Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
3,015 people call this town in Cambridgeshire, East of England home.
Easy on the wallet, harder on other counts. Health is a strength: men here can expect to live to 83.9, women to 86.5. Homes are affordable (A−): a typical home costs £343,500 and rent runs £1,057 a month. What holds it back is schools: primary results beat 8% of towns in England. It also trails on walkability — 11% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. The overall grade comes out at B+, #38 of 50 in Cambridgeshire. Nationally, it does better than nearly two thirds of UK towns.
Figures: life expectancy, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Fenstanton 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 Fenstanton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 45 buildings inside Fenstanton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
10% 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 Fenstanton.
Below is its only school. Key Stage 2 results at the 4 primary schools within 3 km: 50% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The town’s primary school has 229 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fenstanton and Hilton Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 229 | C− |
Fenstanton has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.8 miles away. 15% of residents in Fenstanton live with a disability. The nearest A&E to Fenstanton is Hinchingbrooke Hospital, 6.3 miles away. Asked at the census, 85% of residents of Fenstanton said they were in good or very good health.
| Census 2021 | Fenstanton | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.8% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
72% of households own their home, higher than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (61%) and England’s towns (61%). 110 standard sales inside Fenstanton’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £343,500. It is the 27th most expensive of 51 towns of 2,500+ in Cambridgeshire.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £455,000 | 51 |
| Semi-detached | £291,000 | 34 |
| Terraced | £288,500 | 20 |
| Flat or maisonette | £170,000 | 5 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
87% of commuters drove, above Cambridgeshire’s towns (72%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Income per household averages £66K a year, before tax. About 6% of its commuters stay in Fenstanton for work. Jobs per working resident: 0.4.
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.
Grade II* covers 3 of them, Grade I 1. Per 10,000 residents, Fenstanton counts 149 listed buildings, above Cambridgeshire’s towns (82) and England’s towns (39) alike. Its listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul, Grade I. 10% of homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 121 crimes and 28 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Fenstanton’s built-up area. 64% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Homes saw 10.2 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, above both Cambridgeshire’s towns (9) and England’s towns (9.4).
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.
People aged 15 to 24 are a tenth of the population. Half of Fenstanton is older than 43, half younger. Degrees are held by 35% of adults, about level with England’s towns (34%) and below Cambridgeshire’s towns (37%).
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Fenstanton | Cambridgeshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.5% | 5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 35% | 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 Fenstanton. Best known first.
Historic houseThe Manor2.9 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumNorris Museum2.4 km outside town, to the northHistoric siteHistoric site · National TrustHoughton Mill4.5 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionHilton Turf Maze and Sparrows Monument2.5 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
45 listed buildings in Fenstanton, 1 of them Grade I.
The Manor House: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Grove House: Photo: Hugh Venables · CC BY-SA 2.0 · King William IV Public House: Photo: Hugh Venables · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Swan Cottage: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fenstanton | 3,015 | — | B+ | A− | C+ | A |
| Hemingford Grey | 3,372 | 1.7 | A+ | A− | A | A |
| Hilton | 1,052 | 2.3 | — | B | A+ | A+ |
| St Ives | 16,818 | 2.5 | A− | A | C+ | B |
| Swavesey | 2,739 | 2.6 | A | A− | C+ | A− |
| Needingworth | 2,059 | 2.7 | — | A− | A− | A |
| Houghton | 1,368 | 3.3 | — | B− | A− | A+ |
| Over | 2,898 | 3.7 | A+ | B+ | A | A− |
Hilton, Needingworth and Houghton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Primary results trail 93% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Cambridgeshire council.
That is 6.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul.
About the middle for its size: 63% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+.
Town in Cambridgeshire, England
Fenstanton is a built-up area of 3,015 people, in the Huntingdonshire 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.