Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The weak point is schools: primary results beat just over a fifth of towns in England; secondary results beat 18% of towns in England. Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work: 7% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Natural hazards are few (A). At a median £377,500, a home costs 6.5 times the yearly income of households in the Wealden council area. Put together, the subjects come to a C overall, better than 28% of UK towns. In the ranking it comes #17 of 26 in East Sussex. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for safety, B for health and B for jobs & income.
Figures: flood risk, Environment Agency · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · claimants, DWP.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Stone Cross is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 2 things Stone Cross does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 2 buildings inside Stone Cross’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
5% 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 Stone Cross.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
5% of its homes were built before 1919, below both East Sussex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (16%). Relative to its size, Stone Cross keeps 4 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. Historic England’s list names 2 listed buildings in the town: 1 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
55% of pupils at the 12 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below is its only school. Attainment 8 at the 4 secondary schools within 3 km averages 40.9, and 37% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stone Cross SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 419 | C− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
43% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. About 2% of its commuters stay in Stone Cross for work. For every resident in work, Stone Cross has 0.4 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Private tenants account for 10% of households. 6% live in social housing, lower than both East Sussex’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (18%). 279 standard sales inside Stone Cross’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £377,500.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £420,000 | 161 |
| Semi-detached | £323,747 | 68 |
| Terraced | £286,000 | 39 |
| Flat or maisonette | £175,000 | 11 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Men in Stone Cross can expect to live to 82.1, women to 84.3 (2019–23). 86% of people in Stone Cross rate their own health good or very good. At the census, 15% of people here had a disability, below East Sussex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (17%) alike. One GP practice serves the town; 73% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Stone Cross | East Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.5% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 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.
Violence accounts for 24.2 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 255 offences in Stone Cross and 73 cases of nuisance behaviour. Burglary and damage came to 8 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both East Sussex’s towns (8.9) and England’s towns (9.4).
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
Degrees are held by 29% of adults, lower than both East Sussex’s towns (36%) and England’s towns (34%). Over-65s are 16% of the population. Ages in Stone Cross split evenly at 38.1: half are older, half younger. The share aged 15 to 24 is 11%.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Stone Cross | East Sussex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.6% | 4.9% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 21% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 29% | 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 Stone Cross. Best known first.
Castle · English HeritagePevensey Castle1.7 km outside town, to the east
CastleRedoubt Fortress4.4 km outside town, to the southAttractionAttractionEastbourne Miniature Steam Railway2.9 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumPolegate Windmill2.3 km outside town, to the westTheme parkTheme parkTreasure Island & Adventure Golf4.1 km outside town, to the southTheme parkTheme parkFort Fun3.7 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Town in East Sussex, England
Stone Cross is a built-up area of 5,036 people, in the Wealden 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone Cross | 5,036 | — | C | C− | B− | B |
| Westham | 1,861 | 1 | — | C− | B+ | B |
| Polegate | 10,067 | 2 | C | C | B | C |
| Lower Willingdon | 6,126 | 2.2 | B− | C− | A− | A− |
| Crumbles | 3,056 | 2.2 | C+ | D− | A | B |
| Eastbourne | 99,171 | 2.3 | D− | D− | D | C |
| Pevensey Bay | 2,890 | 2.6 | C | C | A− | B− |
| Hailsham | 22,560 | 3.8 | D | C | C+ | C |
Westham has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 82% of towns in England, and primary results trail 80% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by East Sussex council.
Band D council tax in Stone Cross is £2,639 for 2026–27, more than in 91% 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.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £377,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £175,000, terraced houses £286,000, semi-detached houses £323,747 and detached houses £420,000.
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.