Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 20,788 in Norfolk, East of England.
Dereham grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 25% of UK towns, and #29 of 51 in Norfolk. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 17% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is schools (C−): primary results beat 30% of towns in England; secondary results beat 23% of towns in England. The median home sold for £237,500 in the last three years, 4.8 times what households in the Breckland council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Dereham 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 Dereham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 105 buildings inside Dereham’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
10% 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 Dereham.
That puts Dereham below both Norfolk’s towns (26%) and England’s towns (34%). Those 65 and older account for 24% of residents. Half the people of Dereham are older than 44.7.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
| Dereham | Norfolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.1% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 21% | 26% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Norfolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarning Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 415 | C+ |
| Northgate High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,203 | C− |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
On this, Dereham is above both Norfolk’s towns (18.9) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 1,500 crimes inside Dereham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 231 reports of anti-social behaviour. Burglary and damage come to 10.5 per 1,000 residents a year.
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 19% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In the comparison, Dereham comes above both Norfolk’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%). 19% of workers worked mainly from home at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
79% of Dereham’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 79% across Norfolk’s towns. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Dereham | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.6% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Dereham has 105 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 10% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Half the homes sold went for more than £238K, below both Norfolk’s towns (£280K) and England’s towns (£308K).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £320,000 | 389 |
| Semi-detached | £230,000 | 290 |
| Terraced | £187,000 | 261 |
| Flat or maisonette | £120,000 | 63 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Dereham. Best known first.
Historic houseElsing Hall3.8 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumGressenhall Farm and Workhouse2.5 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
105 listed buildings in Dereham, 1 of them Grade I.
Dereham Maltings (Crisp Malting Group): Photo: Ashley Dace · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Red Lion Inn: Photo: stavros1 · CC BY 3.0 · Detached bell tower: Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Canterbury House: Photo: Jim Osley · CC BY-SA 2.0
17 notable people were born in Dereham.
William Hyde Wollaston: John Jackson, Public domain · Brian Aldiss: Szymon Sokół, CC BY-SA 3.0 · George Borrow: Henry Wyndham Phillips, Public domain · Todd Cantwell: @cfcunofficial c/o:(Chelsea Debs), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Beth Orton: Simon Fernandez, CC BY 2.0 · Ken Thorne: Bert Verhoeff for Anefo, CC0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dereham | 20,788 | — | C− | B− | C− | C+ |
| Swanton Morley | 2,175 | 3.2 | — | C+ | A− | B |
| Shipdham | 2,459 | 3.7 | — | C+ | A− | B− |
| Mattishall | 2,203 | 3.8 | — | C | A− | B+ |
| North Elmham | 1,172 | 4.8 | — | C | A | B |
| Hingham | 2,304 | 6.9 | — | A− | A− | B+ |
| Necton | 1,742 | 7.2 | — | C+ | A | B− |
| Foulsham | 1,025 | 7.8 | — | A | B+ | B |
Swanton Morley, Shipdham, Mattishall, North Elmham, Hingham, Necton and Foulsham have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Nicholas.
GCSE results trail 77% of towns in England, and primary results trail 70% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
About the middle for its size: 57% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C−. Police recorded 1,500 crimes inside Dereham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 48% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking. Burglary was rare, with 25 reports in the year.
Large town in Norfolk, England
Dereham is a built-up area of 20,788 people, in the Breckland 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.