Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 7,567 residents and lies in Bedfordshire, East of England.
Some subjects shine; others lag. Jobs & income is where it shines: the mean household earns £71,713 a year. Crime is low: police record 16.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 5.6 home and vehicle crimes. Its schools fall short: primary results beat one in ten towns in England; secondary results beat 32% of towns in England. The median home sold for £375,000, 6.2 times what households in the Bedford council area earn in a year. It lags on walkability as well (C−): 9% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. All told, that adds up to a B overall and a rank of #20 of 33 in Bedfordshire. On that grade it does better than nearly three fifths of UK towns.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Wootton 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 Wootton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 26 buildings inside Wootton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
5% 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 Wootton.
Both of the town’s schools appear below. At the 5 primary schools within 3 km, 51% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Secondary results at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 43.3, with 40% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wootton Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 731 | – |
| Wootton AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 822 | C+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 36% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
25% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. Work in town: 4% of resident commuters. Jobs per working resident: 0.3.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 224 offences in Wootton and 62 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 58% of the crimes. There were 7.8 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), lower than Bedfordshire’s towns (10.3) and near England’s towns (7.8).
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.
5% of its homes were built before 1919, lower than both Bedfordshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (16%). Wootton’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Owners make up 74% of households, higher than both Bedfordshire’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%). Half of the 251 standard sales inside Wootton’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £375,000. Private rents average £1,173 a month across the Bedford council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £470,000 | 127 |
| Semi-detached | £330,000 | 85 |
| Terraced | £307,500 | 36 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
At the census, 3.3% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, below Bedfordshire’s towns (4.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. A disability affects 14% of people in Wootton. One GP practice serves the town; 82% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Wootton | Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.3% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 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.
36% of adults hold a degree. The 15-to-24 age group: 9.7%, below both Bedfordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Wootton has a median age of 36.6. People 65 and over make up 15% of the town.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Wootton | Bedfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.7% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 30% | 29% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 15% | 15% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 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
26 listed buildings in Wootton, 1 of them Grade I.
Wootton War Memorial: Photo: Quilt Phase · CC BY-SA 3.0 · 48, Church Road: Photo: Quilt Phase · CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wootton | 7,567 | — | B | C+ | A− | B− |
| Stewartby | 2,546 | 1.8 | B− | B− | B− | B− |
| Kempston | 22,779 | 1.9 | C | B+ | C− | C− |
| Great Denham | 4,363 | 2.3 | B+ | B− | B− | A |
| Marston Moretaine | 6,350 | 2.4 | B | B+ | B | B |
| Wixams | 6,044 | 2.5 | C− | C+ | C− | B |
| Houghton Conquest | 1,867 | 3 | — | B+ | B+ | B+ |
| Bromham | 4,652 | 3.6 | A− | C | A+ | A+ |
Houghton Conquest has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 68% of towns in England, and primary results trail 90% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Wootton has 2 state schools; places are handled by Bedford council.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £375,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £307,500, semi-detached houses £330,000 and detached houses £470,000.
Town in Bedfordshire, England
Wootton is a built-up area of 7,567 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
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.
