Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in Lincolnshire, East Midlands, home to 2,583 people.
Few weak spots anywhere. Recorded crime is low: 8.4 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 1 home and vehicle crimes. Cranwell’s overall grade is A+, better than almost every UK town. Housing is within reach: the median home sold for £190,000, 3.5 years of area income.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years. Cranwell is a military garrison town: most residents serve or work for the armed forces and live in service housing, so it keeps its grades but isn’t ranked against other towns.
The 3 things Cranwell 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 Cranwell is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 5 buildings inside Cranwell’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
8% 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 Cranwell.
Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Cranwell has less crime per resident than 100% of them. Each year, 1 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded per 1,000 residents. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 40 crimes and 15 reports of anti-social behaviour inside the town’s built-up area. There were 3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below Lincolnshire’s towns (9.7) 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
Key Stage 2 results at the 2 primary schools within 3 km: 65% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The town has one school, shown below. Its one primary school teaches 269 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cranwell Primary School (Foundation)Largest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 269 | C+ |
Social renters account for 6% of households. Private rents average £824 a month across the North Kesteven council area. Behind the median of £190,000: 86 standard sales inside Cranwell’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £275,000 | 33 |
| Semi-detached | £183,000 | 31 |
| Terraced | £159,975 | 22 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes built before 1919 account for 8% of the housing. Cranwell’s listed buildings include the Church of St Andrew, Grade I. One scheduled monument lies in the town.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
26% of commuters who live in Cranwell also work there. Working mainly from home: 35% of workers, higher than both Lincolnshire’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (31%). Driving is how 78% of commuters got to work at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Cranwell has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 2.9 miles away. 85% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, higher than both Lincolnshire’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (82%). A disability affects 16% of people in the town. Life expectancy here is 84.1 for women and 83.8 for men (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Cranwell | Lincolnshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.8% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 20% | 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.
Degrees are held by 35% of adults, above Lincolnshire’s towns (25%) and close to England’s towns (34%). Aged 15 to 24: 15% of residents. At 37.2, the median resident of Cranwell sits in the middle of the age range. Retirement age and beyond: 16% of residents are 65 or older.
45% women, 55% men
About 121 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Cranwell is a garrison town: service personnel living in barracks count as residents.
| Cranwell | Lincolnshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 31% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 9.9% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.9% | 6.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 27% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 35% | 25% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Lincolnshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranwell | 2,583 | — | A+ | A+ | A+ | B+ |
| Leasingham | 1,552 | 1.9 | — | A+ | A+ | B− |
| Sleaford | 18,028 | 3.5 | B− | A+ | C− | C+ |
| Ruskington | 5,650 | 3.5 | B+ | A | B+ | B− |
| Greylees | 1,989 | 3.9 | — | A | B− | A− |
| Navenby | 3,165 | 5.2 | A | A− | A | A− |
| Metheringham | 3,524 | 7.7 | B | A | A− | C+ |
| Heckington | 3,316 | 7.9 | B+ | A | A− | C |
Leasingham and Greylees have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Police recorded 40 crimes inside Cranwell’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 73% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £190,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £159,975, semi-detached houses £183,000 and detached houses £275,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Lincolnshire, England
Cranwell is a built-up area of 2,583 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.