Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
22,779 people call this large town in Bedfordshire, East of England home.
The weak point is schools: primary results beat nearly a fifth of towns in England; secondary results beat 25% of towns in England. Kempston’s overall grade of C puts it better than 31% of UK towns, #29 of 33 in Bedfordshire. Police record more crime here than in most towns: 35.5 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 16 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 64%. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here (A−): 22% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Cost of living is a strength too: the median home sold for £290,000, 4.8 years of area income.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
The thing Kempston 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 Kempston is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 21 buildings inside Kempston’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Kempston.
Between them, five primaries and two secondaries teach 3,281 pupils in Kempston. Kempston Rural Primary School’s results beat 77% of schools in England like it. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 5 primary schools: 55% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are two of its 12 schools, each with why it was picked.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kempston Rural Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 439 | A− |
| Kempston AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 773 | D |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 24% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Short trips to work, under 5 km: 59%, above both Bedfordshire’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%). Jobs per working resident: 1.1. Of the commuters living in Kempston, 23% work in the town itself. Income per household averages £56K a year, before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 42% of recorded crime. 1,898 crimes and 267 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Kempston’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 13.2 reports per 1,000, above 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.
2 GP practices serve the town; three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. A disability affects 15% of people in Kempston. 4.3% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, about level with Bedfordshire’s towns (4.3%) and below England’s towns (5.2%).
| Census 2021 | Kempston | Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.3% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 15% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures 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.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, lower than both Bedfordshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (16%). Grade II* covers 1 of them. Per 10,000 residents, Kempston counts 9 listed buildings.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
No town in Bedfordshire costs less to buy into than Kempston, at £290,000, the lowest of 33. 17% of households are private tenants. Private rents average £1,173 a month across the Bedford council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £388,750 | 136 |
| Semi-detached | £305,000 | 244 |
| Terraced | £265,000 | 199 |
| Flat or maisonette | £205,000 | 109 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
19% are under 15, lower than Bedfordshire’s towns (20%) yet higher than England’s towns (18%). Line up the people of Kempston by age and the one in the middle is 39. Aged 15 to 24: just over one in ten residents.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Kempston | Bedfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 29% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 15% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.2% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Bedfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Kempston. Best known first.
CastleBedford Castle1.4 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumThe Higgins1.4 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumJohn Bunyan museum1.4 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumMoot Hall400 m outside town, to the east
MuseumPanacea Museum1.5 km outside town, to the northeastTheme parkTheme parkUniversal United Kingdom Resort700 m outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
21 listed buildings in Kempston.
King William IV Public House: Photo: sludgegulper · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of the Transfiguration: Photo: Alex · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kempston Grange: Photo: N Avery · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · The Keep: Photo: Dennis simpson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
5 notable people were born in Kempston.
Roy Babbington: Tore Sætre, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kempston | 22,779 | — | C | B+ | C− | C− |
| Great Denham | 4,363 | 0.9 | B+ | B− | B− | A |
| Wootton | 7,567 | 1.9 | B | C+ | A− | B− |
| Bedford | 97,226 | 2.2 | C− | B | D | C− |
| Wixams | 6,044 | 2.4 | C− | C+ | C− | B |
| Bromham | 4,652 | 2.7 | A− | C | A+ | A+ |
| Shortstown | 4,837 | 2.8 | C+ | B | C | C+ |
| Stewartby | 2,546 | 3.1 | B− | B− | B− | B− |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 75% of towns in England, and primary results trail 81% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C−.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Large town in Bedfordshire, England
Kempston is a built-up area of 22,779 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.