Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
32% of residents are 65 or over. A town of 9,095 in Norfolk, East of England.
Several subjects drag its grade down. The weak point is cost of living (D) — the median home sold for £236,000, 5.5 years of area income. Its strongest subject is hazard risk (B): 0.1% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Overall, that makes a D, good for #41 of 51 in Norfolk. Nationally, it does better than just over a tenth of UK towns. Elsewhere it is close to typical: C+ for safety and B− for walkability.
Figures: 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 Caister-on-Sea 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 Caister-on-Sea is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 7 buildings inside Caister-on-Sea’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
10% 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 1890.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Caister-on-Sea. Best known first.
CastleCaister Castle700 m outside town, to the west
Abbey or priory · English HeritageGreat Yarmouth Grey Friary3.5 km outside town, to the south
Theme parkJoyland3.3 km outside town, to the south
PierBritannia Pier3.3 km outside town, to the south
MuseumBlitz and Pieces2 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Caister-on-Sea.
People 65 and over make up 32% of the town, above Norfolk’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Under-15s account for 13% of the population. Line up the people of Caister-on-Sea by age and the one in the middle is 53.2. 8.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Caister-on-Sea | Norfolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.1% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 32% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 26% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.1% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 17% | 26% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Norfolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the 5 primary schools within 3 km, 57% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Of its 4 schools, two are shown below, each with the reason. Some 1,268 pupils attend Caister-on-Sea’s two primaries and one secondary.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caister Junior SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 324 | B |
| Caister AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 657 | B− |
Private renters make up 15% of households. 7% live in social housing, lower than both Norfolk’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). The £236,000 median rests on 453 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £287,500 | 196 |
| Semi-detached | £227,500 | 155 |
| Terraced | £180,000 | 98 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
10% of its homes were built before 1919, lower than both Norfolk’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (16%). Caister-on-Sea has 8 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents. It has one scheduled monument.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
6.9% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, above Norfolk’s towns (5.6%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. Disability touches nearly a quarter of Caister-on-Sea’s population. Seeing a GP means leaving Caister-on-Sea: the nearest practice is 2.2 miles away. Life expectancy here is 82.9 for women and 79 for men (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Caister-on-Sea | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 75% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.9% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
60% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 376 recorded crimes inside Caister-on-Sea’s built-up area, and 73 reports of anti-social behaviour. Homes saw 7.6 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, between Norfolk’s towns (6) and England’s towns (9.4).
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 17% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Just over four in five commuters drove, higher than both Norfolk’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%). For 31% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. Before tax, the average household brings in £43K a year.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
7 listed buildings in Caister-on-Sea.
Church of Holy Trinity: Photo: Evelyn Simak · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Never Turn Back public house: Photo: Martin Speck · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cemetery Chapel, Caister Cemetery: Photo: Evelyn Simak · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Caister-on-Sea Roman fort and Saxon settlement: Photo: Richard Croft · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caister-on-Sea | 9,095 | — | D | D | C+ | C |
| Ormesby St Margaret | 2,741 | 2.1 | C+ | D | A | C |
| Great Yarmouth | 28,979 | 2.9 | D− | B− | D− | D− |
| Hemsby | 5,724 | 3.5 | D | D | C+ | C |
| Bradwell | 11,632 | 5.1 | C− | D | B | C+ |
| Gorleston-on-Sea | 24,474 | 5.3 | D | C | C− | D |
| Martham | 3,633 | 5.4 | C | D | A− | B− |
| Belton | 3,603 | 6.3 | D | D | B+ | C |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 69% of towns in England, and primary results trail 73% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
About the middle for its size: 57% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+.
Town in Norfolk, England
Caister-on-Sea is a built-up area of 9,095 people, in the Great Yarmouth 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.