraced | £260,000 | 53 |
| Flat or maisonette | £175,000 | 8 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 82% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 16% of residents in Clapham live with a disability. Men in Clapham can expect to live to 81.5, women to 84.4 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Clapham | Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.5% | 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.
Violence and sexual offences were just over two fifths of the crimes. Violent crime ran at 16.7 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Bedfordshire’s towns (18.8) and England’s towns (22). Clapham logged 201 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 31 complaints of anti-social conduct.
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 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 84% of commuters went by car. Unemployment benefit claims came to 3.2% of 16 to 64s in 2026, higher than both Bedfordshire’s towns (2.3%) and England’s towns (2.3%). Households take home £64K a year before tax, on average. 6% of commuters who live in Clapham also work there.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Under 15: 19% of residents. Half the people of Clapham are older than 43.2. Just over a tenth of the population is aged 15 to 24, close to Bedfordshire’s towns (11%) and below England’s towns (12%).
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Clapham | Bedfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 29% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 15% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.6% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Bedfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clapham | 4,502 | — | B | B+ | B | B |
| Oakley | 2,507 | 1.1 | A | C+ | A | B+ |
| Bromham | 4,652 | 1.9 | A− | C | A+ | A+ |
| Bedford | 97,226 | 2.5 | C− | B | D | C− |
| Great Denham | 4,363 | 2.7 | B+ | B− | B− | A |
| Kempston | 22,779 | 3.4 | C | B+ | C− | C− |
| Sharnbrook | 1,744 | 4.7 | — | C+ | B+ | A |
| Shortstown | 4,837 | 4.8 | C+ | B | C | C+ |
Sharnbrook has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
GCSE results trail 54% of towns in England, and primary results trail 73% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Bedford council.
About the middle for its size: 38% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades B.
Town in Bedfordshire, England
Clapham is a built-up area of 4,502 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.