Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in Norfolk, East of England, home to 4,686 people.
Health is where it shines: life expectancy is 81.5 for men and 84.1 for women. At A− overall, Cringleford is better than 84% of UK towns and ranks #8 of 51 in Norfolk. Jobs & income is another plus: mean household income £70,516; 2.8% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Buying the median home, at £385,500, takes 6.8 years of household income in the South Norfolk council area. Crime is the sore point (C+): 28.6 violent and sexual offences and 8.5 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set beside UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, its crime per resident is higher than in 60%.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Cringleford 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 Cringleford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 12 buildings inside Cringleford’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
3% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Cringleford. Best known first.
CathedralNorwich Cathedral4.5 km outside town, to the northeast
CastleNorwich Castle Museum4.1 km outside town, to the northeast
CathedralSt John the Baptist Cathedral3.4 km outside town, to the northeast
Art galleryThe Sainsbury Centre600 m outside town, to the north
MuseumStrangers' Hall4 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumMuseum of Norwich at the Bridewell4.1 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cringleford.
Those 65 and older account for 20% of residents. Children under 15 make up 22%, higher than both Norfolk’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). People aged 15 to 24 are 7.6% of the population. The median resident of Cringleford is 40.4 years old.
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Cringleford | Norfolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.6% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 9% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 2.8% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 55% | 26% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Norfolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
56% of pupils at the 14 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Cringleford CE VA Primary School’s results beat 85% of schools in England like it. Its one school is below. Attainment 8 at the 4 secondary schools within 3 km averages 48.6, and 54% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cringleford CE VA Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 458 | A |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 40% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
On foot, by bike or by bus and train: that was how 24% of commuters travelled at the census. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 52%, above Norfolk’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%) alike. Working from home was the norm for two in five workers at the census. Of the commuters living in Cringleford, 7% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Self-reported good health: 88% of Cringleford’s residents. 14% of residents have a disability, below Norfolk’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (17%) alike. One GP practice serves the town; 55% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Cringleford | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.1% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes built before 1919 account for 3% of the housing. Grade II* covers 1 of them. Scaled to its population, that is 26 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in Cringleford.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 276 offences in Cringleford and 50 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 53% of the crimes. There were 8.4 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than 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.
Renting privately is how 13% of households live. 9% live in social housing, below Norfolk’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. No town in Norfolk costs more to buy into than Cringleford, at £385,500, the highest of 52.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £465,000 | 149 |
| Semi-detached | £330,000 | 80 |
| Terraced | £290,000 | 23 |
| Flat or maisonette | £92,500 | 9 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
12 listed buildings in Cringleford.
Pond Farmhouse: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Hill Grove: Photo: N Chadwick · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cringleford | 4,686 | — | A− | B− | C+ | A |
| Little Melton | 1,049 | 2.1 | — | C+ | A− | A |
| Hethersett | 7,018 | 2.5 | A | B+ | B | B+ |
| Norwich | 200,744 | 3.2 | D | C− | D | C |
| Mulbarton | 3,807 | 3.5 | A | A− | A+ | A− |
| Costessey | 2,608 | 3.8 | B+ | B+ | B+ | B− |
| Stoke Holy Cross | 1,237 | 3.8 | — | B− | A− | A |
| Easton | 1,436 | 4.5 | — | A− | C− | A− |
Little Melton, Stoke Holy Cross and Easton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £385,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £92,500, terraced houses £290,000, semi-detached houses £330,000 and detached houses £465,000. Household incomes are higher than in 89% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B−.
Against all UK towns, it grades C+.
Town in Norfolk, England
Cringleford is a built-up area of 4,686 people, in the South 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.
