Stamford grades A− overall against UK towns: better than 76% of UK towns, and #14 of 61 in Lincolnshire. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 23% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The median home sold for £315,000 in the last three years, 6 times what households in the South Kesteven council area earn in a year.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Stamford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Stamford.
History
444 listed buildings, 8 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Stamford has 444 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 8 Grade I, 103 Grade II*. For its size, Stamford has 214 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above both Lincolnshire’s towns (42) and England’s towns (39). Stamford’s listed buildings include Bastion, Grade I.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 6 schools →
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
Stamford is more walkable than 86% of UK towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 32% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
41% of commuters travelled under 5 km, below both Lincolnshire’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%). The car carried 75% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Who lives here
Stamford has fewer young adults than Lincolnshire’s towns or England’s towns: 9% are 15 to 24
On this, Stamford is below both Lincolnshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Those 65 and older account for 23% of residents. The median resident of Stamford is 44.8 years old.
44.8median age
StamfordLincolnshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
23%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications15%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level35%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Health
Bad health is less common in Stamford than in Lincolnshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 4.3% of residents
In the comparison, Stamford comes below both Lincolnshire’s towns (5.9%) and England’s towns (5.2%). The nearest A&E to Stamford is Peterborough City Hospital, 10.1 miles away. 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.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Safety
Violence is recorded more often in Stamford than in Lincolnshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 27.6 per 1,000 residents a year
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
For Stamford, that is above both Lincolnshire’s towns (21.1) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 1,169 crimes inside Stamford’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 381 reports of anti-social behaviour. Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Stamford has less crime per resident than 72% of them.
27.6violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC+Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 72% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: less crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual578
Shoplifting104
Other theft101
Damage & arson92
Public order92
Vehicle crime58
Burglary47
Other crime39
Anti-social381
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.
27.6
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
8.3
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
15.9
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
Nicola Roberts: Nicola_Roberts_Newcastle_001.JPG: Polishednailsalon derivative work: Funkfried333, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ed Lowe: Hilary Lowe, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Colin Furze: Tessa Bury, CC BY 4.0 · David Jackson: roberto scorta, CC BY 2.0
Ryhall, Easton on the Hill, Ketton, Barnack, Helpston and King's Cliffe have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Stamford
How many listed buildings are there in Stamford?
That is 8.8 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Bastion. It also has 13 scheduled monuments.
Is Stamford safe?
Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C+. Police recorded 1,169 crimes inside Stamford’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 49% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
About Stamford
Large town in Lincolnshire, England
Stamford is a built-up area of 20,745 people, in the South 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
Population
20,745 (Census 2021)
Council
South Kesteven
County
Lincolnshire
Region
East Midlands
Area
2.1 sq mi (5.6 km²)
ONS code
E63002557
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.
