Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 2,658: a town in Cambridgeshire, East of England. Secondary school results beat 94% of towns in England.
A town without an obvious weak point. Residents are healthier than most: life expectancy 83.7 for men, 85.6 for women. It also does well on jobs & income — the mean household earns £68,071 a year. Buying the median home, at £493,950, takes 6.8 years of household income in the South Cambridgeshire council area. Overall, that makes an A+, good for #6 of 50 in Cambridgeshire. That leaves it better than 98% of UK towns.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Hardwick 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 Hardwick is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 7 buildings inside Hardwick’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
2% 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 Hardwick.
At the census, 14% of people here had a disability, below both Cambridgeshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (17%). 3.3% of residents report bad or very bad health. Hardwick has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Hardwick | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.3% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 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.
Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 56.8, with 61% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. The one school in town appears below. At the 6 primary schools within 3 km, 64% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardwick and Cambourne Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 585 | C |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Scaled to its population, Hardwick has 26 listed buildings per 10,000 people, below Cambridgeshire’s towns (82) and England’s towns (39) alike. Homes from before 1919 make up 2% of the total.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Violence and sexual offences were two fifths of the crimes. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 148 recorded crimes inside Hardwick’s built-up area, and 25 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violent crime ran at 16.7 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (19.2) and England’s towns (22).
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 42% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 84% of commuters, higher than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (72%) and England’s towns (70%). 1.4% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026. For every resident in work, Hardwick has 0.2 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
8% of households live in social housing. Private renters make up 12% of households, lower than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%). From September 2023 to August 2026, 121 homes sold inside Hardwick’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £493,950.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £626,865 | 64 |
| Semi-detached | £392,000 | 41 |
| Terraced | £312,250 | 16 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
People aged 15 to 24 make up a tenth of the town, below both Cambridgeshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). The middle age in Hardwick is 44.1. Under-15s account for 17% of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Hardwick | Cambridgeshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 9.8% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.6% | 5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardwick | 2,658 | — | A+ | B− | B+ | A+ |
| Highfields Caldecote | 2,049 | 1.3 | — | B− | A− | A+ |
| Comberton | 2,255 | 2 | — | B | B+ | A+ |
| Bar Hill | 3,899 | 2.7 | A+ | A | B+ | A+ |
| Cambourne | 11,071 | 3 | A+ | B+ | B− | A |
| Girton | 4,384 | 3.6 | A+ | C+ | A | A+ |
| Oakington | 1,494 | 4.3 | — | A− | A | B+ |
| Haslingfield | 1,535 | 4.7 | — | B− | A | A+ |
Highfields Caldecote, Comberton, Oakington and Haslingfield have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £493,950, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £312,250, semi-detached houses £392,000 and detached houses £626,865. Household incomes are higher than in 86% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B−.
Primary results are closer to the middle, beating 65%. One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Cambridgeshire council.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Cambridgeshire, England
Hardwick is a built-up area of 2,658 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.