Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0Life expectancy in Dunstable is 79.5 for men and 83.4 for women
For 2019 to 2023, England’s figures are 79.1 and 83.0. Dunstable grades C+ for health: life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, early deaths, hospital admissions, child obesity and Census health, each adjusted for age; #27 of 33 in Bedfordshire.
Dunstable grades C+ for health
Healthier than 36% of UK towns, on age-adjusted measures.
What holds the grade back: emergency admissions and child obesity (better than 17% and 25% of UK towns). What lifts it: disability (59%) and Census bad health (45%). Among the 227 UK towns of 24,000 to 47,000 people, Dunstable’s Health Grade is the 94th highest.
Each measure is ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more, the ranks are averaged, and the average is ranked again. Every measure allows for the town’s ages: life expectancy is worked out from the death rate at each age, so it doesn’t depend on how old the town’s residents are; deaths and admissions are counted against what England’s rates would give a town with these ages, and the Census answers against England and Wales’s rates by single year of age, so a seaside town of retired people isn’t marked down for being old.
Men’s life expectancy across Dunstable runs from 78.4 to 81.9
Life expectancy at birth, 2019–23, in Dunstable’s 4 middle-layer neighbourhoods (about 8,000 people each). Circles are sized by residents and show men’s life expectancy.
Dunstable Manshead has the most deaths under 75 for its ages (111 per 100 expected), against 65 in Dunstable South.
Show every measure as a table
| Neighbourhood | Men | Women | Deaths under 75 | Emergency admissions | Year 6 obese | Income-deprived |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunstable South | 81.9 | 88.2 | 65 | 79 | 25% | 9.1% |
| Dunstable West | 79.8 | 82.7 | 92 | 109 | 19% | 22% |
| Dunstable Central | 78.4 | 82.0 | 109 | 114 | 22% | 19% |
| Dunstable Manshead | 78.4 | 82.0 | 111 | 120 | 26% | 27% |
Deaths and admissions per 100 expected for each area’s ages (England = 100). Each figure has a range: Dunstable Manshead’s men’s life expectancy is 78.4 with a 95% range of 76.3 to 80.5. Neighbourhoods are ONS middle-layer areas at least 30% inside Dunstable; names are the House of Commons Library’s.
Men’s life expectancy in Dunstable is about what its level of deprivation predicts
Across 1,996 English towns of 2,500 or more, men’s life expectancy tracks income deprivation closely (correlation −0.81). Each dot is a town.
19% of Dunstable’s residents are income-deprived, about the middle for English towns. For that level, the line predicts 79.7 years for men; Dunstable’s is 79.5. For women it predicts 83.5, and Dunstable’s 83.4 is close to it.
Income deprivation: share of residents in low-income households, English Indices of Deprivation 2025, averaged over each town’s neighbourhoods. A town above or below the line isn’t necessarily doing better or worse on care: students, prisons and hostels inside a boundary all shift the figures.
Care in and near Dunstable
The nearest A&E, the practice patients rate highest, and where to go when it’s urgent but not an emergency. In an emergency, call 999.
Bedfordshire Hospitals saw 63% of major-A&E patients within four hours
Type 1 (major) A&E attendances seen, admitted or discharged within four hours of arrival, by month. NHS England publishes it by trust, not hospital: Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust runs the A&E at Luton and Dunstable Hospital, the nearest to Dunstable (2.3 mi).
The share seen within four hours has held near 63% over 18 months. Long waits for a bed are rarer than at 86% of trusts: 530 patients in 12 months, 0.8% of emergency admissions through A&E. CQC’s latest ratings for Luton and Dunstable Hospital: urgent and emergency services good (2022), the hospital overall requires improvement (2026).
East of England trusts
Hospitals within 25 miles
| Distance | Hospital | CQC overall | Urgent & emergency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.3 mi | Luton and Dunstable Hospital A&E Luton · Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2026 | Good2022 |
| 9.5 mi | Hemel Hempstead General Hospital Hemel Hempstead · West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust | Requires improvement2020 | — |
| 12 mi | St Albans City Hospital St Albans · West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust | Requires improvement2020 | — |
| 13 mi | Stoke Mandeville Hospital A&E Aylesbury · Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust | Good2023 | Good2019 |
| 13 mi | Milton Keynes Hospital A&E Milton Keynes · Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | Good2025 | Good2024 |
| 14 mi | Lister Hospital A&E Stevenage · East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust | Requires improvement2023 | Requires improvement2023 |
| 16 mi | Amersham Hospital Amersham · Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust | Not rated | — |
| 16 mi | Queen Elizabeth II Hospital Welwyn Garden City · East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust | Requires improvement2019 | — |
NHS acute hospitals registered with the Care Quality Commission (care directory, 01 October 2026). “A&E” marks a major (type 1) emergency department, open 24 hours and led by consultants, in NHS England’s Emergency Care Data Set; a hospital without the mark may still have a minor injury unit or urgent treatment centre. Ratings run Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement, Inadequate; the year is when each was published. Distances are straight lines from the town centre.
