Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 45,018 people live in this large town, in Buckinghamshire, South East.
Taken together, its subjects give Bletchley a C− overall, better than a fifth of UK towns. Where it falls short is safety (D) — 46.1 violent and sexual offences and 18.2 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 17%. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 18% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. A median £316,500 buys a home here, 5.1 times what households in the Milton Keynes council area earn in a year.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
The thing Bletchley 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 Bletchley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 65 buildings inside Bletchley’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 →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Bletchley. Best known first.
MuseumBletchley Parkin town
MuseumThe National Museum of Computingin townMuseumMuseumNational Radio Centre (RSGB)in townMuseumMuseumBlock Bin townMuseumMuseumHut 1in townMuseumMuseumHut 11in townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bletchley.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Bletchley logged 4,486 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 501 complaints of anti-social conduct. For its size, Bletchley records more crime per resident than 83% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. 46% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. There were 10.8 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above Buckinghamshire’s towns (4) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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.
Some 6,111 pupils attend Bletchley’s 13 primaries and two secondaries. Knowles Primary School’s results beat 92% of schools in England like it. Of its 18 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. Attainment 8 at the town’s 2 secondary schools averages 41.2, and 42% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newton Leys Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 643 | C+ |
| Lord Grey AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,446 | C |
| Knowles Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 356 | A |
5 GP practices serve the town; 73% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Of the 67 towns in Buckinghamshire, Bletchley has the largest share in bad or very bad health: 5.1%. 82% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below Buckinghamshire’s towns (86%) and close to England’s towns (82%).
| Census 2021 | Bletchley | Buckinghamshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 86% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 3.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 14% | 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 28% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For 46% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. About a quarter of its commuters stay in Bletchley for work. This Buckinghamshire town counts 1 jobs per working resident. Households had £54K a year before tax, below Buckinghamshire’s towns (£72K) and close to England’s towns (£55K).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
5% of homes were built before 1919. Bletchley’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. Listed buildings per head: 14 for every 10,000 residents of the town.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Social housing holds just over a fifth of households, higher than both Buckinghamshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). No town in Buckinghamshire costs less to buy into than Bletchley, at £316,500, the lowest of 39. Private rents average £1,347 a month across the Milton Keynes council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £448,997 | 374 |
| Semi-detached | £330,000 | 523 |
| Terraced | £278,000 | 359 |
| Flat or maisonette | £182,500 | 262 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Ages in Bletchley split evenly at 37.2: half are older, half younger. Under-15s account for just over a fifth of the population. 16% of residents are 65 or over, about level with Buckinghamshire’s towns (17%) and below England’s towns (18%).
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Bletchley | Buckinghamshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.6% | 4.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 39% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Buckinghamshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
65 listed buildings in Bletchley, 1 of them Grade I.
Hut 8 at Bletchley Park: Photo: M J Richardson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Fenny Stratford Station Building: Photo: Mr Biz · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Maltsters Arms Public House: Photo: Barrymyles · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sycamore Farmhouse: Photo: Petrolmaps · CC BY-SA 4.0
15 notable people were born in Bletchley.
Derek Redmond: Parliament Speakers Limited, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Robert Douglas: trailer screenshot (MGM), Public domain · Adam Ficek: Leila, CC BY 3.0 · Thomas Lake Harris: Unknown photographer, Public domain · Christopher Herrick: Yesser, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bletchley | 45,018 | — | C− | B− | D | C− |
| Newton Longville | 1,877 | 1.8 | — | B− | A− | A |
| Stoke Hammond | 1,155 | 2.5 | — | C+ | C+ | A |
| Milton Keynes | 197,328 | 3.3 | C+ | B− | D | C |
| Woburn Sands | 4,315 | 4.1 | B+ | C | B+ | A− |
| Stewkley | 1,421 | 4.3 | — | C | B | A |
| Aspley Guise | 2,114 | 4.6 | — | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Heath and Reach | 1,451 | 4.8 | — | B | A | B− |
Newton Longville, Stoke Hammond, Stewkley, Aspley Guise and Heath and Reach have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 72% of towns in England, and primary results trail 55% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £316,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £182,500, terraced houses £278,000, semi-detached houses £330,000 and detached houses £448,997.
Large town in Buckinghamshire, England
Bletchley is a built-up area of 45,018 people, in the Milton Keynes 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.