Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in Norfolk, East of England, home to 7,183 people.
Few extremes here. Its strongest is health: life expectancy is 82.7 for men and 86 for women. Overall, Aylsham earns a B+, better than 69% of UK towns. That places it #12 of 51 in Norfolk. The trade-off is jobs & income — households earn a mean £54,898 a year, and 2.6% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. It lags on hazard risk as well (C) — 0.9% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. Homes sell for a median £312,500, about 5.7 years of what households in the Broadland council area earn. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for safety, B− for schools and B for walkability.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Aylsham 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 Aylsham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 148 buildings inside Aylsham’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
17% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1900.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Aylsham.
16% are under 15, about level with Norfolk’s towns (16%) and below England’s towns (18%). The 15-to-24 age group makes up 8.7% of residents. The age that splits Aylsham in two is 49.9. Among adults, 29% have a degree.
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
| Aylsham | Norfolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.7% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 31% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.3% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 29% | 26% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Norfolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Below are two of its 4 schools, each with why it was picked. Aylsham’s three primaries and one secondary have 1,694 pupils between them. Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 48.6, with 54% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bure Valley SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 225 | B− |
| Aylsham High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,138 | B+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Historic England’s list names 148 listed buildings in Aylsham: 1 Grade I, 4 Grade II*. Of the town’s land, 24% lies in conservation areas, above both Norfolk’s towns (5%) and England’s towns (7%). 17% of homes date from before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 85% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Aylsham is Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, 12.1 miles away. At the census, 20% of people here had a disability, close to Norfolk’s towns (20%) and above England’s towns (17%).
| Census 2021 | Aylsham | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
72% of households own their home. The social rented sector houses 14% of households. Private rents average £938 a month across the Broadland council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £375,750 | 134 |
| Semi-detached | £275,000 | 127 |
| Terraced | £264,965 | 74 |
| Flat or maisonette | £168,750 | 20 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 28% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 16% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below Norfolk’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (27%) alike. Nearly a quarter of commuters who live in Aylsham also work there. For every resident in work, Aylsham has 0.8 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 51% of recorded crime. Police figures for Aylsham’s built-up area: 288 crimes and 64 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 9.4 reports per 1,000, above both Norfolk’s towns (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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Aylsham. Best known first.
Historic house · National TrustBlickling Hall1.6 km outside town, to the northwestPark or estatePark or estate · National TrustAbel Heath - Open Access Land900 m outside town, to the northwestPark or estatePark or estate · National TrustBlickling Park2.3 km outside town, to the northwestChurchChurchOulton Chapel4.7 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionAlby Crafts4.2 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
148 listed buildings in Aylsham, 1 of them Grade I.
Old Bank House: Photo: Ian Capper · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Feathers Public House: Photo: Stavros1 · CC BY 3.0 · Water Mill: Photo: Gareth Hughes · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Town Hall: Photo: Adrian S Pye · CC BY-SA 2.0
8 notable people were born in Aylsham.
Joseph Thomas Clover: Photographer unknown, but apparently set up by and on behalf of Clover himself for publicity purposes. Uploaded by Chiswick Chap at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Frederick Strange: not established, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aylsham | 7,183 | — | B+ | B | B | B+ |
| Hevingham | 1,039 | 3.4 | — | B+ | A | B− |
| Cawston | 1,114 | 3.9 | — | A− | A− | B |
| Badersfield | 1,490 | 4.4 | — | C+ | C− | B− |
| Reepham | 2,317 | 6 | — | B+ | B+ | B+ |
| North Walsham | 12,829 | 6.1 | D | C− | C+ | C |
| Horsford | 4,396 | 6.3 | A− | A− | B | B |
| Coltishall and Horstead | 2,255 | 6.4 | — | B+ | A | A− |
Hevingham, Cawston, Badersfield, Reepham and Coltishall and Horstead have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 8.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of Saint Michael Including Church Yard Boundary Wall.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Norfolk, England
Aylsham is a built-up area of 7,183 people, in the Broadland 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.