Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 556 in Norfolk, East of England.
Towns under 1,000 residents aren’t graded, so Blakeney has no grades; its figures are still real. People aged 65 and over make up nearly half of residents. Its listed buildings number 101, with 1 at Grade I. The median home sold for £630,000.
The 3 things Blakeney does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Blakeney’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
43% 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 Blakeney.
Half of Blakeney is older than 64.5, half younger. People 65 and over make up 49% of the town, above Norfolk’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Those aged 15 to 24 account for 3.2% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Blakeney | Norfolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 10% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 3.2% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 9.7% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 49% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.2% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 12% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 26% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Norfolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The town has one school, shown below. 57% of pupils at the 2 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). 31 pupils attend Blakeney’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blakeney Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 31 | B |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 30% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, a quarter of commuters got to work without a car. Household income came to £48K a year before tax, close to Norfolk’s towns (£50K) and below England’s towns (£55K). Also worth knowing: of the commuters living in Blakeney, 12% work in the town itself. 2.8% of people aged 16 to 64 were on unemployment benefits in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
8% rent privately, lower than both Norfolk’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%). Private rents average £865 a month across the North Norfolk council area. Home ownership stands at 63% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £900,000 | 23 |
| Semi-detached | £329,675 | 6 |
| Terraced | £400,000 | 7 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Of all the crimes, 36% were violence and sexual offences. Police recorded 14 crimes inside Blakeney’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 2 reports of anti-social behaviour. Each year, 15.6 violent crimes are recorded per 1,000 residents.
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.
Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 6.4% of the town. Nearly a quarter of residents have a disability, above Norfolk’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (17%) alike. The nearest A&E to Blakeney is Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, 24.6 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Blakeney | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 73% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.4% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like 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.
43% of homes were built before 1919. Blakeney’s listed buildings include the Church of St Nicholas, Grade I. Conservation areas cover 100% of the town’s land, above both Norfolk’s towns (6%) and England’s towns (7%). Grade II* covers 5 of them, Grade I 1.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Blakeney. Best known first.
Historic houseWiveton Hall500 m outside town, to the northeast
Historic houseMorston Hall1 km outside town, to the west
MuseumThe Shell Museum2.2 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseBayfield Hall3.3 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumLangham Dome2.8 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blakeney | 556 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Holt | 4,014 | 4.5 | D | D− | C | B |
| Melton Constable | 1,176 | 6.6 | — | C+ | A− | B |
| Wells-next-the-Sea | 2,151 | 6.9 | — | D− | C+ | A− |
| Briston | 1,983 | 7.1 | — | D | A− | B |
| Sheringham | 7,087 | 8 | C | D | B | B |
| West Runton and Beeston Regis | 1,463 | 8.7 | — | D | A+ | B |
| Fakenham | 8,390 | 11 | D | D | B− | C |
Melton Constable, Wells-next-the-Sea, Briston and West Runton and Beeston Regis have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
By type: terraced houses £400,000, semi-detached houses £329,675 and detached houses £900,000.
That is 74.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Nicholas. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Village in Norfolk, England
Blakeney is a built-up area of 556 people, in the North Norfolk 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.