79% of patients rate Dunstable’s 5 GP practices good
GP Patient Survey 2026 (NHS England, run by Ipsos), about 100 patients a practice, against 77% across England. 89th of 190 English towns of 24,000 to 47,000, from the highest.
| Practice | Overall experience | Easy by phone | Wait about right | CQC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Street Surgery LU6 1SF · 10,110 adult patients | 86% good · range 76%–92% | 77% | 76% | Good2020 |
| Eastgate Surgery LU5 4RU · 5,993 adult patients | 81% good · range 74%–87% | 86% | 79% | Good2026 |
| Grove View Integrated Health Hub LU5 4JD · 14,190 adult patients | 78% good · range 61%–89% | 70% | 72% | Good2016 |
| Kingsbury Court Surgery LU5 4RS · 8,308 adult patients | 75% good · range 66%–82% | 58% | 66% | Good2024 |
| Kirby Road Surgery LU6 3JH · 6,647 adult patients | 72% good · range 65%–78% | 52% | 69% | Good2024 |
West Street Surgery has the town’s highest rating (86%). You can register with any practice whose area covers your address.
GP Patient Survey 2026: surveys sent January to March 2026; results weighted by NHS England. The range is the 95% confidence interval. Adult patients: the survey’s practice population aged 16 and over. A practice counts as in Dunstable when its main surgery is inside the built-up area; branch surgeries are part of their main practice. CQC ratings © Care Quality Commission.
81% of adults in the Central East area who tried got an NHS dental appointment
Adults who tried to get an NHS dental appointment for themselves in the last two years, and got one. GP Patient Survey 2026, by integrated care system (the NHS area that plans dentistry for Dunstable).
Across England 82% of those who tried got an appointment. Of Central East patients who did, 73% rated the experience good (England 74%). NHS practices taking new patients are listed on the NHS website’s Find a dentist; for urgent dental pain, call NHS 111.
The survey asks GP patients about dentistry, so results are published for health areas, not towns or practices.
84% of residents say their health is good or very good
Census 2021, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Adjusted for age, 88 report bad health for every 100 expected, fewer than the national rate.
Show as a table
| Census 2021 | Dunstable | Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 84% | 82% |
| Fair health | 12% | 12% | 13% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.4% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled under the Equality Act | 16% | 15% | 17% |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot | 6.1% | 5.9% | 7.4% |
Bedfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 output areas.
Dunstable’s Health Grade is 94th of 227 UK towns of 24,000 to 47,000
Ordered by Health Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Dunstable, and others in Bedfordshire. Life expectancy for men / women; deaths under 75 per 100 expected.
| # | Town | People | Life expectancy | Deaths under 75 | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harpenden Hertfordshire | 30,964 | 83.0 / 86.8 | 58 | A+ |
| 2 | Fleet Hampshire | 37,800 | 83.3 / 85.7 | 58 | A+ |
| 3 | Ascot Berkshire | 24,003 | 83.1 / 84.6 | 63 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 56 | Leighton Buzzard Bedfordshire | 42,736 | 80.3 / 83.7 | 85 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 92 | Broadstairs Kent | 25,780 | 79.2 / 83.4 | 95 | C+ |
| 93 | Evesham Worcestershire | 28,256 | 79.2 / 83.1 | 105 | C+ |
| 94 | Dunstable Bedfordshire | 34,498 | 79.5 / 83.4 | 95 | C+ |
| 95 | Pudsey West Yorkshire | 34,853 | 79.0 / 82.2 | 99 | C+ |
| 96 | Urmston Greater Manchester | 41,728 | 79.4 / 83.5 | 102 | C |
| … | |||||
| 227 | Clydebank West Dunbartonshire | 26,220 | 72.3 / 78.5 | — | D− |
Health letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only. Welsh towns are graded on life expectancy, healthy life expectancy and the two Census measures: OHID’s early-death, admissions and child-obesity figures cover England.
