Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 27,451 people live in this large town, in Leicestershire, East Midlands. Over-65s are 22% of the population.
Melton Mowbray’s weakest is schools — primary results beat 15% of towns in England; secondary results beat 27% of towns in England. Where it does best is cost of living (A): the median home sold for £247,500, 4.6 years of area income. Fewer journeys need a car: on the way to work, 22% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. All told, that adds up to a B− overall, better than 47% of UK towns. In the ranking it comes #43 of 50 in Leicestershire. The rest of its grades are middling: C+ for health and C+ for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · life expectancy, ONS · flood risk, Environment Agency.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Melton Mowbray is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 2 things Melton Mowbray does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 107 buildings inside Melton Mowbray’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1903.
Explore the history →107 listed buildings in Melton Mowbray, 1 of them Grade I.
Parish Church of St Mary: Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Anne of Cleves House: Photo: Russ Hamer · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison Dieu Bedehouses: Photo: Richard Croft · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The George Hotel: Photo: No Swan So Fine · CC BY-SA 4.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Melton Mowbray.
13% live in social housing, below Leicestershire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £806 a month across the Melton council area. From September 2023 to August 2026, 1,519 homes sold inside Melton Mowbray’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £247,500.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £325,000 | 587 |
| Semi-detached | £229,975 | 586 |
| Terraced | £183,712 | 297 |
| Flat or maisonette | £137,250 | 49 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Two of its 10 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Secondary results at the town’s 2 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 42.4, with 39% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. 53% of pupils at the town’s 6 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brownlow Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 517 | C |
| John Ferneley CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,170 | C− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 21% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Work in town: 48% of resident commuters. Melton Mowbray counts 1 jobs per working resident. 21% of workers worked mainly from home, below both Leicestershire’s towns (26%) and England’s towns (31%). Average household income is £51K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Burglary and damage add up to 15.7 per 1,000 residents each year. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 2,011 crimes and 303 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Melton Mowbray’s built-up area. There were 10.9 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above Leicestershire’s towns (6.7) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences were just over two fifths of the crimes.
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.
Children under 15 make up 17%, about level with England’s towns (18%) and below Leicestershire’s towns (18%). 22% of residents are 65 or over. Half the people of Melton Mowbray are older than 44.1. Degrees are held by just over a quarter of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Melton Mowbray | Leicestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.7% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.3% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Leicestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the census, 4.1% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. The nearest A&E to Melton Mowbray is Leicester Royal Infirmary, 14.3 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 51% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Melton Mowbray | Leicestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.1% | 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 11% of the total. Melton Mowbray’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Mary, Grade I. Also worth knowing: at the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 5 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
40 notable people were born in Melton Mowbray.
Paul Anderson: Bradford City AFC, CC BY 3.0 · Louise Doughty: TimDuncan, CC BY 3.0 · John Brooks: Original: DSanchez17 from St Albans, England Derivative work: THeShavidow1, CC BY 2.0 · Tom Brake: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0 · Craig Dalrymple: Lord Bob, CC0 · Craig Dolby: Officially Mr X, CC BY 3.0
Large town in Leicestershire, England
Melton Mowbray is a built-up area of 27,451 people, in the Melton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melton Mowbray | 27,451 | — | B− | A | C− | C+ |
| Asfordby | 2,761 | 2.9 | B+ | A | C+ | B− |
| Waltham on the Wolds | 1,034 | 4.7 | — | B | B+ | B+ |
| Rearsby | 1,181 | 7.1 | — | C+ | A | A |
| Langham | 1,400 | 7.5 | — | B | A+ | B+ |
| East Goscote | 2,893 | 7.9 | A | A− | A− | A− |
| Queniborough | 3,087 | 8.2 | A | B | A− | A |
| Barleythorpe | 1,344 | 8.3 | — | A | A | A− |
Waltham on the Wolds, Rearsby, Langham and Barleythorpe 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: 62% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C−.
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.