Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 1,295 in Cambridgeshire, East of England. On the way to work, 13% walk, cycle or take a bus or train.
Health outcomes beat most towns (A): life expectancy is 82.6 for men and 86.2 for women. Jobs and pay hold up well: mean household income £67,079; 1.4% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. At a median £500,000, a home costs 6.9 times the yearly income of households in the South Cambridgeshire council area. Where it falls short is hazard risk: just over one in ten homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years. Fowlmere has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
The 3 things Fowlmere 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 Fowlmere is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Fowlmere has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Fowlmere’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
13% 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 Fowlmere. Best known first.
MuseumIWM Duxford3.3 km outside town, to the east · 401K visitors a year (2019)
MuseumAirborne Assault3.7 km outside town, to the east
MuseumAmerican Air Museum3 km outside town, to the east
ZooShepreth Wildlife Park3 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumBritish Airliner Collection3.2 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumRoyal Anglian Regiment Museum3.8 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Fowlmere.
Self-reported good health: 87% of Fowlmere’s residents. At the census, 14% of people here had a disability, below Cambridgeshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (17%) alike. In addition, 2.6% of residents report bad or very bad health. This Cambridgeshire town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 2.5 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Fowlmere | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.6% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 16% | 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 one school in town appears below. Key Stage 2 results at the 3 primary schools within 3 km: three in five pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). 73 pupils attend Fowlmere’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fowlmere Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 73 | D− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Fowlmere’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Mary, Grade I. Historic England’s list names 33 listed buildings locally: 1 Grade I. Of the town’s land, 19% lies in conservation areas, higher than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Homes saw 11.8 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, above both Cambridgeshire’s towns (9) and England’s towns (9.4). In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 41 crimes and 19 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Fowlmere’s built-up area. 44% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 48% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
85% of commuters took the car to work at the census. Of the commuters living in Fowlmere, 7% work in the town itself. The census counted 48% of workers working mainly from home.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Four in five households are owner-occupiers. Private rents average £1,408 a month across the South Cambridgeshire council area. The £500,000 median rests on 51 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £630,000 | 32 |
| Semi-detached | £381,250 | 14 |
| Terraced | £350,000 | 5 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
People 65 and over make up a quarter of the town, above both Cambridgeshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 7.4% of the town. At 48.9, the median resident of Fowlmere sits in the middle of the age range. 19% of residents are children under 15.
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Fowlmere | Cambridgeshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.4% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.1% | 5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 11% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 45% | 37% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cambridgeshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fowlmere | 1,295 | — | — | B− | B+ | A |
| Foxton | 1,275 | 1.7 | — | C+ | B− | A+ |
| Melbourn | 4,907 | 2.3 | A− | B+ | B | A− |
| Meldreth | 1,823 | 3 | — | B | B− | B+ |
| Barrington | 1,184 | 3 | — | C+ | B | A |
| Whittlesford | 1,608 | 3.2 | — | B− | B+ | A+ |
| Duxford | 2,216 | 3.4 | — | B− | A | A+ |
| Harston | 1,827 | 3.5 | — | B− | B | A+ |
Foxton, Meldreth, Barrington, Whittlesford, Duxford and Harston have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
That is 10.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of St Mary. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £500,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £350,000, semi-detached houses £381,250 and detached houses £630,000. Household incomes are higher than in 84% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B−.
Village in Cambridgeshire, England
Fowlmere is a built-up area of 1,295 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.