Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 4,753 people, lies in Norfolk, East of England. Over-65s are 41% of the population.
Dersingham’s grades pull in different directions. Recorded crime is low: 11.4 violent and sexual offences and 3.1 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. This Norfolk town ranks #15 of 51 in Norfolk, with a B overall. On that grade it does better than 61% of UK towns. Schools are another plus — primary results beat 69% of towns in England. The trade-off is cost of living (C−) — a typical home costs £281,500 and rent runs £941 a month.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Dersingham 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 Dersingham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 7 buildings inside Dersingham’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
15% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1815.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Dersingham. Best known first.
Historic houseSandringham House1 km outside town, to the south
Historic houseAnmer Hall4.4 km outside town, to the eastCastleCastleSandringham Estate Visitors' entrance1 km outside town, to the southAttractionAttractionThe Royal Station2.5 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Dersingham.
People aged 15 to 24 are 7.2% of the population. Children under 15 make up 12%, below both Norfolk’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Ages in Dersingham split evenly at 58.6: half are older, half younger. Graduates make up just over a fifth of adults.
54% women, 46% men
About 87 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.
| Dersingham | Norfolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.2% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 15% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 41% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 24% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.7% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 22% | 26% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Norfolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the 4 primary schools within 3 km: 65% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its only school is listed below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dersingham Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 199 | C− |
Police figures for Dersingham’s built-up area: 80 crimes and 13 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Dersingham has less crime per resident than 97% of them. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 59% of recorded crime.
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 private rented sector houses 15% of households. 10% live in social housing, lower than both Norfolk’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). The median sale, £281,500, comes from 229 standard sales inside Dersingham’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £335,000 | 127 |
| Semi-detached | £245,000 | 75 |
| Terraced | £220,000 | 19 |
| Flat or maisonette | £145,000 | 8 |
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 20% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
About 12% of its commuters stay in Dersingham for work. 9% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below both Norfolk’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (27%). A household here earns £46K a year before tax, on average.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Dersingham’s land, 16% lies in conservation areas, higher than both Norfolk’s towns (5%) and England’s towns (7%). The town has one scheduled monument.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest A&E to Dersingham is The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 6.7 miles away. 76% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, lower than both Norfolk’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (82%). Men in Dersingham can expect to live to 83.3, women to 83.9 (2019–23). There is no GP practice here: the nearest is 4.4 miles off.
| Census 2021 | Dersingham | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
7 listed buildings in Dersingham, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Nicholas: Photo: Martin Pearman · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Tithe Barn: Photo: Christopher Hilton · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dersingham | 4,753 | — | B | C− | A | B− |
| Snettisham | 2,709 | 2.1 | B− | D | A | C |
| Heacham | 3,978 | 4.2 | C | C− | B+ | C |
| Hunstanton | 4,230 | 6.2 | D | C− | C | C− |
| King's Lynn | 47,604 | 7 | D | B− | D | D |
| Gayton | 1,522 | 7.4 | — | C− | B− | B− |
| Clenchwarton | 2,020 | 8.9 | — | C | A | C |
| West Winch | 2,828 | 9.9 | C+ | D | A− | B |
Gayton and Clenchwarton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Norfolk, England
Dersingham is a built-up area of 4,753 people, in the King's Lynn and West 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.
