Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2,653 people live in this town in Lincolnshire, East Midlands.
Swineshead’s weakest is walkability: on the way to work, 6% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Recorded crime is low: 20.9 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 4.7 home and vehicle crimes. Homes sell for a median £235,000, about 5.6 years of what households in the Boston council area earn. All told, that adds up to a C− overall and a rank of #43 of 61 in Lincolnshire. Nationally, it does better than 22% of UK towns.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
The 3 things Swineshead 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 Swineshead is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 12 buildings inside Swineshead’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
16% 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 Swineshead.
10% of residents are aged 15 to 24. The middle age in Swineshead is 45.2. Retirement age and beyond: nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or older. Children under 15 make up 16%, close to Lincolnshire’s towns (16%) and below England’s towns (18%).
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Swineshead | Lincolnshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 22% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.6% | 6.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 19% | 25% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Lincolnshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Its one school is below. At the one primary school within 3 km, 62% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). 240 pupils attend Swineshead’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swineshead St Mary's Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 240 | B− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 18% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
93% of commuters drove, above both Lincolnshire’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (70%). Average household income comes to £45K a year before tax. For every resident in work, Swineshead has 0.5 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Households that own their home make up 70%. Private rents average £806 a month across the Boston council area. Half of the 152 standard sales inside Swineshead’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £235,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £274,000 | 94 |
| Semi-detached | £182,000 | 47 |
| Terraced | £155,000 | 9 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Reported offences in Swineshead came to 84 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 21. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Swineshead has less crime per resident than 74% of them. Violence and sexual offences made up 55% 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 nearest A&E to Swineshead is Pilgrim Hospital, 7 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; just over four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 20% of residents have a disability, near Lincolnshire’s towns (20%) and higher than England’s towns (17%).
| Census 2021 | Swineshead | Lincolnshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.8% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Swineshead’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. 2 scheduled monuments lie locally. Conservation areas cover 5% of the town’s land, between Lincolnshire’s towns (2%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
12 listed buildings in Swineshead, 1 of them Grade I.
Wheatsheaf Hotel: Photo: Richard Croft · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Stump Cross: Photo: Richard Croft · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swineshead | 2,653 | — | C− | C− | B+ | C+ |
| Donington | 3,192 | 3.5 | D | C+ | C+ | C+ |
| Sutterton | 1,068 | 4.6 | — | D | C | C− |
| Kirton | 5,576 | 4.6 | D− | C− | C | C− |
| Gosberton | 1,455 | 5.5 | — | C+ | B− | C |
| Boston | 45,347 | 5.9 | D | C+ | D | C− |
| Heckington | 3,316 | 6.3 | B+ | A | A− | C |
| Surfleet | 1,042 | 7.4 | — | C+ | B− | C+ |
Sutterton, Gosberton and Surfleet 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.
Town in Lincolnshire, England
Swineshead is a built-up area of 2,653 people, in the Boston 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.
