Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Cambridgeshire, East of England has a population of 2,920.
Cheap to live in, with trade-offs. Gamlingay grades B+ overall and ranks #30 of 50 in Cambridgeshire. Set against the rest, it does better than 71% of UK towns. Its standout strength is health: life expectancy is 83.5 for men and 85.9 for women. It is strong on cost of living as well: a typical home costs £350,000 and rent runs £1,408 a month. The catch is schools (D−): primary results beat 3% of towns in England. Getting around depends on the car: one in ten commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
Figures: life expectancy, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Gamlingay 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 Gamlingay is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 61 buildings inside Gamlingay’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
17% 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 Gamlingay.
Aged 15 to 24: 8.2% of residents. Ages in Gamlingay split evenly at 51: half are older, half younger.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Gamlingay | Cambridgeshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.2% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 30% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.1% | 5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 37% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cambridgeshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Its one school is below. At the 3 primary schools within 3 km, 46% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). 387 pupils attend Gamlingay’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gamlingay Village PrimaryLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 387 | C− |
Gamlingay has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 2.1 miles away. The nearest A&E to Gamlingay is Bedford Hospital, 12 miles away. At the census, 4.5% of people here described their health as bad or very bad.
| Census 2021 | Gamlingay | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.5% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 16% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
11% rent privately, below both Cambridgeshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%). Social housing holds just over one in ten households. The median sale, £350,000, comes from 131 standard sales inside Gamlingay’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £560,000 | 48 |
| Semi-detached | £335,000 | 36 |
| Terraced | £311,250 | 42 |
| Flat or maisonette | £200,000 | 5 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Gamlingay’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Grade I. It counts 61 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 1 Grade I, 5 Grade II*. Of the town’s land, 22% lies in conservation areas, above both Cambridgeshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 36% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Driving is how 88% of commuters got to work at the census. 2.8% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026, above Cambridgeshire’s towns (2.1%) and England’s towns (2.3%) alike. Average household income comes to £62K a year before tax. About 6% of its commuters stay in Gamlingay for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Gamlingay has less crime per resident than 74% of them. Police recorded 84 crimes inside the town’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 24 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up 56% of the total.
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.
61 listed buildings in Gamlingay, 1 of them Grade I.
The Emplins: Photo: Richard Thomas · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Baptist Chapel: Photo: nick macneill · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Wheatsheaf Public House: Photo: John Sutton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hardwicke Arms Public House: Photo: Richard Thomas · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamlingay | 2,920 | — | B+ | A− | B+ | A |
| Potton | 5,229 | 2 | B | B+ | B+ | A− |
| Sandy | 11,375 | 4.4 | C+ | A− | C | C |
| Biggleswade | 21,945 | 5.2 | B− | B+ | B− | C+ |
| Blunham | 1,391 | 5.6 | — | B− | D− | B |
| Upper Caldecote | 1,333 | 5.8 | — | B− | B | B |
| St Neots | 33,262 | 5.8 | B+ | A | C | B− |
| Great Barford | 2,254 | 6.8 | — | C+ | B+ | B |
Blunham, Upper Caldecote and Great Barford 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 97% 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 8.6 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary the Virgin.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £350,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £200,000, terraced houses £311,250, semi-detached houses £335,000 and detached houses £560,000. Household incomes are higher than in 73% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades A−.
Town in Cambridgeshire, England
Gamlingay is a built-up area of 2,920 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.