Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a large town of 25,502 residents in Norfolk, East of England.
The data are hard on it. Where it falls short is safety: 43.9 violent and sexual offences and 15.7 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Only nearly a quarter of UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have more crime per resident. A median £217,000 buys a home here, 4.4 times what households in the Breckland council area earn in a year. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 23% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Put together, the subjects come to a C− overall, better than nearly a fifth of UK towns. That places it #32 of 51 in Norfolk.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
The 3 things Thetford 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 Thetford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 176 buildings inside Thetford’s built-up area, 7 of them Grade I, and 6 scheduled monuments.
6% 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 1796.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Thetford.
16% of residents are 65 or over, lower than both Norfolk’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%). Thetford has a median age of 38.5 years. People aged 15 to 24 are 11% of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Thetford | Norfolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 26% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.9% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 19% | 26% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Norfolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
48% of pupils at the town’s 6 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are two of its 10 schools, each with why it was picked. GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 47% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 44.9.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drake Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 413 | D |
| The Thetford AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,398 | B− |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Thetford has more crime per resident than 77% of them. This Norfolk town logged 2,053 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 383 complaints of anti-social conduct. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 16.1 reports per 1,000, above Norfolk’s towns (5) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 50% 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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 13% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took three quarters of commuters, below Norfolk’s towns (77%) but above England’s towns (70%). 48% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 3.4%.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
2 GP practices serve the town; 69% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Thetford is West Suffolk Hospital, 12.7 miles away. At the census, 17% of people here had a disability, lower than Norfolk’s towns (20%) and near England’s towns (17%).
| Census 2021 | Thetford | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
6% of its homes were built before 1919, lower than both Norfolk’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (16%). Thetford’s listed buildings include the Abbey Farm Cottage, Grade I. Grade II* covers 9 of them, Grade I 7.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Private renters make up nearly a quarter of households, above both Norfolk’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%). 52% of households own their home. Also worth knowing: from September 2023 to August 2026, 745 homes sold inside Thetford’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £217,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £305,000 | 212 |
| Semi-detached | £230,000 | 180 |
| Terraced | £185,000 | 301 |
| Flat or maisonette | £122,500 | 52 |
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 Thetford. Best known first.
Church · English HeritageChurch of the Holy Sepulchrein town
MuseumCharles Burrell Museumin town
MuseumDad's Army Museumin town
MuseumAncient House Museum of Thetford Lifein town
Historic houseEuston Hall4 km outside town, to the southeast
Castle · English HeritageThetford Warren Lodge1.5 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
176 listed buildings in Thetford, 7 of them Grade I.
Remains of Priory of St Sepulchre: Photo: Evelyn Simak · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ancient House Museum: Photo: Richard Croft · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bell Hotel: Photo: Keith Evans · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Almshouses Including Surrounding Wall and Outbuildings: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0
15 notable people were born in Thetford.
Thomas Paine: Auguste Millière / After George Romney / After William Sharp, Public domain · Ted Bates: Stanley Howe, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Pete McCormack: Tavisdunn, Public domain · Terry Jermy: ©House of Commons / Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thetford | 25,502 | — | C− | B | D | C− |
| Brandon | 9,218 | 5.7 | C− | B | C | C− |
| Weeting | 1,883 | 6.7 | — | B | A | C+ |
| Mundford | 1,563 | 7.7 | — | B− | A+ | B− |
| East Harling | 2,490 | 8 | — | C− | A | B |
| Stanton | 2,316 | 8.4 | — | B− | A | B |
| Ixworth | 2,296 | 8.8 | — | C | B | A− |
| Little Eriswell | 4,120 | 9 | A− | B | A+ | B+ |
Weeting, Mundford, East Harling, Stanton and Ixworth have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.8 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Abbey Farm Cottage. It also has 6 scheduled monuments.
Large town in Norfolk, England
Thetford is a built-up area of 25,502 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.