Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 2,546 residents in Bedfordshire, East of England. Over-65s are only 9% of the population.
The picture is mixed. It is hard to get around without a car: 8% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Stewartby’s overall grade is B−, better than 48% of UK towns. Its place in the ranking is #26 of 33 in Bedfordshire. Pupils here do less well than most (C−): primary results beat 6% of towns in England; secondary results beat 41% of towns in England. Jobs and pay hold up well: the mean household earns £71,713 a year. Homes sell for a median £330,000, about 5.5 years of what households in the Bedford council area earn. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for safety and B− for health.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Stewartby is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Stewartby does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 3 buildings inside Stewartby’s built-up area.
2% 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 Stewartby.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 15% of Stewartby’s land, higher than both Bedfordshire’s towns (4%) and England’s towns (7%). 2% of homes date from before 1919. Relative to its size, Stewartby keeps 12 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Between them, one primary and one secondary teach 791 pupils in Stewartby. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. At the 2 primary schools within 3 km, 49% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadmead Lower SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 228 | – |
| Marston Vale Middle SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 563 | C− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 30% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For nearly a quarter of commuters, work was under 5 km away. About 4% of its commuters stay in Stewartby for work. 2.2% of people aged 16 to 64 were on unemployment benefits in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Police recorded 120 crimes inside Stewartby’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 36 reports of anti-social behaviour. 38% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Per 1,000 residents, 21.3 violent crimes are recorded each year.
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.
3.6% of residents report bad or very bad health. At the census, 13% of people here had a disability, below Bedfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (17%) alike. There is no GP practice in Stewartby: the nearest is 1.8 miles off.
| Census 2021 | Stewartby | Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.6% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Owners make up 72% of households. Social housing holds 14% of households, below Bedfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £1,173 a month across the Bedford council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £450,000 | 25 |
| Semi-detached | £323,100 | 54 |
| Terraced | £310,000 | 27 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
One in ten residents are 15 to 24, lower than both Bedfordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Retirement age and beyond: nearly one in ten residents are 65 or older. Typical age in Stewartby: 31.2, the median.
52% women, 48% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Stewartby | Bedfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 25% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 37% | 29% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 18% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 8.6% | 15% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.7% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 21% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 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 Stewartby. Best known first.
Historic house · English HeritageHoughton House2.8 km outside town, to the southeastTheme parkTheme parkUniversal United Kingdom Resort1.5 km outside town, to the northWater parkWater parkSubtropical Swimming Paradise4.7 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Town in Bedfordshire, England
Stewartby is a built-up area of 2,546 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stewartby | 2,546 | — | B− | B− | B− | B− |
| Houghton Conquest | 1,867 | 1.4 | — | B+ | B+ | B+ |
| Wootton | 7,567 | 1.8 | B | C+ | A− | B− |
| Marston Moretaine | 6,350 | 1.9 | B | B+ | B | B |
| Wixams | 6,044 | 1.9 | C− | C+ | C− | B |
| Wilstead | 2,404 | 2.7 | — | C | A− | C+ |
| Kempston | 22,779 | 3.1 | C | B+ | C− | C− |
| Ampthill | 8,825 | 3.1 | A | B− | B+ | A |
Houghton Conquest and Wilstead have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
A young town. At the 2021 Census, 25% of residents were under 15 and 37% were 25 to 44, against 18% and 27% across England’s towns; only 8.6% were 65 or over.
Stewartby has 3 state schools; places are handled by Bedford 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.