Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in Bedfordshire, East of England, home to 5,229 people.
Some subjects shine; others lag. Residents are healthier than most: life expectancy 80.6 for men, 86.7 for women. Potton grades B overall and ranks #17 of 33 in Bedfordshire. Nationally, it does better than just over three fifths of UK towns. Cost of living is a strength too: the median home sold for £355,500, 5.4 years of area income. The trade-off is schools: primary results beat 3% of towns in England. It lags on walkability as well: one in ten commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for jobs & income and B for hazard risk.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Potton 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 Potton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 41 buildings inside Potton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 3 old photos and postcards going back to 1900.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Potton.
There is one school here; it is shown below. 46% of pupils at the 3 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The town’s primary school has 387 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potton Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 387 | D |
The nearest A&E to Potton is Bedford Hospital, 10.9 miles away. 86% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above Bedfordshire’s towns (84%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. Also worth knowing: men in Potton can expect to live to 80.6, women to 86.7 (2019–23). One GP practice serves the town; 77% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Potton | Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.1% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 37% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
88% of commuters took the car to work at the census. Households had £68K a year before tax, about level with Bedfordshire’s towns (£66K) and above England’s towns (£55K). There are 0.3 jobs in Potton for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
71% of households are owner-occupiers. Social housing holds just over one in ten households, below Bedfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. The median sale, £355,500, comes from 237 standard sales inside Potton’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £476,250 | 82 |
| Semi-detached | £342,500 | 78 |
| Terraced | £275,000 | 54 |
| Flat or maisonette | £137,500 | 23 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violent crime ran at 16.5 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Bedfordshire’s towns (18.8) and England’s towns (22). 187 crimes and 44 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Potton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Of all the crimes, 48% were violence and sexual offences. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Potton has less crime per resident than 72% of them.
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.
Scaled to its population, Potton has 78 listed buildings per 10,000 people, above Bedfordshire’s towns (40) and England’s towns (39) alike. The town’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. 14% of homes date from before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
18% are under 15, below Bedfordshire’s towns (20%) and close to England’s towns (18%). Retirement age and beyond: a fifth of residents are 65 or older. Line up the people of Potton by age and the one in the middle is 43.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Potton | Bedfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 29% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 15% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 33% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Bedfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
41 listed buildings in Potton, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Mary: Photo: Mike Snoswell · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Royal Oak Public House: Photo: David Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Lion Court: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Main Passenger Building of the Former Potton Railway Station: Photo: d brewerton · CC BY-SA 2.0
3 notable people were born in Potton.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potton | 5,229 | — | B | B+ | B+ | A− |
| Gamlingay | 2,920 | 2 | B+ | A− | B+ | A |
| Biggleswade | 21,945 | 3.2 | B− | B+ | B− | C+ |
| Sandy | 11,375 | 3.2 | C+ | A− | C | C |
| Upper Caldecote | 1,333 | 4 | — | B− | B | B |
| Blunham | 1,391 | 4.7 | — | B− | D− | B |
| Langford | 3,712 | 5.6 | B | B− | B | B |
| Great Barford | 2,254 | 6.1 | — | C+ | B+ | B |
Upper Caldecote, Blunham and Great Barford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Central Bedfordshire council.
That is 3.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £355,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £137,500, terraced houses £275,000, semi-detached houses £342,500 and detached houses £476,250. Household incomes are higher than in 85% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B+.
Town in Bedfordshire, England
Potton is a built-up area of 5,229 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
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.