Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 233,524 people, this city lies in Bedfordshire, East of England. Over-65s are only 12% of the population.
Homes are dear: the median home sold for £315,000, 6 years of area income. Crime runs high: 36.7 violent and sexual offences and 17.7 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Against UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has more crime per resident than 34%. Walkability is its strong suit (A): on the way to work, 25% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. The overall grade lands at C−, better than 18% of UK towns. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for schools and C+ for hazard risk.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Luton 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 Luton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 88 buildings inside Luton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 7 old photos and postcards going back to 1859 and a map from 1888.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Luton. Best known first.
MuseumWardown Park Museumin town
CastleSomeries Castle200 m outside town, to the southeast
Abbey or prioryDunstable Priory400 m outside town, to the west
Historic houseLuton Hoo1.1 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumMossman Collection300 m outside town, to the south
MuseumStockwood Discovery Centre400 m outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Luton.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 22% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 70% of commuters, about level with England’s towns (70%) and below Bedfordshire’s towns (77%). There are 1.2 jobs in Luton for each resident in work. Of the commuters living in the town, 57% work in the town itself. Income per household averages £53K a year, before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Below are three of its 74 schools, each with why it was picked. 64% of pupils at the town’s 42 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). GCSE results at the town’s 13 secondary schools: 46% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 46.5.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downside Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 1,015 | B+ |
| Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,655 | B |
| Tennyson Road Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 724 | A+ |
Owners make up 55% of households, below Bedfordshire’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. Private rents average £1,223 a month across the Luton council area. 5,053 standard sales inside the town’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £315,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £430,000 | 718 |
| Semi-detached | £335,000 | 2,302 |
| Terraced | £279,997 | 1,332 |
| Flat or maisonette | £165,000 | 701 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
There were 14.9 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both Bedfordshire’s towns (10.2) and England’s towns (7.8). Reported offences in Luton came to 19,253 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 3,391. Also worth knowing: 42% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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.
24 GP practices serve the town; 72% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 14% of residents have a disability, below Bedfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (17%) alike. The nearest A&E to Luton is Luton and Dunstable Hospital, 1.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Luton | Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.7% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, 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.
Listed buildings per head: 4 for every 10,000 residents of Luton. The town’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Mary, Grade I. The register of parks and gardens lists 2 in the town.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Degrees are held by 30% of adults, below Bedfordshire’s towns (32%) and England’s towns (34%) alike. Retirement age and beyond: 12% of residents are 65 or older. The median resident of Luton is 34.7 years old. People aged 15 to 24 make up 13% of the town.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Luton | Bedfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 30% | 29% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 12% | 15% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.9% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Bedfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
88 listed buildings in Luton, 1 of them Grade I.
Parish Church of St Mary: Photo: AnemoneProjectors ( Flickr ) · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wardown Park: Photo: Nigel Cox · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Putteridge Bury: Photo: Kriscollins · Public domain · The Nickel Bag Public House: Photo: Doyle of London · CC BY-SA 4.0
223 notable people were born in Luton.
James Justin: Ardfern, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lewis Baker: Timmy96, CC0 · David Arnold: Davidarnold2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Paul Young: https://www.flickr.com/people/arne-list/, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jamal Lewis: @cfcunofficial (Chelsea Debs) London from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Phil Read: Jack de Nijs for Anefo, CC0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luton | 233,524 | — | C− | D | C− | C− |
| Caddington | 3,288 | 2.4 | B+ | B− | B+ | B− |
| Slip End | 1,410 | 2.9 | — | B | B | C+ |
| Houghton Regis | 18,814 | 3.6 | C− | B+ | D | C− |
| Dunstable | 34,498 | 4 | B− | A− | C | C+ |
| Kensworth | 1,517 | 4.2 | — | C+ | C+ | B |
| Markyate | 3,174 | 4.2 | C+ | C | C+ | A− |
| Barton-le-Clay | 4,941 | 5 | A− | B | A | A− |
Slip End and Kensworth have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C−.
GCSE results beat 54% of towns in England, and primary results beat 61% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
City in Bedfordshire, England
Luton is a built-up area of 233,524 people, in the Luton 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.