Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in Leicestershire, East Midlands, home to 9,509 people. Mortgage-free owners make up 42% of households.
Low prices, and some weak spots to weigh against them. Thurmaston’s overall grade, B−, puts it better than 48% of UK towns. The ranking puts it #41 of 50 in Leicestershire. Crime is the sore point: police record 34.3 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 19.7 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 14%. Residents’ health trails most towns: life expectancy is 78.3 for men and 82.3 for women. Cost of living is its strong suit (A−): a typical home costs £260,000 and rent runs £960 a month. It is easy to get around without a car (B+): on the way to work, 18% walk, cycle or take a bus or train.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS.
The 2 things Thurmaston 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 Thurmaston is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 4 buildings inside Thurmaston’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
7% 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 Thurmaston. Best known first.
CathedralLeicester Cathedral4.7 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumNational Space Centre2.7 km outside town, to the southwest
CastleLeicester Castle5 km outside town, to the southwest
Abbey or prioryLeicester Abbey3.4 km outside town, to the southwest
Abbey or prioryAbbey Pumping Station2.6 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumLeicester Guildhall4.7 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 Thurmaston.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
7% of Thurmaston’s homes date from before 1919, and Historic England’s list holds 4 listed buildings inside its built-up area: 1 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Thurmaston’s four primaries and one secondary have 1,658 pupils between them. Below are two of its 5 schools, each with why it was picked. Secondary results at the 7 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 48.3, with 47% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastfield Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 335 | C |
| The Roundhill AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 686 | C+ |
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 43% of recorded crime. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 704 crimes and 103 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Thurmaston’s built-up area. There were 10 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above Leicestershire’s towns (6.7) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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.
Council and housing-body homes hold just over one in ten households. 15% rent privately, lower than both Leicestershire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%). The median sale, £260,000, comes from 300 standard sales inside Thurmaston’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £320,000 | 62 |
| Semi-detached | £262,000 | 151 |
| Terraced | £220,000 | 76 |
| Flat or maisonette | £145,000 | 11 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
3 GP practices serve the town; 68% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 5.7% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above Leicestershire’s towns (4.7%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. 18% of residents in Thurmaston live with a disability.
| Census 2021 | Thurmaston | Leicestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.7% | 4.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 23% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
2.9% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026, above Leicestershire’s towns (2%) and England’s towns (2.3%) alike. By car: that was how nearly four in five commuters travelled at the census. Of the commuters living in Thurmaston, 12% work in the town itself. There are 1.1 jobs in Thurmaston for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Among adults, 26% have a degree. People 65 and over make up 22% of the town, above both Leicestershire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Under 15: 16% of residents. The middle age in Thurmaston is 43.7.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Thurmaston | Leicestershire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.5% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Leicestershire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
4 listed buildings in Thurmaston.
Remains of Old Chapel: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Thurmaston War Memorial: Photo: Ian S · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thurmaston | 9,509 | — | B− | A− | C− | C |
| Birstall | 14,317 | 1.5 | A | B+ | B− | B+ |
| Syston | 13,628 | 1.6 | B− | A− | C | C+ |
| Thurcaston | 1,649 | 2.5 | — | B− | C− | C+ |
| Queniborough | 3,087 | 2.6 | A | B | A− | A |
| East Goscote | 2,893 | 3.2 | A | A− | A− | A− |
| Leicester | 406,612 | 3.3 | D | D− | D | C− |
| Mountsorrel | 12,879 | 3.6 | A− | A− | C | B+ |
Thurcaston has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Band D council tax in Thurmaston is £2,517 for 2026–27, more than in 69% 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
Thurmaston is a built-up area of 9,509 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.
