Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,880 in Cambridgeshire, East of England.
Good value, with catches elsewhere. Prices are modest for what you get: the median home sold for £300,000, 5 years of area income. At B+ overall, Sutton ranks #33 of 50 in Cambridgeshire. On that grade it does better than 69% of UK towns. Health outcomes beat most towns (B+): life expectancy is 82.1 for men and 83.9 for women. The trade-off is schools — primary results beat 20% of towns in England. It also trails on walkability (C−): on the way to work, 9% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for jobs & income and B for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · life expectancy and income, ONS · commuting, Census 2021 · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The thing Sutton 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 Sutton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 15 buildings inside Sutton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
11% 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 Sutton.
The private rented sector houses 11% of households. Private rents average £1,038 a month across the East Cambridgeshire council area. Half of the 119 standard sales inside Sutton’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £300,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £373,030 | 62 |
| Semi-detached | £283,750 | 32 |
| Terraced | £238,000 | 23 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
There is one school here; it is shown below. 55% of pupils at the 2 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its one primary school teaches 271 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sutton CofE VC Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 271 | C− |
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.
11% of commuters travelled under 5 km, lower than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (44%) and England’s towns (45%). For every resident in work, Sutton has 0.3 jobs. Households take home £61K a year before tax, on average.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The nearest A&E to Sutton is Hinchingbrooke Hospital, 14.1 miles away. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3.9% of the town. One GP practice serves the town; 84% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Sutton | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.9% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 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.
Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Sutton has less crime per resident than 72% of them. 138 crimes and 61 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside the town’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Just over two fifths of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 13.6 reports per 1,000, above Cambridgeshire’s towns (8.7) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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.
Sutton’s listed buildings include the Church of St Andrew, Grade I. For its size, Sutton has 39 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, lower than Cambridgeshire’s towns (82) and near England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Degrees are held by 32% of adults, about level with England’s towns (34%) and below Cambridgeshire’s towns (37%). Those 65 and older account for 20% of residents. Sutton has a median age of 42.7 years.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Sutton | Cambridgeshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 37% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cambridgeshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
15 listed buildings in Sutton, 1 of them Grade I.
Sutton in the Isle War Memorial: Photo: Hugh Venables · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Granary: Photo: Keith Edkins · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sutton | 3,880 | — | B+ | A | B+ | B+ |
| Haddenham | 3,050 | 2.6 | B+ | A− | B+ | B+ |
| Witchford | 2,386 | 3.5 | — | A− | C+ | B+ |
| Earith | 1,656 | 4.3 | — | A | B+ | A− |
| Somersham | 3,349 | 5 | A | A | B+ | A− |
| Bluntisham and Colne | 2,790 | 5.2 | A | A− | A | A− |
| Stretham | 2,070 | 5.2 | — | B+ | B+ | B+ |
| Chatteris | 11,022 | 5.4 | D | C+ | B− | C |
Witchford, Earith and Stretham 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 81% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Cambridgeshire council.
Band D council tax in Sutton is £2,510 for 2026–27, more than in 67% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Cambridgeshire, England
Sutton is a built-up area of 3,880 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.
