Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Private rents average £653 a month. This town in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and The Humber has a population of 3,375.
Where it does best is safety — 13.4 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 6.1 home and vehicle crimes. Messingham grades A− overall and ranks #10 of 61 in Lincolnshire. Nationally, it does better than just over four fifths of UK towns. Health is another plus (B+) — life expectancy 82.1 for men, 84.7 for women. What holds it back is walkability (D) — on the way to work, 8% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. The median home sold for £232,500, 5.2 times what households in the North Lincolnshire council area earn in a year. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for schools and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · claimants, DWP.
The 3 things Messingham 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 Messingham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 8 buildings inside Messingham’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
9% 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 Messingham.
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.
Households had £50K a year before tax, close to Lincolnshire’s towns (£48K) and below England’s towns (£55K). By car: that was how just over nine in ten commuters travelled at the census. 1.9% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 36% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 42.2. Below is its only school. At the 5 primary schools within 3 km, 67% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Messingham Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 249 | B+ |
Reported offences in Messingham came to 67 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 4. There were 1.6 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), lower than both Lincolnshire’s towns (9.7) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences made up just over two fifths of the total.
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.
9% of homes date from before 1919. Relative to its size, Messingham keeps 24 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, below Lincolnshire’s towns (42) and England’s towns (39) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
There is no GP practice in Messingham: the nearest is 2 miles off. 17% of residents in Messingham live with a disability. Also worth knowing: the nearest A&E to Messingham is Scunthorpe General Hospital, 4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Messingham | Lincolnshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Social housing holds 5% of households, below Lincolnshire’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Just over one in ten households are private tenants. From September 2023 to August 2026, 140 homes sold inside Messingham’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £232,500.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £280,000 | 86 |
| Semi-detached | £171,000 | 43 |
| Terraced | £112,000 | 11 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
At 53.6, the median resident of Messingham sits in the middle of the age range. 13% are under 15, below both Lincolnshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Degrees are held by 28% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Messingham | Lincolnshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 16% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 31% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.3% | 6.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 21% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Messingham | 3,375 | — | A− | B+ | A− | B+ |
| Scotter | 2,946 | 2.3 | B+ | A | A− | B− |
| Scunthorpe | 81,286 | 3.2 | C+ | A | D− | D |
| Kirton in Lindsey | 3,066 | 4.4 | C+ | A− | B− | C+ |
| Scawby | 1,606 | 4.7 | — | B+ | A | B |
| Broughton | 4,499 | 4.9 | A− | A | B | C+ |
| Hibaldstow | 2,022 | 5.5 | — | B+ | B | C+ |
| Keadby | 1,446 | 5.5 | — | A | C− | C− |
Scawby, Hibaldstow and Keadby have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Band D council tax in Messingham is £2,364 for 2026–27, less than in 64% 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 Lincolnshire, England
Messingham is a built-up area of 3,375 people, in the North Lincolnshire 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.