Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
15,037 people call this town in East Sussex, South East home.
A strong record with one exception. Overall, Uckfield earns a B, better than three fifths of UK towns. It ranks #5 of 26 in East Sussex. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: on the way to work, 18% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Schools do well: primary results beat 70% of towns in England; secondary results beat 54% of towns in England. What counts against it is cost of living: a typical home costs £375,000 and rent runs £1,262 a month. The rest of its grades are middling: B for safety, B for health, B for jobs & income and B− for hazard risk.
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 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Uckfield is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Uckfield does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 57 buildings inside Uckfield’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →57 listed buildings in Uckfield.
Buxted Park: Photo: The Voice of Hassocks · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hooke Hall: Photo: Julian Osley · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Baptist Church: Photo: The Voice of Hassocks · Public domain · The Parish Church of the Holy Cross: Photo: Hassocks5489 · CC0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Uckfield.
Renting privately is how 16% of households live. 10% live in social housing, lower than both East Sussex’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (18%). Half of the 811 standard sales inside Uckfield’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £375,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £525,000 | 270 |
| Semi-detached | £375,000 | 247 |
| Terraced | £309,000 | 198 |
| Flat or maisonette | £179,000 | 96 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Below are three of its 5 schools, each with why it was picked. Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 47.7, and 44% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Uckfield’s four primaries and one secondary have 2,757 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manor Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 399 | C |
| Uckfield CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,671 | B− |
| Harlands Community Primary & Nursery SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 267 | A |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 31% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Income per household averages £60K a year, before tax. Four in five commuters drove, above both East Sussex’s towns (66%) and England’s towns (70%). Jobs per working resident: 0.8. Work in town: 27% of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
A disability affects 16% of people in Uckfield. 84% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above both East Sussex’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%). The nearest A&E to Uckfield is Princess Royal Hospital, 8.4 miles away. 2 GP practices serve the town; just over four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Uckfield | East Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.2% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Police figures for Uckfield’s built-up area: 688 crimes and 230 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. There were 13.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above East Sussex’s towns (9.4) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 47% of recorded crime.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
12% of its homes were built before 1919, below East Sussex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. Grade II* covers 2 of them. One registered park or garden lies in Uckfield.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The 15-to-24 age group: 10%, below East Sussex’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Uckfield has a median age of 45.1. 17% of residents are children under 15.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Uckfield | East Sussex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.5% | 4.9% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 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 Uckfield. Best known first.
MuseumBentley Wildfowl and Motor Museum3.2 km outside town, to the southAttractionAttractionClinton Lodge Gardens4 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionBentley Miniature Railway3.2 km outside town, to the southAttractionAttractionBranching Out Adventures3.4 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
8 notable people were born in Uckfield.
John Batchelor: AleksandrGertsen, Public domain
Town in East Sussex, England
Uckfield is a built-up area of 15,037 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uckfield | 15,037 | — | B | D | B | B |
| Five Ash Down | 1,060 | 1.6 | — | D | B+ | A+ |
| Maresfield | 1,369 | 2 | — | D | A− | A+ |
| Buxted | 1,616 | 2 | — | D | A− | A+ |
| Newick | 2,689 | 3.9 | B+ | D− | A+ | A+ |
| Nutley | 1,218 | 4.5 | — | D | A | A |
| North Chailey | 1,008 | 5.1 | — | D− | A− | A |
| Ringmer | 3,221 | 5.8 | B | D− | B | A− |
Five Ash Down, Maresfield, Buxted, Nutley 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.
Band D council tax in Uckfield is £2,818 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.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £375,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £179,000, terraced houses £309,000, semi-detached houses £375,000 and detached houses £525,000.
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.