Norwich grades D overall against UK towns: better than 13% of UK towns, and #36 of 51 in Norfolk. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 31% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D): 42.7 violent and sexual offences and 14.8 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 58%. The median home sold for £250,000 in the last three years, 5.2 times what households in the Norwich council area earn in a year.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Norwich is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Norwich.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
Benefit claims run higher in Norwich, 3.8% of 16 to 64s, than in Norfolk’s towns or across England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Norwich counts 1.3 jobs per working resident. 61% of commuters who live in Norwich also work there. The car took nearly two thirds of commuters, below Norfolk’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. For just over three in five commuters, work was under 5 km away.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsC
Exam results at Norwich’s schools trail 67% of towns in England
Charles Darwin Primary School’s results beat 89% of schools in England like it. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 35 primary schools: 55% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Of its 73 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. Norwich’s 53 primaries and 11 secondaries have 27,713 pupils between them.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 73 schools →
Safety
More crimes per resident in Norwich than in 86% of UK towns
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 Norwich came to 18,362 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 3,103. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 16.2 reports per 1,000, higher than both Norfolk’s towns (5) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were 44% of the crimes.
42.7violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 58% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual8,105
Shoplifting2,831
Damage & arson1,786
Public order1,429
Other theft1,118
Drugs617
Vehicle crime535
Burglary468
Anti-social3,103
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.
42.7
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
14.8
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
16.2
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
HousingCost of living grade C−
Social housing is more common in Norwich than in Norfolk’s towns or across England’s towns, at 24% of households
Private renters make up 22% of households, above Norfolk’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. The owner-occupied share of households is 52%. Half of the 7,819 standard sales inside Norwich’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £250,000.
£250Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Norwich£250K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£357,500
1,507
Semi-detached
£268,000
2,097
Terraced
£240,000
2,626
Flat or maisonette
£154,000
1,589
52%
of households own their home · England 61%
22%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,086
average private rent a month, Norwich council area
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
Norwich skews young, with 16% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than in both Norfolk’s towns and England’s towns
Degrees are held by nearly a third of adults. Ages in Norwich split evenly at 37.9: half are older, half younger. Retirement age and beyond: 18% of residents are 65 or older.
37.9median age
NorwichNorfolkEngland
Ages · share of residents
16%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications18%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar20%
Degree level32%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
ONS Census 2021 · Norfolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Health
80% of people in Norwich rate their health good or very good
Life expectancy here is 83 for women and 78.8 for men (2019–23). 20 GP practices serve the town; four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Norwich is Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, 3.2 miles away.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
Philip Pullman: Photographed by Adrian Hon, http://mssv.net/, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Olivia Colman: Soccer Aid for UNICEF, CC BY 3.0 · Paul Nurse: Not specified in the submission, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Harriet Martineau: Richard Evans, Public domain · China Miéville: Andrew M Butler, CC BY-SA 2.0
Thorpe End, Horsham St Faith and Rackheath have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Norwich
How many listed buildings are there in Norwich?
That is 2.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include All Saints Church.
Is Norwich safe?
About the middle for its size: 42% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades D.
Are schools in Norwich good?
GCSE results beat 53% of towns in England, and primary results trail 80% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
About Norwich
City in Norfolk, England
Norwich is a built-up area of 200,744 people, in the Norwich 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
Population
200,744 (Census 2021)
Council
Norwich (mostly)
County
Norfolk
Region
East of England
Area
21.6 sq mi (56.1 km²)
ONS code
E63002507
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.
