Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Over-65s are 30% of the population. Some 4,888 people live in this town, in East Sussex, South East.
Several subjects drag its grade down. Rye’s overall grade is D−, behind almost every UK town. Where it falls short is cost of living (D−) — homes sell for a median £380,000, about 7.4 times local household income. Pupils here do less well than most: primary results beat 6% of towns in England; secondary results beat 14% of towns in England. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 28% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Police record more crime here than in most towns (D): 41.5 violent and sexual offences and 20.1 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Against UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 91%. It lags on jobs & income as well: households earn a mean £46,067 a year, and 3.3% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
The 3 things Rye 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 Rye is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 303 buildings inside Rye’s built-up area, 4 of them Grade I, and 8 scheduled monuments.
32% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1720 and a map from 1945.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Rye.
8.5% of the population is aged 15 to 24, below both East Sussex’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). Under 15: 14% of residents. Typical age in Rye: 52.5, the median. Graduates make up 29% of adults.
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
| Rye | East Sussex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.5% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 30% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.6% | 4.9% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 29% | 36% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · East Sussex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Below are its two schools. Key Stage 2 results at the 4 primary schools within 3 km: nearly half of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Some 847 pupils attend Rye’s one primary and one secondary.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rye Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 202 | D |
| Rye CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 645 | C− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Relative to its size, Rye keeps 620 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above both East Sussex’s towns (69) and England’s towns (39). The town’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. Homes built before 1919 account for nearly a third of the housing. Grade II* covers 10 of them, Grade I 4.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
19% rent privately, below both East Sussex’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (21%). 264 standard sales inside Rye’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £380,000. Private rents average £1,165 a month across the Rother council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £592,500 | 48 |
| Semi-detached | £390,000 | 64 |
| Terraced | £352,500 | 114 |
| Flat or maisonette | £206,250 | 38 |
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 30% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Short trips to work, under 5 km: 45%, lower than East Sussex’s towns (53%) and near England’s towns (45%). About 38% of its commuters stay in Rye for work. Jobs per working resident: 1.1.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Police figures for Rye’s built-up area: 465 crimes and 122 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. There were 24.6 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above East Sussex’s towns (9.4) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Of all the crimes, 45% were 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.
2 GP practices serve the town; 88% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 21% of residents have a disability, higher than both East Sussex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (17%). Women here live to 85.7 on average and men to 81.5 (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Rye is Conquest Hospital, 8.4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Rye | East Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Rye. Best known first.
Historic house · National TrustLamb Housein town
CastleRye Castlein town
Castle · English HeritageCamber Castle800 m outside town, to the south
FortRoyal Military Canal1.5 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumWinchelsea Corporation Museum2.1 km outside town, to the southwestCastleCastleWomen's Prisonin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
303 listed buildings in Rye, 4 of them Grade I.
Ypres Tower and part of Rye Town Wall: Photo: Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Church of St Mary: Photo: Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rye Working Men's Conservative Club: Photo: Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rye Windmill: Photo: Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0
14 notable people were born in Rye.
Joan Aiken: LizzaAiken, Public domain · Isaac Todhunter: Alexander Macfarlane, Public domain · John Braxton Hicks: G. Jerrard, CC BY 4.0 · Ian Read Gibbons: Gwendolyn Gibbons, Public domain · Bourn Russell: Unknown engraver, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rye | 4,888 | — | D− | D− | D | B− |
| Winchelsea Beach | 1,027 | 2.2 | — | D− | C+ | B− |
| Camber | 1,132 | 3 | — | D− | D− | C+ |
| Fairlight | 1,561 | 5.9 | — | D− | A+ | B+ |
| Northiam | 1,910 | 6.4 | — | D− | A− | B− |
| Westfield | 1,271 | 7.3 | — | D− | D | B |
| Lydd | 3,911 | 7.8 | D | C | C+ | C− |
| Tenterden | 7,775 | 8.7 | C | C− | C | B+ |
Winchelsea Beach, Camber, Fairlight, Northiam and Westfield have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
That is 25.4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Church of St Mary. It also has 8 scheduled monuments.
Rye has 2 state schools; places are handled by East Sussex council.
Town in East Sussex, England
Rye is a built-up area of 4,888 people, in the Rother 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.