Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2,739 people call this town in Cambridgeshire, East of England home. 16% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
The picture is mixed. Overall, Swavesey earns an A: better than 86% of UK towns, and #17 of 50 in Cambridgeshire. Jobs & income is its strong suit — the mean household earns £78,196 a year. Cost of living is another plus: homes sell for a median £365,000, about 5 times local household income. Hazard risk is higher than most: 24.4% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. Its other grades sit near the middle: C+ for safety, B− for schools and B for walkability.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Swavesey 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 Swavesey is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 20 buildings inside Swavesey’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
13% 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 Swavesey.
Social housing holds just over one in ten households, below both Cambridgeshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £1,408 a month across the South Cambridgeshire council area. Behind the median of £365,000: 86 standard sales inside Swavesey’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £485,000 | 40 |
| Semi-detached | £320,000 | 25 |
| Terraced | £282,500 | 18 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Some 1,565 pupils attend Swavesey’s one primary and one secondary. Both of its schools are shown below. Key Stage 2 results at the 3 primary schools within 3 km: 52% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swavesey Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 311 | B |
| Swavesey Village CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,254 | A− |
One GP practice serves the town; 93% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 88% of people in Swavesey called their health good or very good, above both Cambridgeshire’s towns (84%) and England’s towns (82%). Disability touches 13% of the town’s population. Also worth knowing: the nearest A&E to Swavesey is Hinchingbrooke Hospital, 8.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Swavesey | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.7% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 44% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
44% of workers worked mainly from home at the census. Unemployment benefit claims came to 1.8% of 16 to 64s in 2026, lower than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (2.1%) and England’s towns (2.3%). Swavesey counts 1.6 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
140 crimes and 50 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Swavesey’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Burglary and damage came to 10.8 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Cambridgeshire’s towns (9) and England’s towns (9.4). Violence and sexual offences were 58% of the crimes.
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 1 of them. The national list protects one ancient monument in Swavesey. Relative to its size, Swavesey keeps 73 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Line up the people of Swavesey by age and the one in the middle is 41.5. 19% are under 15, above Cambridgeshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. The share aged 15 to 24 is 11%.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Swavesey | Cambridgeshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 11% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.4% | 5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 44% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swavesey | 2,739 | — | A | A− | C+ | A− |
| Over | 2,898 | 1.6 | A+ | B+ | A | A− |
| Longstanton and Northstowe | 5,278 | 2.5 | A− | A− | C− | B+ |
| Fenstanton | 3,015 | 2.6 | B+ | A− | C+ | A |
| Needingworth | 2,059 | 2.6 | — | A− | A− | A |
| Willingham | 3,912 | 3 | A− | A− | B− | B+ |
| Bar Hill | 3,899 | 3.4 | A+ | A | B+ | A+ |
| St Ives | 16,818 | 4 | A− | A | C+ | B |
Needingworth has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
That is 3 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £365,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £282,500, semi-detached houses £320,000 and detached houses £485,000. Household incomes are higher than in 97% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades A−.
About the middle for its size: 60% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+.
Town in Cambridgeshire, England
Swavesey is a built-up area of 2,739 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.