Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 7,270 residents, it is a town in Cambridgeshire, East of England.
Real strengths, and real weak spots. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here (A): a quarter of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Overall, Sawston earns an A−, better than 82% of UK towns. In the ranking it comes #23 of 50 in Cambridgeshire. Hazard risk is higher than most: nearly one in ten homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Homes sell for a median £406,000, about 5.6 years of what households in the South Cambridgeshire council area earn. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for safety, B for schools and B− for health.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
The 3 things Sawston 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 Sawston is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 43 buildings inside Sawston’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I.
7% 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 Sawston. Best known first.
MuseumIWM Duxford3.2 km outside town, to the southwest · 401K visitors a year (2019)
MuseumAirborne Assault2.7 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumAmerican Air Museum3.5 km outside town, to the southwestChurchChurch · English HeritageDuxford Chapel500 m outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumRoyal Anglian Regiment Museum2.6 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Sawston.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Households take home £63K a year before tax, on average. 30% of commuters travelled under 5 km, lower than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (44%) and England’s towns (45%). Also worth knowing: for every resident in work, Sawston has 0.8 jobs. Work in town: 15% of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 2 primary schools: 58% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are two of its 3 schools, each with why it was picked. Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 54.2, with 60% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Bellbird Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 426 | C |
| Sawston Village CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,198 | A− |
Home ownership stands at nearly two thirds of households. 20% live in social housing, above both Cambridgeshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Half of the 254 standard sales inside Sawston’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £406,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £620,000 | 77 |
| Semi-detached | £395,000 | 110 |
| Terraced | £350,000 | 61 |
| Flat or maisonette | £158,500 | 6 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 272 offences in Sawston and 55 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 54% of the crimes. Each year, 8.2 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded per 1,000 residents.
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.
One GP practice serves the town; nearly three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Sawston is Addenbrooke's and the Rosie Hospitals, 3.8 miles away. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 4.7% of the town.
| Census 2021 | Sawston | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.7% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Sawston’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Mary, Grade I. 7% of its homes were built before 1919, below both Cambridgeshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (16%). Grade II* covers 1 of them, Grade I 2.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Ages in Sawston split evenly at 43.5: half are older, half younger. 22% of residents are 65 or over, higher than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Degrees are held by two in five adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Sawston | Cambridgeshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.4% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.5% | 5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 40% | 37% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cambridgeshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
43 listed buildings in Sawston, 2 of them Grade I.
Parish Church of St Mary: Photo: Marvinthefish · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Queen's Head Inn: Photo: Marvinthefish · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sawston Village College: Photo: CU4ever · CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Greyhound Public House: Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.0
5 notable people were born in Sawston.
Michael Birch: mickbirch, CC BY 2.0 · John Perkins: "Hay" (unidentified), Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sawston | 7,270 | — | A− | B+ | B | B− |
| Whittlesford | 1,608 | 1.5 | — | B− | B+ | A+ |
| Duxford | 2,216 | 2.2 | — | B− | A | A+ |
| Great Shelford and Stapleford | 6,159 | 2.3 | A+ | C+ | A | A+ |
| Hauxton | 1,322 | 3.4 | — | B− | A | A+ |
| Harston | 1,827 | 3.9 | — | B− | B | A+ |
| Great Chesterford | 1,775 | 4.3 | — | B | A− | A+ |
| Fulbourn | 3,737 | 4.5 | A | B− | B | B |
Whittlesford, Duxford, Hauxton, Harston and Great Chesterford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Parish Church of St Mary.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £406,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £158,500, terraced houses £350,000, semi-detached houses £395,000 and detached houses £620,000. Household incomes are higher than in 74% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B+.
Town in Cambridgeshire, England
Sawston is a built-up area of 7,270 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.