Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
18,028 residents make their home in this town in Lincolnshire, East Midlands.
Homes are affordable here, though not without reasons. Buying a home costs less than in most towns: homes sell for a median £205,000, about 3.8 times local household income. It also does well on walkability: a fifth of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its lowest grade is for safety (C−): police record 41.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 10.6 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 35%. Jobs & income is weaker too (C) — mean household income £51,708; 3.4% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The overall grade comes out at B−, #31 of 61 in Lincolnshire. That leaves it better than 54% of UK towns.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
The 2 things Sleaford 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 Sleaford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 177 buildings inside Sleaford’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 3 old photos and postcards going back to 1859.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Sleaford.
Social housing holds 13% of households, about level with Lincolnshire’s towns (14%) and below England’s towns (18%). 937 standard sales inside Sleaford’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £205,000. Private rents average £824 a month across the North Kesteven council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £275,000 | 379 |
| Semi-detached | £190,000 | 340 |
| Terraced | £152,500 | 185 |
| Flat or maisonette | £80,000 | 33 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Below are three of its 6 schools, each with why it was picked. Kesteven and Sleaford High School Selective Academy’s results beat 95% of schools in England like it. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 3 primary schools: 58% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Botolph's C of E Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 402 | C+ |
| St George's AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 2,281 | D |
| Kesteven and Sleaford High School Selective AcademyTop results in townSecondary | Secondary | 747 | A+ |
Violence and sexual offences were 48% of the crimes. A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 1,400 offences in Sleaford and 390 cases of nuisance behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 24.2 reports per 1,000, above both Lincolnshire’s towns (9.5) and England’s towns (7.8).
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 21% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
78% of commuters drove, near Lincolnshire’s towns (79%) and higher than England’s towns (70%). The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 3.4%. Of the commuters living in Sleaford, 25% work in the town itself. The town counts 0.6 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Sleaford’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Denys, Grade I. Relative to its size, Sleaford keeps 98 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, higher than both Lincolnshire’s towns (42) and England’s towns (39). Grade II* covers 6 of them, Grade I 1.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest A&E to Sleaford is Lincoln County Hospital, 16.8 miles away. At the census, nearly a fifth of people here had a disability, below Lincolnshire’s towns (20%) but above England’s towns (17%). 5.2% of residents report bad or very bad health.
| Census 2021 | Sleaford | Lincolnshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.2% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 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.
Sleaford has a median age of 43.2. People 65 and over make up a fifth of the town, between Lincolnshire’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (18%). Graduates make up 26% of adults.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Sleaford | Lincolnshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 6.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 25% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Lincolnshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Sleaford. Best known first.
Abbey or prioryHaverholme Priory3.6 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumCranwell Aviation Heritage Centre3.4 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
177 listed buildings in Sleaford, 1 of them Grade I.
Parish Church of St Denys: Photo: Rensi · Public domain · Town Hall (Sessions House): Photo: David Hallam-Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Former maltings of Bass Industrial Estate: Photo: Richard Croft · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Marquis of Granby Public House and Attached Outbuildings: Photo: Noswall59 · CC BY-SA 4.0
18 notable people were born in Sleaford.
Jennifer Saunders: Diggies99, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Charles Haslewood Shannon: Charles Haslewood Shannon, Public domain · Morris Gleitzman: Campbelltown City Council, CC BY 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sleaford | 18,028 | — | B− | A+ | C− | C+ |
| Greylees | 1,989 | 1.9 | — | A | B− | A− |
| Leasingham | 1,552 | 2 | — | A+ | A+ | B− |
| Ruskington | 5,650 | 3.4 | B+ | A | B+ | B− |
| Cranwell | 2,583 | 3.5 | A+ | A+ | A+ | B+ |
| Heckington | 3,316 | 4.8 | B+ | A | A− | C |
| Billinghay | 2,198 | 7.9 | — | A+ | A− | C− |
| Billingborough | 1,390 | 7.9 | — | A+ | B+ | B− |
Greylees, Leasingham, Billinghay and Billingborough have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of St Denys.
About the middle for its size: 65% 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−.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £205,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £80,000, terraced houses £152,500, semi-detached houses £190,000 and detached houses £275,000.
Town in Lincolnshire, England
Sleaford is a built-up area of 18,028 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.