Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,794 in Lincolnshire, East Midlands.
Where it does best is cost of living (A+): homes sell for a median £230,000, about 4.3 times local household income. Pupils here do less well than most: primary results beat 15% of towns in England; secondary results beat 30% of towns in England. Put together, the subjects come to an A− overall, better than 85% of UK towns. The ranking puts it #8 of 61 in Lincolnshire. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for health and C+ for walkability.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · life expectancy, ONS · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Bracebridge Heath 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 Bracebridge Heath is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 13 buildings inside Bracebridge Heath’s built-up area.
3% 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 Bracebridge Heath. Best known first.
CathedralLincoln Cathedral3.5 km outside town, to the north
CastleLincoln Castle3.6 km outside town, to the north
MuseumLincoln Museum3.3 km outside town, to the north
Historic house · English HeritageMedieval Bishop's Palace3.4 km outside town, to the north
MuseumUsher Gallery3.3 km outside town, to the north
MuseumInternational Bomber Command Centre1.3 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bracebridge Heath.
9% live in social housing, below Lincolnshire’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £824 a month across the North Kesteven council area. The median sale, £230,000, comes from 277 standard sales inside Bracebridge Heath’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £280,000 | 141 |
| Semi-detached | £195,000 | 71 |
| Terraced | £180,000 | 37 |
| Flat or maisonette | £121,500 | 28 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The town has one school, shown below. At the 11 primary schools within 3 km, 53% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). GCSE results at the 4 secondary schools within 3 km: 38% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 43.6.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bracebridge Heath St John's Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 358 | C |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
3% of its homes were built before 1919, below both Lincolnshire’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (16%). Bracebridge Heath has 22 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Violence came to 17.4 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Lincolnshire’s towns (21.4) and England’s towns (22). The 12 months to August 2026 brought 196 recorded crimes inside Bracebridge Heath’s built-up area, and 70 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Bracebridge Heath records less crime per resident than 80% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
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
At the census, 4.7% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, lower than both Lincolnshire’s towns (5.9%) and England’s towns (5.2%). One GP practice serves the town; 89% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Women here live to 84.6 on average and men to 81.3 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Bracebridge Heath | Lincolnshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.7% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on 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.
The car took 85% of commuters, higher than both Lincolnshire’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (70%); what’s more, 53% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. Of the commuters living in Bracebridge Heath, 6% work in the town itself. Before tax, the average household brings in £56K a year.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
People 65 and over make up 19% of the town, lower than Lincolnshire’s towns (22%) yet higher than England’s towns (18%). Half the people of Bracebridge Heath are older than 43.7. One in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Bracebridge Heath | Lincolnshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 6.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 21% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 33% | 25% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Lincolnshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
13 listed buildings in Bracebridge Heath.
The Manor House: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Homestead: Photo: Trevor Rickard · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bracebridge Heath | 5,794 | — | A− | A+ | B+ | B |
| Waddington | 6,828 | 1.5 | A | A+ | A− | C+ |
| Branston | 4,285 | 2.4 | B+ | A | B | B− |
| Lincoln | 104,553 | 2.5 | D− | C+ | D | D |
| North Hykeham | 16,855 | 2.6 | A− | A | B | B− |
| Washingborough and Heighington | 6,386 | 3.2 | A | A | A | B+ |
| South Hykeham | 1,070 | 3.7 | — | A | B− | B− |
| Skellingthorpe | 3,116 | 4.5 | B+ | A | B+ | B− |
South Hykeham has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 71% of towns in England, and primary results trail 85% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Lincolnshire council.
Police recorded 196 crimes inside Bracebridge Heath’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 54% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Lincolnshire, England
Bracebridge Heath is a built-up area of 5,794 people, in the North Kesteven 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.
