Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 8,825 in Northamptonshire, East Midlands.
Strong in places, weak in others. Schools lag (C): primary results beat 49% of towns in England; secondary results beat 10% of towns in England. Homes sell for a median £270,000, about 5.3 years of what households in the North Northamptonshire council area earn. On jobs & income it is strong: households earn a mean £54,690 a year, and 2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Put together, the subjects come to a C+ overall, better than 43% of UK towns. In the ranking it comes #19 of 31 in Northamptonshire. Its other grades sit near the middle: C+ for safety and B− for health.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
The 3 things Higham Ferrers 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 Higham Ferrers is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 50 buildings inside Higham Ferrers’s built-up area, 7 of them Grade I, and 5 scheduled monuments.
13% 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 Higham Ferrers.
At the town’s 2 primary schools, 61% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are two of its 5 schools, each with why it was picked. Secondary results at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 40.7, with 29% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Chichele Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 341 | C− |
| The Ferrers SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 937 | D |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 28% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
32% of commuters travelled under 5 km, lower than both Northamptonshire’s towns (43%) and England’s towns (45%). By car: that was how 88% of commuters travelled at the census. About 8% of its commuters stay in Higham Ferrers for work. Jobs per working resident: 0.5.
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.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, below Northamptonshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. Higham Ferrers’s listed buildings include Bede House, Grade I. 5 scheduled monuments lie locally.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
11% live in social housing, below both Northamptonshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £992 a month across the North Northamptonshire council area. The median sale, £270,000, comes from 348 standard sales inside Higham Ferrers’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £395,000 | 121 |
| Semi-detached | £257,500 | 113 |
| Terraced | £234,250 | 98 |
| Flat or maisonette | £158,500 | 16 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 17.6 reports per 1,000, above Northamptonshire’s towns (9.5) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence accounts for 25.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. 544 crimes and 182 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Higham Ferrers’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026.
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
One GP practice serves the town; 61% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Higham Ferrers is Kettering General Hospital, 8.9 miles away. Men in Higham Ferrers can expect to live to 80.4, women to 83 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Higham Ferrers | Northamptonshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.5% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 16% | 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.
Residents of Higham Ferrers have a median age of 42.4. Retirement age and beyond: 19% of residents are 65 or older. Just over a tenth of the population is aged 15 to 24, near Northamptonshire’s towns (11%) and lower than England’s towns (12%).
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Higham Ferrers | Northamptonshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.2% | 6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Northamptonshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Higham Ferrers. Best known first.
MuseumIrchester Railway Museum4.9 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumRushden Historical Transport Society900 m outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumRushden Hall and Museum1.7 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
50 listed buildings in Higham Ferrers, 7 of them Grade I.
Bede House: Photo: Andrew Abbott · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chantry Chapel of All Souls: Photo: Martinevans123 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Green Dragon Hotel: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Town Hall: Photo: M15ste · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higham Ferrers | 8,825 | — | C+ | C+ | C+ | B− |
| Irthlingborough | 9,308 | 1.4 | C− | B− | C+ | C− |
| Rushden | 31,689 | 1.6 | C− | B− | C− | C |
| Stanwick | 1,891 | 2 | — | C− | B+ | C+ |
| Wymington | 1,000 | 2.8 | — | B+ | D− | A− |
| Irchester | 4,543 | 3 | C+ | B− | B | C+ |
| Finedon | 4,554 | 3.1 | D | C+ | C | C+ |
| Raunds | 10,231 | 3.2 | C− | C+ | C+ | C |
Stanwick and Wymington have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Bede House.
About the middle for its size: 59% 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+. Police recorded 544 crimes inside Higham Ferrers’ built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 41% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Town in Northamptonshire, England
Higham Ferrers is a built-up area of 8,825 people, in the North Northamptonshire 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.