Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 11,549 in Norfolk, East of England.
Watton grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 45% of UK towns, and #19 of 51 in Norfolk. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 18% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is jobs & income (C−): mean household income £44,529; 2.7% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The median home sold for £235,000 in the last three years, 4.8 times what households in the Breckland council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Watton 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 Watton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 32 buildings inside Watton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
8% 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 Watton.
That puts Watton below both Norfolk’s towns (26%) and England’s towns (34%). People 65 and over make up 24% of the town. The median resident of Watton is 43.1 years old.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Watton | Norfolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 27% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.4% | 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
Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watton Junior SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 311 | D− |
| Wayland AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 564 | A− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 16% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
On this, Watton is above both Norfolk’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%). 16% of workers worked mainly from home at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
79% of Watton’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 79% across Norfolk’s towns. 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.
| Census 2021 | Watton | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.6% | 5.6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 20% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Watton has 32 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 8% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
In the comparison, Watton comes above both Norfolk’s towns (18.9) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 550 crimes inside Watton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 91 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Watton records less crime per resident than 74% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
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
Half the homes sold went for more than £235K, below both Norfolk’s towns (£280K) and England’s towns (£308K). Social housing holds 13% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £285,000 | 303 |
| Semi-detached | £225,000 | 168 |
| Terraced | £186,250 | 128 |
| Flat or maisonette | £119,250 | 20 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
32 listed buildings in Watton.
The Bull Hotel: Photo: JThomas · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Clock Tower: Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Wayland Hall: Photo: JThomas · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Watton War Memorial: Photo: Adrian S Pye · CC BY-SA 2.0
4 notable people were born in Watton.
Thomas Cecil Alexander: Original photographer unknown / CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watton | 11,549 | — | C+ | B− | C+ | C |
| Griston | 1,361 | 1.6 | — | C− | C− | C |
| Saham Toney | 1,287 | 1.6 | — | C | A | B− |
| Ashill | 1,252 | 3.3 | — | C+ | B | B− |
| Shipdham | 2,459 | 4.8 | — | C+ | A− | B− |
| Necton | 1,742 | 5.9 | — | C+ | A | B− |
| Hingham | 2,304 | 6.3 | — | A− | A− | B+ |
| Swaffham | 8,434 | 7.9 | D | C+ | C | C− |
Griston, Saham Toney, Ashill, Shipdham, Necton and Hingham have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
An older town. At the 2021 Census, 24% of residents were 65 or over and 24% were 45 to 64, against 18% and 25% across England’s towns; 16% were under 15.
Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C+. Police recorded 550 crimes inside Watton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 60% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Norfolk, England
Watton is a built-up area of 11,549 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.