Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
15% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. It is a town of 15,250 residents in Buckinghamshire, South East.
Mostly strong, with a single weak spot. With a B overall, Newport Pagnell sits #31 of 39 in Buckinghamshire. That leaves it better than 56% of UK towns. Jobs and pay hold up well (B+): households earn a mean £61,749 a year, and 2.9% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. What counts against it is schools (C): primary results beat nearly two in five towns in England; secondary results beat 33% of towns in England. It also trails on hazard risk: 1.4% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Buying the median home, at £327,000, takes 5.3 years of household income in the Milton Keynes council area. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for safety, B for health and B for walkability.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Newport Pagnell is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 2 things Newport Pagnell does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 104 buildings inside Newport Pagnell’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1910.
Explore the history →104 listed buildings in Newport Pagnell, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Peter and St Paul: Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Tickford Bridge: Photo: Alan Simkins · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Old Town Hall Chambers: Photo: Dormskirk · CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Dolphin Inn: Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Newport Pagnell.
At the town’s 4 primary schools, nearly three in five pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are two of its 5 schools, each with why it was picked. Attainment 8 at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km averages 42.7, and 42% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tickford Park Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 314 | C |
| E-Act Ousedale SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 2,239 | B+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 11% of the total, lower than both Buckinghamshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (16%). Newport Pagnell’s listed buildings include the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Grade I. It has 2 scheduled monuments.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 70% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 15% of residents have a disability, between Buckinghamshire’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (17%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 4% of the town.
| Census 2021 | Newport Pagnell | Buckinghamshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 86% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4% | 3.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 14% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
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.
By car: that was how just over four in five commuters travelled at the census. Working from home was the norm for two in five workers at the census. For every resident in work, Newport Pagnell has 0.6 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Of all the crimes, 44% were violence and sexual offences. Over the year to August 2026, 814 offences were reported in Newport Pagnell, along with 174 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Violent crime ran at 24 per 1,000 residents a year, higher than both Buckinghamshire’s towns (18.3) and England’s towns (22). Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Newport Pagnell has less crime per resident than 74% 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.
Social housing holds 8% of households. 73% of households own their home, above Buckinghamshire’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. Private rents average £1,344 a month across the Milton Keynes council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £485,000 | 123 |
| Semi-detached | £350,000 | 228 |
| Terraced | £280,000 | 213 |
| Flat or maisonette | £165,000 | 71 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
32% of adults hold a degree, below both Buckinghamshire’s towns (39%) and England’s towns (34%). Typical age in Newport Pagnell: 42.6, the median. The share of residents under 15 is 18%.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Newport Pagnell | Buckinghamshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.2% | 4.8% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 39% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Buckinghamshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Newport Pagnell. Best known first.
Theme parkGulliver's Land2.6 km outside town, to the south
MuseumMilton Keynes Museum4.9 km outside town, to the southwest
Art galleryMK Gallery3.5 km outside town, to the southWater parkWater parkSplash ‘n’ Play2.6 km outside town, to the southAttractionAttractionMilton Keynes Theatre3.6 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumBrickz3.7 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
19 notable people were born in Newport Pagnell.
Gordon Moakes: Tom dl, Public domain · Ian Porter: Ukbeachbum, Public domain · William Smith: Maturin L. Delafield, author., Public domain · Andrew Pakes: ©House of Commons / Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0
Town in Buckinghamshire, England
Newport Pagnell is a built-up area of 15,250 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newport Pagnell | 15,250 | — | B | B− | B− | B |
| Milton Keynes | 197,328 | 3.6 | C+ | B− | D | C |
| Castlethorpe | 1,112 | 4.4 | — | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Hanslope | 2,161 | 4.7 | — | C+ | C | A− |
| Olney | 6,600 | 5.1 | A− | C | B | A |
| Cranfield | 7,053 | 5.3 | A− | B+ | A− | A |
| Woburn Sands | 4,315 | 5.8 | B+ | C | B+ | A− |
| Old Stratford | 2,427 | 6 | — | C | A | B+ |
Castlethorpe, Hanslope and Old Stratford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.8 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Peter and St Paul. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
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.