Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in East Sussex, South East has a population of 16,066.
Real strengths, and real weak spots. The weak point is cost of living (D−) — the median home sold for £445,000, 8 years of area income. Crime runs high (C−): 37.5 violent and sexual offences and 15.6 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Against UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 68%. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: on the way to work, 40% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. All told, that adds up to a C+ overall, better than 36% of UK towns. Its place in the ranking is #13 of 26 in East Sussex. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for schools, B for health and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Lewes is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Lewes does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 525 buildings inside Lewes’s built-up area, 9 of them Grade I, and 6 scheduled monuments.
31% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 4 old photos and postcards going back to 1903 and a map from 1898.
525 listed buildings in Lewes, 9 of them Grade I.
Keep to Lewes Castle: Photo: Arild Vågen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ruins of Lewes Priory: Photo: JohnArmagh · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jireh Chapel and Sunday School to North: Photo: Charlesdrakew · Public domain · Bridge House: Photo: Arild Vågen · CC BY-SA 4.0
Lewes, Delaware, is named after Lewes.
USUS editionLewes, Delaware, settled in 1631, takes its name from this town.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Lewes.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Lewes’s listed buildings include Barbican to Lewes Castle and Walls to South, Grade I. It has 525 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 9 Grade I, 22 Grade II*. Homes from before 1919 make up 31% of the total, higher than both East Sussex’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Three of its 5 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 4 primary schools: just over three in five pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Some 2,209 pupils attend Lewes’s four primaries and one secondary.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wallands Community Primary and Nursery SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 324 | C− |
| Priory SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,153 | B+ |
| Western Road Community Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 214 | A |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 46% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 57% of commuters, lower than both East Sussex’s towns (66%) and England’s towns (70%). Lewes counts 1.7 jobs per working resident. Of the commuters living in the town, 35% work in the town itself. Average household income is £64K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The median sale, £445,000, comes from 739 standard sales inside Lewes’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. 64% of households are owner-occupiers. Social housing holds 17% of households, above East Sussex’s towns (13%) but below England’s towns (18%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £951,000 | 60 |
| Semi-detached | £550,000 | 175 |
| Terraced | £494,750 | 302 |
| Flat or maisonette | £260,000 | 202 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Reported offences in Lewes came to 1,354 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 431. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 23.6 reports per 1,000, higher than both East Sussex’s towns (9.4) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences made up two fifths of the total.
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.
At the census, a fifth of people here had a disability, close to East Sussex’s towns (20%) and above England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Lewes is Royal Sussex County Hospital, 6.5 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 78% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Lewes | East Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The under-15s are 16% of the population here. The 15-to-24 age group: 10%, below East Sussex’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. The middle age in Lewes is 46.7. Retirement age and beyond: just over a fifth of residents are 65 or older.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Lewes | East Sussex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.5% | 4.9% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 49% | 36% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · East Sussex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Lewes. Best known first.
CastleLewes Castle - Barbican gatein town
Abbey or prioryLewes Prioryin town
MuseumAnne of Cleves' Housein town
Historic house · National TrustMonk's House2.9 km outside town, to the south
Historic houseGlyndebourne2.8 km outside town, to the east
Historic houseGlynde Place3.2 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
48 notable people were born in Lewes.
Connor Swindells: MTV International on YouTube, CC BY 3.0 · Ruth Ware: Librairie Mollat, CC BY 3.0 · Finnegan Oldfield: Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0
Town in East Sussex, England
Lewes is a built-up area of 16,066 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewes | 16,066 | — | C+ | D− | C− | B |
| Ringmer | 3,221 | 2.6 | B | D− | B | A− |
| Plumpton Green | 1,060 | 4.8 | — | D− | A+ | A+ |
| East Saltdean | 2,892 | 5.2 | B | D− | A | B |
| Peacehaven | 15,705 | 5.5 | D | D | C+ | C |
| Telscombe Cliffs | 4,237 | 5.5 | C | D | B− | B− |
| Ditchling | 1,123 | 6 | — | D− | A− | A+ |
| Newhaven | 12,857 | 6 | D | D | D | C |
Plumpton Green and Ditchling have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 13.4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Barbican to Lewes Castle and Walls to South. It also has 6 scheduled monuments.
Band D council tax in Lewes is £2,840 for 2026–27, more than in 99% 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.
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.