Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The large town, home to 50,729 people, lies in Leicestershire, East Midlands.
Cheap to live in, with trade-offs. Prices are modest for what you get (A−): homes sell for a median £260,000, about 4.9 times local household income. At B+ overall, Hinckley is better than 67% of UK towns and ranks #28 of 50 in Leicestershire. What counts against it is safety — police record 30.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 16.7 home and vehicle crimes. Only 82% of UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more have more crime per resident. The rest of its grades are middling: B for schools, C+ for health, B− for jobs & income and B for walkability.
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.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Hinckley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The thing Hinckley does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 42 buildings inside Hinckley’s built-up area, 4 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
10% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →42 listed buildings in Hinckley.
The Old Grange and Attached Stable Wing: Photo: Mat Fascione · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Church of St Catherine: Photo: Poliphilo · CC0 · The Holly Bush Public House: Photo: Roy William Shakespeare · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Atkins Brothers (Hosiery) Factory: Photo: A J Paxton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Hinckley.
Social housing holds 10% of households, lower than both Leicestershire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). 16% of households rent privately. Private rents average £934 a month across the Hinckley and Bosworth council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £368,747 | 802 |
| Semi-detached | £250,000 | 974 |
| Terraced | £197,000 | 473 |
| Flat or maisonette | £125,000 | 170 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Attainment 8 at the town’s 3 secondary schools averages 48.1, and 49% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Of its 16 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. Some 6,876 pupils attend Hinckley’s 11 primaries and three secondaries.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battling Brook Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 602 | D |
| The Hinckley SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,080 | C |
| Saint Peter's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 190 | A |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Hinckley logged 3,411 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 499 complaints of anti-social conduct. 42% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. There were 8.2 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Hinckley has 42 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 4 Grade II*. Relative to its size, Hinckley keeps 8 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, below both Leicestershire’s towns (34) and England’s towns (39). The national list protects one ancient monument locally.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
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.
42% of commuters who live in Hinckley also work there. At the census, 16% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train. Unemployment benefit claims came to 2.7% of 16 to 64s in 2026, above Leicestershire’s towns (2%) and England’s towns (2.3%) alike. For every resident in work, Hinckley has 0.9 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
5 GP practices serve the town; just over three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 4.6% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, about level with Leicestershire’s towns (4.7%) and below England’s towns (5.2%). 82% of Hinckley’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 83% across Leicestershire’s towns.
| Census 2021 | Hinckley | Leicestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 4.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 16% | 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.
One measure of family life: 16% of residents are under 15. 21% of residents are 65 or over, above Leicestershire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Hinckley has a median age of 43.1 years. Among adults, 29% have a degree.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Hinckley | Leicestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.5% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.5% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 29% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Leicestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Hinckley. Best known first.
MuseumNuneaton Museum and Art Gallery3.7 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumBosworth Field Visitor Centre4.6 km outside town, to the northAttractionAttractionAmbion Hill4.8 km outside town, to the northAttractionAttractionKing Richard's Well4.6 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
21 notable people were born in Hinckley.
Charlotte Mary Brame: Unknown photographer, Public domain · Andy Lee: Benutzer:Bill da Flute, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Alan Taylor: Egghead06, Public domain · Nat Langham: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain
Large town in Leicestershire, England
Hinckley is a built-up area of 50,729 people, in the Hinckley and Bosworth 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinckley | 50,729 | — | B+ | A− | C | C+ |
| Barwell | 9,149 | 2.4 | B− | A | C | C− |
| Stoke Golding | 2,004 | 2.9 | — | B− | B | A− |
| Earl Shilton | 10,885 | 3.3 | C | A− | C | C |
| Sharnford | 1,066 | 3.4 | — | B+ | B | B |
| Stoney Stanton | 4,090 | 3.7 | B | B+ | B− | B |
| Sapcote | 3,266 | 3.8 | B− | B | C+ | B− |
| Nuneaton | 88,818 | 4.7 | C− | B− | D | C− |
Stoke Golding and Sharnford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Band D council tax in Hinckley is £2,329 for 2026–27, less than in 70% 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.
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.