Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in Norfolk, East of England, home to 2,593 people. Mortgage-free owners make up 40% of households.
Schools lag: primary results beat 4% of towns in England. With a D overall, Watlington is better than 13% of UK towns and ranks #35 of 51 in Norfolk. Crime is low: police record 18.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 7.6 home and vehicle crimes. The median home sold for £241,500, 5.1 times what households in the King's Lynn and West Norfolk council area earn in a year. Walkability is weaker too: 8% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Watlington 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 Watlington is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 7 buildings inside Watlington’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
10% 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 Watlington.
There is one school here; it is shown below. 47% of pupils at the 3 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its one primary school teaches 169 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watlington Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 169 | C− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 24% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In 2026, 1.9% of 16 to 64s were claiming unemployment benefits. 91% of commuters drove, above both Norfolk’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%). For every resident in work, Watlington has 0.2 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The private rented sector houses 17% of households. 8% live in social housing, below both Norfolk’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Also worth knowing: half of the 122 standard sales inside Watlington’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £241,500.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £289,000 | 50 |
| Semi-detached | £230,000 | 46 |
| Terraced | £192,250 | 26 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The nearest A&E to Watlington is The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 6.2 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 69% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 19% of residents in Watlington live with a disability.
| Census 2021 | Watlington | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.5% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like 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.
A tenth of its homes were built before 1919, below both Norfolk’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (16%). Watlington’s listed buildings include the Church of Ss Peter and Paul, Grade I. It has one scheduled monument.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Violence and sexual offences made up 55% of the total. Police recorded 94 crimes inside Watlington’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 8 reports of anti-social behaviour. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Watlington has less crime per resident than nearly three quarters of them.
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 20% of the town. At 43.3, the median resident of Watlington sits in the middle of the age range. Children under 15 make up 16%, between Norfolk’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%).
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Watlington | Norfolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 24% | 26% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Norfolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watlington | 2,593 | — | D | C | B+ | C |
| West Winch | 2,828 | 3.1 | C+ | D | A− | B |
| Downham Market | 11,349 | 4.9 | C | C− | B− | C |
| Tilney St Lawrence | 1,504 | 5 | — | C+ | B | C |
| Marshland St James | 1,025 | 5.8 | — | D | B+ | C− |
| Clenchwarton | 2,020 | 6 | — | C | A | C |
| King's Lynn | 47,604 | 6.1 | D | B− | D | D |
| Marham | 2,608 | 6.3 | A− | B− | A+ | B |
Tilney St Lawrence, Marshland St James and Clenchwarton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Norfolk council.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Norfolk, England
Watlington is a built-up area of 2,593 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.