Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,936 in Devon, South West. Only 5% of residents are 65 or over.
Cranbrook grades C overall against UK towns: better than 34% of UK towns, and #22 of 47 in Devon. Its strongest subject is jobs & income (B): mean household income £72,887; 2.6% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Its weakest is safety (C−): 46 violent and sexual offences and 10.7 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 11%. The median home sold for £275,000 in the last three years, 5.2 times what households in the East Devon council area earn in a year.
Devon And Cornwall Police published 33 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Cranbrook 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 Cranbrook is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 11 buildings inside Cranbrook’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
2% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Cranbrook. Best known first.
Theme parkCrealy Adventure Park2.7 km outside town, to the south
Abbey or prioryPolsloe Priory4.5 km outside town, to the westPark or estatePark or estate · National TrustCranbrook Country Park300 m outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseum · National TrustBudlake Old Post Office4.8 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionClyston Mill2.8 km outside town, to the northwestHistoric houseHistoric houseHay House3.6 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cranbrook.
Violent crime ran at 46 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Devon’s towns (21.4) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 383 crimes inside Cranbrook’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 38 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 68% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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
Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Martin's CofE Primary & Nursery SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 476 | C+ |
| Cranbrook Education CampusLargest secondary schoolAll-through | All-through | 1,066 | C− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Cranbrook has 11 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 2% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
On this, Cranbrook is above both Devon’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). One GP practice serves the town; 68% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Cranbrook | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 90% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.7% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
In the comparison, Cranbrook comes below both Devon’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £352,000 | 133 |
| Semi-detached | £275,496 | 125 |
| Terraced | £247,000 | 181 |
| Flat or maisonette | £192,500 | 25 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 27% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For Cranbrook, that is below both Devon’s towns (51%) and England’s towns (45%). 14% of commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Cranbrook sits below both Devon’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%) on this measure. Under-15s account for 27% of the population. Half the people of Cranbrook are older than 30.5.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Cranbrook | Devon | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 27% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 43% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 15% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 4.7% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 8.3% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 24% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 36% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Devon and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
11 listed buildings in Cranbrook.
Hillside Cottage: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · Stone Villa: Photo: Roger Cornfoot · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranbrook | 4,936 | — | C | B− | C− | C+ |
| Broadclyst | 1,549 | 1.7 | — | B− | B+ | A− |
| Clyst Honiton | 1,030 | 2.1 | — | B− | D− | A− |
| West Clyst | 2,683 | 2.3 | B− | C− | C+ | A− |
| Whimple | 1,120 | 2.6 | — | C | A | A |
| Clyst St Mary | 1,193 | 3.3 | — | C− | A− | A+ |
| West Hill | 2,109 | 4 | — | C− | A | A+ |
| Exeter | 126,181 | 4.8 | C | C− | D | C+ |
Broadclyst, Clyst Honiton, Whimple, Clyst St Mary and West Hill have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
A young town. At the 2021 Census, 27% of residents were under 15 and 43% were 25 to 44, against 18% and 27% across England’s towns; only 4.7% were 65 or over.
Burglary was rare, with 6 reports in the year.
Band D council tax in Cranbrook is £2,731 for 2026–27, more than in 97% 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.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Devon, England
Cranbrook is a built-up area of 4,936 people, in the East Devon 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.
