Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 7,043 residents in Leicestershire, East Midlands. 15% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
One weak subject stands out against an otherwise good record. Anstey grades B+ overall, better than 74% of UK towns. Its place in the ranking is #19 of 50 in Leicestershire. Where it does best is cost of living (A−) — the median home sold for £264,500, 4.8 years of area income. Safety lags: 25 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 14.8 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 34%. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for schools, B for health, B for jobs & income, B− for walkability and B for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The thing Anstey 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 Anstey is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 23 buildings inside Anstey’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*, and 4 scheduled monuments.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Anstey. Best known first.
Castle · English HeritageKirby Muxloe Castle3.9 km outside town, to the southwest
GardenBradgate Park1.8 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumNational Space Centre3.9 km outside town, to the southeast
Abbey or prioryLeicester Abbey4 km outside town, to the southeast
CastleGroby Castle1.9 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Anstey.
73% of households own their home. The £264,500 median rests on 316 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026). Private rents average £960 a month across the Charnwood council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £400,000 | 103 |
| Semi-detached | £265,000 | 113 |
| Terraced | £205,000 | 80 |
| Flat or maisonette | £135,500 | 20 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Below are two of its 3 schools, each with why it was picked. Between them, two primaries and one secondary teach 1,370 pupils in Anstey. Attainment 8 at the 6 secondary schools within 3 km averages 45.4, and 43% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Latimer Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 361 | B+ |
| The Martin High School AnsteyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 781 | B− |
Over the year to August 2026, 371 offences were reported in Anstey, along with 70 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 47% of the crimes. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 9.4 reports per 1,000, above both Leicestershire’s towns (6.7) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
84% of Anstey’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above both Leicestershire’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%). One GP practice serves the town; 58% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Life expectancy here is 85.2 for women and 80.3 for men (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Anstey | Leicestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.8% | 4.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 16% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 27% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 84% of commuters went by car. 2.6% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026, higher than both Leicestershire’s towns (2%) and England’s towns (2.3%). Anstey counts 0.4 jobs per working resident. Of the commuters living in the town, 8% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 1 of them. Anstey has 4 scheduled monuments.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Over-65s are just over a fifth of the population. The middle age in Anstey is 42.7. 30% of adults hold a degree, near Leicestershire’s towns (30%) and lower than England’s towns (34%).
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Anstey | Leicestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.5% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.2% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Leicestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
23 listed buildings in Anstey.
'King William's' Bridge See also LEICESTER 195: Photo: Mat Fascione · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Mary: Photo: Michig · CC BY-SA 3.0
5 notable people were born in Anstey.
Molly Smitten-Downes: Albin Olsson, CC BY-SA 3.0 · John Taylor: Raimund Kommer, CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anstey | 7,043 | — | B+ | A− | C+ | B |
| Cropston | 1,120 | 1.4 | — | C+ | A | A+ |
| Thurcaston | 1,649 | 1.8 | — | B− | C− | C+ |
| Groby | 6,559 | 1.9 | A | B | B− | A− |
| Birstall | 14,317 | 2.6 | A | B+ | B− | B+ |
| Ratby | 4,262 | 2.9 | B+ | A− | C | B− |
| Woodhouse Eaves | 1,618 | 3.5 | — | B− | B | A |
| Markfield | 4,761 | 3.5 | A | A− | B | B |
Cropston, Thurcaston and Woodhouse Eaves have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
About the middle for its size: 66% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Band D council tax in Anstey is £2,480 for 2026–27, more than in 59% 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.
Town in Leicestershire, England
Anstey is a built-up area of 7,043 people, in the Charnwood 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.
