Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
7,053 people call this town in Bedfordshire, East of England home.
Plenty in its favour, and one clear drawback. With an A− overall, Cranfield sits #5 of 33 in Bedfordshire. Set against the rest, it does better than just over four fifths of UK towns. Residents are healthier than most: life expectancy is 82.2 for men and 85.8 for women. It takes 5.7 years of household income in the Central Bedfordshire council area to buy the median home, at £375,000. The trade-off is schools: primary results beat 3% of towns in England.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Cranfield 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 Cranfield is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 13 buildings inside Cranfield’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
7% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 3 old photos and postcards.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cranfield.
46% of pupils at the one primary school within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its two schools are below. Some 1,179 pupils attend Cranfield’s one primary and one secondary.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cranfield Church of England AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 511 | – |
| Holywell SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 668 | D |
88% of Cranfield’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above Bedfordshire’s towns (84%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. A disability affects just over a tenth of people here. The town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 2.6 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Cranfield | Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.7% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 12% | 15% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
Violence and sexual offences were 45% of the crimes. Violent crime ran at 15.1 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Bedfordshire’s towns (18.8) and England’s towns (22). In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 247 crimes and 35 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Cranfield’s built-up area. Burglary and damage add up to 7 per 1,000 residents each year.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Cranfield’s listed buildings include the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Grade I. 7% of homes date from before 1919. Scaled to its population, Cranfield has 18 listed buildings per 10,000 people, 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
Households that own their home make up 71%. Social housing holds 11% of households, lower than both Bedfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Behind the median of £375,000: 286 standard sales inside Cranfield’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £470,000 | 130 |
| Semi-detached | £335,000 | 113 |
| Terraced | £257,750 | 34 |
| Flat or maisonette | £100,000 | 9 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 39% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car carried 85% of commuters at the census. At the census, 12% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, lower than both Bedfordshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (27%). Working from home was the norm for nearly two in five workers at the census. Work in town: 15% of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
16% of the population is aged 15 to 24, above Bedfordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Retirement age and beyond: 13% of residents are 65 or older. Ages in Cranfield split evenly at 33.1: half are older, half younger. The under-15s are 18% of the population here.
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Cranfield | Bedfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 16% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 32% | 29% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 21% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 13% | 15% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 10% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.1% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 46% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Bedfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
13 listed buildings in Cranfield, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul: Photo: Richard Schmidt · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cranfield War Memorial: Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.0
3 notable people were born in Cranfield.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranfield | 7,053 | — | A− | B+ | A− | A |
| Marston Moretaine | 6,350 | 2.5 | B | B+ | B | B |
| Lidlington | 1,300 | 3 | — | B+ | A− | B |
| Wootton | 7,567 | 3.8 | B | C+ | A− | B− |
| Woburn Sands | 4,315 | 4.3 | B+ | C | B+ | A− |
| Stewartby | 2,546 | 4.3 | B− | B− | B− | B− |
| Aspley Guise | 2,114 | 4.4 | — | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Newport Pagnell | 15,250 | 5.3 | B | B− | B− | B |
Lidlington and Aspley Guise have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Cranfield has 2 state schools; places are handled by Central Bedfordshire council.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £375,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £100,000, terraced houses £257,750, semi-detached houses £335,000 and detached houses £470,000. Household incomes are higher than in 93% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B+.
Town in Bedfordshire, England
Cranfield is a built-up area of 7,053 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.
