Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
47,604 people live in this large town in Norfolk, East of England.
Several subjects drag its grade down. Safety is its weak spot: police record 51.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 14.7 home and vehicle crimes. Set beside UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, its crime per resident is higher than in 85%. It also trails on health — life expectancy 76.8 for men, 82.2 for women. The median home sold for £218,500, 4.6 times what households in the King's Lynn and West Norfolk council area earn in a year. Its best grade is for walkability: just over a quarter of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Put together, the subjects come to a D overall, ranking #39 of 51 in Norfolk. On that grade it does better than 12% of UK towns.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things King's Lynn 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 King's Lynn is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 316 buildings inside King's Lynn’s built-up area, 13 of them Grade I, and 9 scheduled monuments.
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 1805 and a map from c. 1870.
Explore the history →Lynn, Massachusetts, is named after King's Lynn.
USUS editionLynn, Massachusetts, settled in 1629, takes its name from this large town.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in King's Lynn.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 14% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Income per household averages £48K a year, before tax. 14% of workers worked mainly from home, below both Norfolk’s towns (25%) and England’s towns (31%). Unemployment benefit claims reached 4.1% of 16 to 64s in 2026. About 54% of its commuters stay in King's Lynn for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
At the town’s 13 primary schools, 58% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Reffley Academy’s results beat 79% of schools in England like it. GCSE results at the town’s 3 secondary schools: just over two in five pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 43.4. Of its 22 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 429 | D |
| Springwood High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,988 | B− |
| Reffley AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 322 | A− |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Reported offences in King's Lynn came to 5,017 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 583. There were 13.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both Norfolk’s towns (5) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences made up 46% of the total.
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.
People 65 and over make up 18% of the town, about level with England’s towns (18%) and below Norfolk’s towns (24%). 18% of residents are children under 15. Residents of King's Lynn have a median age of 39.3.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| King's Lynn | Norfolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 24% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 23% | 26% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Norfolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
3 GP practices serve the town; 80% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to King's Lynn is The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 1.1 miles away. Nearly a fifth of residents have a disability, between Norfolk’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (17%).
| Census 2021 | King's Lynn | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.7% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
King's Lynn’s listed buildings include the Chapel of St Nicholas, Grade I. 9 scheduled monuments lie in the town. Relative to its size, King's Lynn keeps 66 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, higher than both Norfolk’s towns (42) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Social renters account for 21% of households. 22% rent privately, higher than both Norfolk’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%). Private rents average £941 a month across the King's Lynn and West Norfolk council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £330,000 | 402 |
| Semi-detached | £235,000 | 559 |
| Terraced | £175,000 | 536 |
| Flat or maisonette | £99,875 | 146 |
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 King's Lynn. Best known first.
MuseumTrue's Yard Fisherfolk Museumin town
Castle · English HeritageCastle Rising1.5 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumStories of Lynnin townMuseumMuseumThe Lynn Museumin townArt galleryArt galleryFermoy Art Galleryin townMuseumMuseumSt George's Guildhallin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
316 listed buildings in King's Lynn, 13 of them Grade I.
Church of St Margaret: Photo: Richard Humphrey · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Guildhall of St George: Photo: Paul Shreeve · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Thoresby College: Photo: David Kemp · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Sommerfeld and Thomas Warehouse: Photo: Lewis Collard · CC0
93 notable people were born in King's Lynn.
George Russell: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0 · Frances Burney: Edward Francis Burney, Public domain · Jack Huston: Avda, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Martin Brundle: United Autosports, CC BY-SA 2.0 · George North: Liamwarrender, CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King's Lynn | 47,604 | — | D | B− | D | D |
| Clenchwarton | 2,020 | 2.9 | — | C | A | C |
| West Winch | 2,828 | 3 | C+ | D | A− | B |
| Terrington St Clement | 2,792 | 5.3 | D− | D | C | C |
| Gayton | 1,522 | 5.6 | — | C− | B− | B− |
| Watlington | 2,593 | 6.1 | D | C | B+ | C |
| Dersingham | 4,753 | 7 | B | C− | A | B− |
| Tilney St Lawrence | 1,504 | 7.1 | — | C+ | B | C |
Clenchwarton, Gayton and Tilney St Lawrence have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Chapel of St Nicholas.
GCSE results trail 66% of towns in England, and primary results trail 70% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Large town in Norfolk, England
King's Lynn is a built-up area of 47,604 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.