Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,383 in Norfolk, East of England. Primary school results beat 99% of towns in England.
Stalham grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 36% of UK towns, and #22 of 51 in Norfolk. Its strongest subject is hazard risk (A): 0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its weakest is jobs & income (D−): mean household income £41,923; 3.7% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The median home sold for £220,000 in the last three years, 4.9 times what households in the North Norfolk council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Stalham 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 Stalham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 12 buildings inside Stalham’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
11% 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 Stalham.
15% are under 15, near Norfolk’s towns (16%) and lower than England’s towns (18%). Retirement age and beyond: 29% of residents are 65 or older. Ages in Stalham split evenly at 49: half are older, half younger. The share aged 15 to 24 is 9.2%.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Stalham | Norfolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 29% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.6% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 19% | 26% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Norfolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 39% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 40.5. Stalham’s two primaries and one secondary have 827 pupils between them. Key Stage 2 results at the one primary school within 3 km: just over four in five pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stalham AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 217 | A |
| Stalham High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 492 | C |
Private rents average £865 a month across the North Norfolk council area. Half of the 136 standard sales inside Stalham’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £220,000. Owners make up nearly three in five households, about level with England’s towns (61%) and below Norfolk’s towns (64%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £280,000 | 43 |
| Semi-detached | £225,000 | 46 |
| Terraced | £189,500 | 24 |
| Flat or maisonette | £137,000 | 23 |
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 18% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 80% of commuters, above both Norfolk’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%). There are 0.6 jobs in Stalham for each resident in work. 17% of commuters who live in Stalham also work there.
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.
Just over one in ten homes date from before 1919. Grade II* covers 2 of them. Conservation areas cover 13% of Stalham’s land, near both Norfolk’s towns (5%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Self-reported good health: three quarters of Stalham’s residents. At the census, 7.2% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, higher than both Norfolk’s towns (5.6%) and England’s towns (5.2%). One GP practice serves the town; 69% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Stalham is Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, 16.3 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Stalham | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 75% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.2% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Of all the crimes, 44% were violence and sexual offences. Police figures for Stalham’s built-up area: 194 crimes and 66 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Burglary and damage come to 9.7 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 police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Stalham. Best known first.
MuseumMuseum of the Broadsin town
GardenEast Ruston Old Vicarage Gardens3.1 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumSutton Corn Mill1.4 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
12 listed buildings in Stalham.
Fire Engine House and Village Lock Up: Photo: Kevin Hale · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Homestead: Photo: Barbara Carr · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stalham | 3,383 | — | C+ | C | C+ | C+ |
| Sutton | 1,026 | 0.8 | — | C+ | A | C+ |
| Hoveton and Wroxham | 3,620 | 6 | C− | D− | B− | B− |
| Martham | 3,633 | 6.4 | C | D | A− | B− |
| North Walsham | 12,829 | 6.5 | D | C− | C+ | C |
| Coltishall and Horstead | 2,255 | 7.1 | — | B+ | A | A− |
| Badersfield | 1,490 | 7.4 | — | C+ | C− | B− |
| Salhouse | 1,431 | 7.9 | — | B | A+ | B+ |
Sutton, Coltishall and Horstead, Badersfield and Salhouse have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £220,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £137,000, terraced houses £189,500, semi-detached houses £225,000 and detached houses £280,000. Household incomes are lower than in 90% of UK towns, so cost of living grades C.
About the middle for its size: 62% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+. Burglary was rare, with 5 reports in the year.
Town in Norfolk, England
Stalham is a built-up area of 3,383 people, in the North 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.
