Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 3,518 people, lies in Leicestershire, East Midlands. 44% of households own their home outright.
One weak subject stands out against an otherwise good record. Residents are healthier than most (B+): life expectancy is 80.7 for men and 86.1 for women. Cosby grades B+ overall, better than 69% of UK towns. Its place in the ranking is #25 of 50 in Leicestershire. Add jobs & income to its strengths — households earn a mean £54,983 a year, and 1.9% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. It is hard to get around without a car: on the way to work, 8% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. School results trail most towns: primary results beat just over three in five towns in England; secondary results beat 15% of towns in England. At a median £275,000, a home costs 5 times the yearly income of households in the Blaby council area.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Cosby 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 Cosby is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 13 buildings inside Cosby’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
14% 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 Cosby.
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.
25% of commuters travelled under 5 km, below both Leicestershire’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%). Cosby counts 0.4 jobs per working resident. The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 1.9%.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Cosby Primary School’s results beat 85% of schools in England like it. Attainment 8 at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km averages 39.9, and 36% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Its only school is listed below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosby Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 326 | A |
Young adults of 15 to 24 are a tenth of the population. Children under 15 make up 16%, below both Leicestershire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). The median resident of Cosby is 46.7 years old.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Cosby | Leicestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.8% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.8% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Leicestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest A&E to Cosby is Leicester Royal Infirmary, 5.6 miles away. The town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.5 miles away. 84% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, higher than both Leicestershire’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%).
| Census 2021 | Cosby | Leicestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 4.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 16% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
12% live in social housing, below Leicestershire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Owners make up 77% of households. Behind the median of £275,000: 123 standard sales inside Cosby’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £421,500 | 36 |
| Semi-detached | £265,000 | 67 |
| Terraced | £235,000 | 19 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Cosby has less crime per resident than 73% of them. Over the year to August 2026, 125 offences were reported locally, along with 30 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences accounted for a third 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.
Grade II* covers 1 of them. Homes from before 1919 make up 14% of the total, between Leicestershire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
4 notable people were born in Cosby.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cosby | 3,518 | — | B+ | B+ | B+ | B+ |
| Littlethorpe | 1,918 | 1.1 | — | B+ | B− | A− |
| Blaby and Whetstone | 14,072 | 1.4 | B− | B+ | C+ | B |
| Enderby and Narborough | 13,178 | 2 | B+ | B+ | C | B |
| Countesthorpe | 7,674 | 2 | B+ | B | B | A |
| Croft | 1,748 | 2.1 | — | B+ | B+ | B+ |
| Broughton Astley | 9,649 | 2.2 | A | A+ | B+ | B+ |
| Huncote | 2,168 | 2.3 | — | B+ | A | B+ |
Littlethorpe, Croft and Huncote 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.
Town in Leicestershire, England
Cosby is a built-up area of 3,518 people, in the Blaby 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.