Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 2,070 in Cambridgeshire, East of England.
Schools do well: primary results beat 74% of towns in England. Add cost of living to its strengths (B+): the median home sold for £348,750, 5.8 years of area income. It is hard to get around without a car: on the way to work, 8% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for jobs & income and C+ for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency. With fewer than 2,500 residents, Stretham has subject grades but no overall one.
The 2 things Stretham 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 Stretham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
With fewer than 2,500 residents, Stretham has subject grades but no overall one.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Stretham’s built-up area.
14% 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 Stretham.
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.
The car carried nine in ten commuters at the census. Household income came to £60K a year before tax, between Cambridgeshire’s towns (£66K) and England’s towns (£55K). Stretham counts 0.4 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
At the 3 primary schools within 3 km, nearly two thirds of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below is its only school. Its one primary school teaches 185 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stretham Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 185 | B− |
Home ownership stands at 71% of households. Social housing holds 15% of households, lower than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Also worth knowing: half of the 78 standard sales inside Stretham’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £348,750.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £423,000 | 36 |
| Semi-detached | £309,975 | 26 |
| Terraced | £245,000 | 16 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The nearest A&E to Stretham is Addenbrooke's and the Rosie Hospitals, 12.5 miles away. 15% of residents have a disability, below Cambridgeshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (17%) alike. Seeing a GP means leaving Stretham: the nearest practice is 3.2 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Stretham | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.4% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 50 offences in Stretham and 23 cases of nuisance behaviour. Each year, 12.1 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded per 1,000 residents. Violence and sexual offences made up 40% 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.
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. Of Stretham’s land, 20% lies in conservation areas, above both Cambridgeshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (7%). Before 1919: that is when 14% of homes were built.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Residents of Stretham have a median age of 44.7. Those 65 and older account for 20% of residents. 17% are under 15, lower than Cambridgeshire’s towns (18%) and near England’s towns (18%).
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Stretham | Cambridgeshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.7% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 33% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stretham | 2,070 | — | — | B+ | B+ | B+ |
| Witchford | 2,386 | 2.8 | — | A− | C+ | B+ |
| Haddenham | 3,050 | 3.2 | B+ | A− | B+ | B+ |
| Ely | 19,185 | 4.2 | A | B+ | C+ | A− |
| Soham | 10,609 | 4.8 | B+ | A | B− | C+ |
| Sutton | 3,880 | 5.2 | B+ | A | B+ | B+ |
| Waterbeach | 5,375 | 5.5 | A− | A− | C+ | B |
| Little Downham | 1,234 | 5.9 | — | A | A | B+ |
Witchford and Little Downham have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.4 times the typical UK town for its size.
Primary results beat 74% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Cambridgeshire council.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £348,750, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £245,000, semi-detached houses £309,975 and detached houses £423,000. Household incomes are higher than in 68% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B+.
Village in Cambridgeshire, England
Stretham is a built-up area of 2,070 people, in the East 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.