Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,543 in Northamptonshire, East Midlands.
Irchester grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 42% of UK towns, and #20 of 31 in Northamptonshire. Its strongest subject is safety (B): 18.9 violent and sexual offences and 8.2 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Its weakest is walkability (D): 8% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The median home sold for £259,000 in the last three years, 5.1 times what households in the North Northamptonshire council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Irchester 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 Irchester is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 13 buildings inside Irchester’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
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 Irchester.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 23% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
38% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. Household income came to £50K a year before tax, lower than both Northamptonshire’s towns (£58K) and England’s towns (£55K). Also worth knowing: the 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 2.9%.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Its one school is below. At the 10 primary schools within 3 km, three in five pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). GCSE results at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km: 40% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 44.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irchester Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 343 | B− |
The share of residents under 15 is 16%. The 15-to-24 age group: 8.2%, lower than both Northamptonshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Residents of Irchester have a median age of 47.9.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Irchester | Northamptonshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.2% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.6% | 6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 24% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Northamptonshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
199 crimes and 38 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Irchester’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences made up nearly half of the total.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Irchester’s listed buildings include the Church of St Katherine, Grade I. Relative to its size, Irchester keeps 29 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, below Northamptonshire’s towns (84) and England’s towns (39) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Self-reported good health: 78% of Irchester’s residents. At the census, 6% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, higher than both Northamptonshire’s towns (4.5%) and England’s towns (5.2%). The nearest A&E to Irchester is Kettering General Hospital, 9.4 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 72% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Irchester | Northamptonshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 16% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
9% live in social housing, below both Northamptonshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Private tenants account for 14% of households. Behind the median of £259,000: 242 standard sales inside Irchester’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £372,450 | 70 |
| Semi-detached | £246,000 | 119 |
| Terraced | £202,500 | 50 |
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 Irchester. Best known first.
MuseumIrchester Railway Museum900 m outside town, to the westHeritage railwayHeritage railwayRushden, Higham and Wellingborough Railway2.6 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumRushden Hall and Museum2.1 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumRushden Historical Transport Society2.5 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumWellingborough Museum2.8 km outside town, to the northwestWater parkWater parkSplash Park1.7 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irchester | 4,543 | — | C+ | B− | B | C+ |
| Wymington | 1,000 | 1.9 | — | B+ | D− | A− |
| Rushden | 31,689 | 2 | C− | B− | C− | C |
| Wollaston | 3,564 | 2.1 | C+ | C | B | B− |
| Wellingborough | 54,421 | 2.9 | C− | B | D | C− |
| Higham Ferrers | 8,825 | 3 | C+ | C+ | C+ | B− |
| Great Doddington | 1,147 | 3 | — | C | A | B+ |
| Irthlingborough | 9,308 | 3.4 | C− | B− | C+ | C− |
Wymington and Great Doddington have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 67% of towns in England, and primary results trail 59% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by North Northamptonshire council.
It has less crime than most places its size: less crime per resident than 70% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Town in Northamptonshire, England
Irchester is a built-up area of 4,543 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.