Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This village in Bedfordshire, East of England has a population of 2,044.
Households here earn well: the mean household earns £66,392 a year. Health is a strength: life expectancy 80.4 for men, 85.2 for women. School results trail most towns (C−): primary results beat 6% of towns in England; secondary results beat 46% of towns in England. Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work: nearly one in ten commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. It takes 7.3 years of household income in the Central Bedfordshire council area to buy the median home, at £482,000.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years. Meppershall has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Meppershall is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Meppershall has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Meppershall does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Meppershall’s built-up area, along with 2 scheduled monuments.
8% 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 Meppershall.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 40% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Working mainly from home: two in five workers, above Bedfordshire’s towns (30%) and England’s towns (31%) alike, and the car carried 88% of commuters at the census. Of the commuters living in Meppershall, 5% work in the town itself. 19% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
At the 4 primary schools within 3 km, nearly half of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its only school is listed below. GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 43% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 45.7.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meppershall Church of England AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 238 | D |
18% of residents have a disability, about level with England’s towns (17%) and above Bedfordshire’s towns (15%). Seeing a GP means leaving Meppershall: the nearest practice is 1.3 miles away. The nearest A&E to Meppershall is Lister Hospital, 8.3 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Meppershall | Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.3% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 15% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Violent crime ran at 16 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Bedfordshire’s towns (18.8) and England’s towns (22). The 12 months to August 2026 brought 60 recorded crimes inside Meppershall’s built-up area, and 20 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 57% 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
8% of homes date from before 1919. 2 scheduled monuments lie in Meppershall.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Private renters make up nearly one in ten households. The £482,000 median rests on 147 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £579,995 | 89 |
| Semi-detached | £390,000 | 51 |
| Terraced | £298,000 | 7 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
One measure of family life: 17% of residents are under 15. 23% of residents are 65 or over, above both Bedfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). The age that splits Meppershall in two is 46.5. Graduates make up 36% of adults.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Meppershall | Bedfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.3% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 29% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 15% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 9.6% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.7% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 36% | 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 Meppershall. Best known first.
Historic house · English HeritageWrest Park4.2 km outside town, to the west
MuseumRAF Henlow1.6 km outside town, to the east
MuseumMilitary Intelligence Museum3.1 km outside town, to the northwestGardenGarden · English HeritageWrest Park & Gardens4.1 km outside town, to the westHistoric siteHistoric siteHawker Hunter WT6122 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Village in Bedfordshire, England
Meppershall is a built-up area of 2,044 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meppershall | 2,044 | — | — | C+ | B+ | B+ |
| Shefford | 7,317 | 1.5 | B | B+ | C | A− |
| Lower Stondon | 3,966 | 1.6 | B+ | B | B | A− |
| Shillington | 1,629 | 1.7 | — | B+ | B | B+ |
| Clifton | 2,769 | 2 | B | B | C+ | B+ |
| Henlow | 2,446 | 2.4 | — | B− | A− | B |
| Pirton | 1,452 | 3 | — | C− | A | A− |
| Arlesey | 6,027 | 3.2 | B | A− | B− | B− |
Shillington, Henlow and Pirton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £482,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £298,000, semi-detached houses £390,000 and detached houses £579,995.
One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Central Bedfordshire council.
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.