Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 3,966: a town in Bedfordshire, East of England. 13% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
A solid town with one catch. People here tend to be in good health: life expectancy 80.4 for men, 85.2 for women. Overall, Lower Stondon earns a B+: better than 71% of UK towns, and #11 of 33 in Bedfordshire. Its schools fall short: primary results beat 18% of towns in England; secondary results beat 38% of towns in England. It takes 6.1 years of household income in the Central Bedfordshire council area to buy the median home, at £400,000. The rest of its grades are middling: B for safety and B− for walkability.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Lower Stondon is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 2 things Lower Stondon does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 6 buildings inside Lower Stondon’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
3% 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 Lower Stondon.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Before 1919: that is when 3% of homes were built. Scaled to its population, Lower Stondon has 15 listed buildings per 10,000 people, below both Bedfordshire’s towns (41) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
GCSE results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: just over two in five pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 44.9. The town has one school, shown below. At the 5 primary schools within 3 km, 54% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stondon Lower SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 136 | – |
One GP practice serves the town; nearly four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 13% of people here had a disability, below both Bedfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (17%). Self-reported good health: 86% of Lower Stondon’s residents. The nearest A&E to Lower Stondon is Lister Hospital, 6.8 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Lower Stondon | Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.9% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Per 1,000 residents, 8.1 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded a year. Lower Stondon logged 148 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 38 complaints of anti-social conduct. Violence and sexual offences were 52% 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.
Private renters make up 17% of households, lower than both Bedfordshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (21%). 8% of households rent from a council or housing body. From September 2023 to August 2026, 289 homes sold inside Lower Stondon’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £400,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £592,500 | 108 |
| Semi-detached | £378,250 | 80 |
| Terraced | £311,000 | 93 |
| Flat or maisonette | £180,000 | 8 |
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 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Income per household averages £66K a year, before tax. 84% of commuters drove, above Bedfordshire’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Among 16 to 64s, 3% claimed unemployment benefits in 2026. Work in town: 8% of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The middle age in Lower Stondon is 40.3. 20% are under 15, close to Bedfordshire’s towns (20%) and above England’s towns (18%). Retirement age and beyond: 17% of residents are 65 or older.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Lower Stondon | Bedfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.7% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 29% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 15% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.4% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 21% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 33% | 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 Lower Stondon. Best known first.
MuseumRAF Henlow200 m outside town, to the northCastleCastleMeppershall Castel1.9 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumGarden City Collection Study Centre3.5 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumMuseum at One Garden City4.9 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Town in Bedfordshire, England
Lower Stondon is a built-up area of 3,966 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Stondon | 3,966 | — | B+ | B | B | A− |
| Meppershall | 2,044 | 1.6 | — | C+ | B+ | B+ |
| Arlesey | 6,027 | 1.9 | B | A− | B− | B− |
| Henlow | 2,446 | 2 | — | B− | A− | B |
| Clifton | 2,769 | 2.2 | B | B | C+ | B+ |
| Pirton | 1,452 | 2.4 | — | C− | A | A− |
| Shillington | 1,629 | 2.4 | — | B+ | B | B+ |
| Ickleford | 1,936 | 2.5 | — | C− | B | B+ |
Meppershall, Henlow, Pirton, Shillington and Ickleford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 62% of towns in England, and primary results trail 82% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Central Bedfordshire council.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £400,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £180,000, terraced houses £311,000, semi-detached houses £378,250 and detached houses £592,500. Household incomes are higher than in 83% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
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.