Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 1,123 residents, it is a village in East Sussex, South East.
Health outcomes beat most towns: life expectancy 83.2 for men, 86.6 for women. It also does well on jobs & income — the mean household earns £68,897 a year. Buying in is costly: the median home sold for £645,000, 11.6 years of area income. Natural hazards are less of a worry than in most UK towns (A).
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency. With fewer than 2,500 residents, Ditchling has subject grades but no overall one.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Ditchling is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
With fewer than 2,500 residents, Ditchling has subject grades but no overall one.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Ditchling does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Ditchling’s built-up area.
25% 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 Ditchling.
People aged 15 to 24 make up nearly a tenth of the town, below both East Sussex’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Those 65 and older account for nearly a third of residents.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Ditchling | East Sussex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.9% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 13% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 32% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 8.1% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.6% | 4.9% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 53% | 36% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · East Sussex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the census, 14% of people here had a disability, below both East Sussex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (17%). Women here live to 86.6 on average and men to 83.2 (2019–23). Seeing a GP means leaving Ditchling: the nearest practice is 2.2 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Ditchling | East Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Private renters make up 8% of households. 9% live in social housing, lower than both East Sussex’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (18%). Behind the median of £645,000: 52 standard sales inside Ditchling’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,027,500 | 22 |
| Semi-detached | £650,000 | 15 |
| Terraced | £450,000 | 11 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
The pre-1919 share of homes is 25%. Ditchling’s listed buildings include Anne of Cleves House Wings Place, Grade I. Of the town’s 50 listed buildings on Historic England’s list, Grade I counts 2 and Grade II* 2. Conservation areas cover 20% of the town’s land, higher than both East Sussex’s towns (4%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 3.9 reports per 1,000, lower than both East Sussex’s towns (9.6) and England’s towns (7.8). Homes see 11.9 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. Police figures for Ditchling’s built-up area: 31 crimes and 6 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Nearly a third of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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 56% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
56% of workers worked mainly from home, above East Sussex’s towns (35%) and England’s towns (31%) alike. The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 1.3%. Work in town: 6% of resident commuters. Ditchling counts 0.9 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Ditchling. Best known first.
MuseumDitchling Museum of Art + Craftin town
FortWolstonbury Hill4.1 km outside town, to the west
FortDitchling Beacon1.4 km outside town, to the southAttractionAttractionBlackcap4.3 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumStanmer Craft Museum5 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
3 notable people were born in Ditchling.
Village in East Sussex, England
Ditchling is a built-up area of 1,123 people, in the Lewes 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ditchling | 1,123 | — | — | D− | A− | A+ |
| Hassocks and Hurstpierpoint | 14,216 | 1.7 | A+ | C+ | B+ | A |
| Plumpton Green | 1,060 | 2.4 | — | D− | A+ | A+ |
| Burgess Hill | 33,352 | 2.7 | A | B | C+ | B+ |
| Wivelsfield Green | 1,012 | 3.4 | — | D− | A+ | A+ |
| Haywards Heath | 40,186 | 5.4 | A+ | B | B | A− |
| Lewes | 16,066 | 6 | C+ | D− | C− | B |
| North Chailey | 1,008 | 6 | — | D− | A− | A |
Plumpton Green, Wivelsfield Green and North Chailey have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £645,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £450,000, semi-detached houses £650,000 and detached houses £1,027,500.
That is 18.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Anne of Cleves House Wings Place.
Band D council tax in Ditchling is £2,721 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.
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.