Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 6,156: a town in Cambridgeshire, East of England.
Good marks almost everywhere you look. School results are strong: primary results beat 99% of towns in England; secondary results beat 94% of towns in England. Add walkability to its strengths: on the way to work, 19% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Buying the median home, at £415,000, takes 5.7 years of household income in the South Cambridgeshire council area. The overall grade lands at A, #12 of 50 in Cambridgeshire. That leaves it better than 93% of UK towns. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for safety, B for health and B for hazard risk.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Cottenham 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 Cottenham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 66 buildings inside Cottenham’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
15% 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 Cottenham.
Key Stage 2 results at the 3 primary schools within 3 km: 79% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Cottenham Village College’s results beat 78% of schools in England like it. Some 1,331 pupils attend the town’s one primary and one secondary.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cottenham Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 471 | B+ |
| Cottenham Village CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 860 | A− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 45% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
13% of commuters who live in Cottenham also work there. The car took 78% of commuters, higher than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (72%) and England’s towns (70%). Household income averages £66K a year before tax.
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.
Conservation areas cover just over a fifth of Cottenham’s land, above both Cambridgeshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (7%). Its listed buildings include the Church of All Saints, Grade I. Scaled to its population, that is 107 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in the town.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Social renters account for 12% of households. Owners make up 73% of households, above both Cambridgeshire’s towns (61%) and England’s towns (61%). Private rents average £1,408 a month across the South Cambridgeshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £537,500 | 156 |
| Semi-detached | £370,000 | 89 |
| Terraced | £302,500 | 64 |
| Flat or maisonette | £163,750 | 6 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Seeing a GP means leaving Cottenham: the nearest practice is 2.9 miles away. The nearest A&E to Cottenham is Addenbrooke's and the Rosie Hospitals, 7.8 miles away. Self-reported good health: 84% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2021 | Cottenham | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.9% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 16% | 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.
291 crimes and 99 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Cottenham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences made up 43% of the total. There were 11.6 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both Cambridgeshire’s towns (8.7) and 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.
Residents of Cottenham have a median age of 44.8. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 9.1% of residents, below both Cambridgeshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Those 65 and older account for just over a fifth of residents.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Cottenham | Cambridgeshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.1% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.1% | 5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 43% | 37% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cambridgeshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Cottenham. Best known first.
Abbey or priory · English HeritageDenny Abbey and Farmland Museum3.4 km outside town, to the east
MuseumCambridge Science Centre4.9 km outside town, to the south
MuseumWaterbeach Military Heritage Museum3.7 km outside town, to the eastHistoric siteHistoric siteCar Dyke4.3 km outside town, to the southeastCastleCastleGiant's Hill800 m outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
66 listed buildings in Cottenham, 1 of them Grade I.
Moretons Charity Almshouses: Photo: Hugh Venables · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chequers Public House: Photo: Keith Edkins · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Pond Farmhouse: Photo: Keith Edkins · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Limes: Photo: Sandy Gerrard · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottenham | 6,156 | — | A | B+ | B− | B |
| Histon and Impington | 7,781 | 2.7 | A+ | B | B | B+ |
| Oakington | 1,494 | 2.8 | — | A− | A | B+ |
| Willingham | 3,912 | 3.2 | A− | A− | B− | B+ |
| Waterbeach | 5,375 | 3.2 | A− | A− | C+ | B |
| Longstanton and Northstowe | 5,278 | 3.2 | A− | A− | C− | B+ |
| Milton | 4,150 | 3.4 | A+ | B+ | B | A+ |
| Girton | 4,384 | 4 | A+ | C+ | A | A+ |
Oakington has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Among the strongest in England: GCSE results beat 94% of towns in England, and primary results beat 99% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Cottenham has 3 state schools; places are handled by Cambridgeshire council.
That is 4.4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of All Saints. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £415,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £163,750, terraced houses £302,500, semi-detached houses £370,000 and detached houses £537,500. Household incomes are higher than in 82% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B+.
Town in Cambridgeshire, England
Cottenham is a built-up area of 6,156 people, in the South Cambridgeshire 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.