Wisbech grades low on several counts. The town’s overall grade, D−, puts it better than 2% of UK towns. Its lowest grade is for hazard risk — 42.7% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. Crime is the sore point: 54.1 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 21.9 home and vehicle crimes. Set beside UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, its crime per resident is higher than in 93%. The median home sold for £195,000, 4.2 times what households in the Fenland council area earn in a year. Fewer journeys need a car: on the way to work, 23% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Schools are weaker too — primary results beat 6% of towns in England; secondary results beat 14% of towns in England.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Wisbech is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Wisbech.
Who lives here
Degrees are less common in Wisbech than in Cambridgeshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 16% of adults
Children under 15 make up 17%, below Cambridgeshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. A fifth of residents are 65 or over. Wisbech has a median age of 41.7. People aged 15 to 24 are 11% of the population.
41.7median age
WisbechCambridgeshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
20%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications32%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar13%
Degree level16%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
ONS Census 2021 · Cambridgeshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
SchoolsD
On exam results, Wisbech’s schools trail 94% of towns in England
Wisbech’s seven primaries and two secondaries have 3,480 pupils between them. Two of its 11 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Attainment 8 at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km averages 40.3, and 35% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 11 schools →
Safety
Wisbech has more crime per resident than 95% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
3,010 crimes and 618 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Wisbech’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 22.1 reports per 1,000, above Cambridgeshire’s towns (8.7) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 47% of recorded crime.
54.1violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 7% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: more crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual1,414
Damage & arson310
Other theft305
Shoplifting229
Public order191
Drugs132
Other crime117
Burglary86
Anti-social618
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.
54.1
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
21.9
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
22.1
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
Health
Wisbech’s life expectancy trails 95% of UK towns
The nearest A&E to Wisbech is The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 13.2 miles away. 78% of people in Wisbech rate their own health good or very good. At the census, 6.8% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, higher than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (4.4%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Add to that, a disability affects a fifth of people in the town.
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.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
Benefit claims run higher in Wisbech, 6% of 16 to 64s, than in Cambridgeshire’s towns or across England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 12% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Just over one in ten workers worked mainly from home, below Cambridgeshire’s towns (34%) and England’s towns (31%) alike. Jobs per working resident: 1.3. Of the commuters living in Wisbech, 53% work in the town itself. Income per household averages £41K a year, before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
History
A town of 273 listed buildings, 4 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Scaled to its population, Wisbech has 102 listed buildings per 10,000 people, higher than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (82) and England’s towns (39). The town’s listed buildings include the Church of All Saints, Grade I. At the top of the list, 4 are Grade I and 23 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
HousingCost of living grade B−
More households rent privately in Wisbech than in Cambridgeshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 27%
54% of households are owner-occupiers. No town in Cambridgeshire costs less to buy into than Wisbech, at £195,000, the lowest of 51. 897 standard sales inside the town’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £195,000.
£195Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Wisbech£195K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£240,000
374
Semi-detached
£190,000
313
Terraced
£145,000
171
Flat or maisonette
£75,000
39
54%
of households own their home · England 61%
27%
rent privately · England 21%
£847
average private rent a month, Fenland council area
William Godwin: Henry William Pickersgill, Public domain · Harry Kroto: NIMSoffice, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Octavia Hill: John Singer Sargent, Public domain · Thomas Clarkson: Carl Frederik von Breda, Public domain · Jody Cundy: Jim Thurston from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
Leverington, Wisbech St Mary, Friday Bridge, Gorefield, Marshland St James and Walpole St Peter and Walpole St Andrew have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Wisbech
Does Wisbech flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
How many listed buildings are there in Wisbech?
That is 4.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Church of All Saints. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
About Wisbech
Large town in Cambridgeshire, England
Wisbech is a built-up area of 26,800 people, in the Fenland 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
Population
26,800 (Census 2021)
Council
Fenland (mostly)
County
Cambridgeshire
Region
East of England
Area
3.5 sq mi (9.2 km²)
ONS code
E63002509
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.