Health in the places around Dunstable
Life expectancy for men / women, and the nearest A&E. Tap a town for its health page.
| Town | People | Life expectancy | Nearest A&E | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunstable | 34,498 | 79.5 / 83.4 | 2.3 mi | C+ |
| Houghton Regis | 18,814 | 77.9 / 81.3 | 2 mi | C− |
| Totternhoe | 1,017 | 81.3 / 85.1 | 3.9 mi | B |
| Kensworth | 1,517 | 81.3 / 85.1 | 3.2 mi | B |
| Eaton Bray and Edlesborough | 4,201 | 82.2 / 86.0 | 4.9 mi | A− |
| Caddington | 3,288 | 79.3 / 83.1 | 2.2 mi | B− |
| Luton | 233,524 | 77.2 / 81.8 | 1.7 mi | C− |
| Hockliffe | 1,068 | 81.2 / 83.1 | 5.4 mi | B− |
Eaton Bray and Edlesborough, 2.6 miles away, has men’s life expectancy of 82.2, 2.7 years longer than Dunstable’s.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- A&E figures are for the trust. NHS England publishes four-hour waits by trust, not hospital, so Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s figures cover every major A&E it runs. They count type 1 (major) departments; minor injury units and urgent treatment centres are left out, which is why they sit below the all-types figure NHS England headlines (75% for England).
- The GP survey is a survey. About 100 patients answer for each practice, so a practice’s figure has a range (shown in the table); small differences between practices aren’t meaningful. The town figure weights each practice by its adult patients, some of whom live outside Dunstable.
- Adjusted for age. A ratio of 100 means as many deaths, admissions or reports of bad health as England’s rates (England and Wales’s for the Census) would give a town with these ages; 120 means a fifth more.
- Small areas, summed to the town. OHID publishes these figures for middle-layer areas of about 8,000 people; the town’s figure averages the areas it covers, weighted by how many of their residents live in it, so a village shares its area’s figure with the countryside around it.
- Different years. Life expectancy and deaths cover 2019 to 2023; emergency admissions 2016/17 to 2020/21 (the latest OHID publishes for small areas, including the pandemic dip); child obesity the three school years to 2024/25; A&E the 12 months to September 2026; the GP Patient Survey early 2026; CQC ratings were published on different dates, shown in each row.
- Distances are straight lines. Miles are measured from the town’s centre to each site; the road is longer. For an emergency, call 999; for urgent advice, call NHS 111.
Questions about health in Dunstable
How healthy is Dunstable?
Dunstable earns a C+ for health, healthier than 36% of UK towns on measures adjusted for age, and 94th of 227 UK towns of its size. Life expectancy is 79.5 for men and 83.4 for women (England 79.1 and 83.0), and there are 95 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected.
How long are A&E waits at Luton and Dunstable Hospital?
NHS England publishes waits for the trust, Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. In the 12 months to September 2026 it saw 63% of major-A&E patients within four hours, against 61% across England; in September 2026 the figure was 63%. In an emergency call 999; for urgent advice call NHS 111.
Can I get an NHS dentist in Dunstable?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 81% of adults in the Central East area who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years got one, against 82% across England. Practices taking new NHS patients are listed on the NHS website’s Find a dentist service.
Which GP practice in Dunstable do patients rate highest?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, West Street Surgery (86% good overall), Eastgate Surgery (81% good overall) and Grove View Integrated Health Hub (78% good overall). Across all 5 Dunstable practices, 79% of patients rate their practice good, against 77% in England.
What is the life expectancy in Dunstable?
79.5 years for men and 83.4 for women, on OHID’s figures for 2019 to 2023. Men can expect 66.1 of those years and women 67.2 in good health.
CQC ratings © Care Quality Commission.
Sources: OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (life expectancy and deaths 2019–23, emergency admissions 2016/17–2020/21, NCMP 2022/23–2024/25); House of Commons Library MSOA names · ONS health state life expectancy for small areas (MSOAs), England and Wales, 2019 to 2023 (healthy life expectancy) · ONS Census 2021 general health and disability, adjusted for age · Care Quality Commission care directory and latest ratings, 01 October 2026 · NHS Organisation Data Service · GP Patient Survey 2026 (NHS England, run by Ipsos) · NHS England, A&E Attendances and Emergency Admissions (monthly, by trust) and Emergency Care Data Set activity by site, June–September 2026 (type 1 A&Es) · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 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.