Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
14% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The town, home to 3,912 people, lies in Cambridgeshire, East of England.
Where it does best is cost of living (A−) — homes sell for a median £374,000, about 5.2 times local household income. Taken together, its subjects give Willingham an A− overall, better than 77% of UK towns. That places it #26 of 50 in Cambridgeshire. The trade-off is hazard risk (C) — 1.1% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for safety, B− for schools, B− for jobs & income and B− for walkability.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Willingham 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 Willingham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 32 buildings inside Willingham’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
16% 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 Willingham.
Households that own their home make up 70%. From September 2023 to August 2026, 114 homes sold inside Willingham’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £374,000. Private rents average £1,408 a month across the South Cambridgeshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £447,500 | 46 |
| Semi-detached | £355,500 | 32 |
| Terraced | £292,000 | 31 |
| Flat or maisonette | £180,000 | 5 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: three in five pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 52.8. The one school in town appears below. 364 pupils attend Willingham’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willingham Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 364 | D |
One GP practice serves the town; 80% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Willingham is Addenbrooke's and the Rosie Hospitals, 10.1 miles away. At the census, 4.2% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, close to Cambridgeshire’s towns (4.4%) and below England’s towns (5.2%).
| Census 2021 | Willingham | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.2% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures 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.
Willingham’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary and All the Saints, Grade I. Per 10,000 residents, Willingham counts 82 listed buildings, about level with Cambridgeshire’s towns (82) and above England’s towns (39). Also worth knowing: 16% of homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Violence and sexual offences were 47% of the crimes. Over the year to August 2026, 198 offences were reported in Willingham, along with 45 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Homes saw 9.6 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, about level with England’s towns (9.4) and above Cambridgeshire’s towns (9).
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.
Just over four in five commuters drove, above Cambridgeshire’s towns (72%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Working from home was the norm for just over two in five workers at the census. Work in town: 8% of resident commuters. In 2026, 3.3% of 16 to 64s were claiming unemployment benefits.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Willingham has a median age of 42.2 years. The under-15s are 19% of the population here. Just over two in five adults hold a degree, higher than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (37%) and England’s towns (34%).
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Willingham | Cambridgeshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 28% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 41% | 37% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cambridgeshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
32 listed buildings in Willingham, 1 of them Grade I.
Cattell's Mill: Photo: Rodney Burton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Duke of Wellington Public House, Willingham: Photo: JThomas · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Methodist Chapel: Photo: Martin Tester · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Willingham War Memorial: Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willingham | 3,912 | — | A− | A− | B− | B+ |
| Over | 2,898 | 1.7 | A+ | B+ | A | A− |
| Longstanton and Northstowe | 5,278 | 2.3 | A− | A− | C− | B+ |
| Swavesey | 2,739 | 3 | A | A− | C+ | A− |
| Cottenham | 6,156 | 3.2 | A | B+ | B− | B |
| Earith | 1,656 | 3.2 | — | A | B+ | A− |
| Oakington | 1,494 | 3.6 | — | A− | A | B+ |
| Bluntisham and Colne | 2,790 | 3.7 | A | A− | A | A− |
Earith and Oakington 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. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary and All the Saints.
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 £374,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £180,000, terraced houses £292,000, semi-detached houses £355,500 and detached houses £447,500. Household incomes are higher than in 84% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades A−.
Town in Cambridgeshire, England
Willingham is a built-up area of 3,912 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.