Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 31,689 in Northamptonshire, East Midlands.
Rushden grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 18% of UK towns, and #27 of 31 in Northamptonshire. Its strongest subject is hazard risk (B): 0.1% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its weakest is schools (C−): primary results beat 36% of towns in England; secondary results beat 10% of towns in England. The median home sold for £240,000 in the last three years, 4.7 times what households in the North Northamptonshire council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Rushden 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 Rushden is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 17 buildings inside Rushden’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
17% 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 Rushden.
The middle age in Rushden is 42.3. 20% of residents are 65 or over, higher than both Northamptonshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). People aged 15 to 24 are just over a tenth of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Rushden | Northamptonshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 23% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Northamptonshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
GCSE results at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km: 29% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 40.7. Some 3,066 pupils attend Rushden’s seven primaries and one secondary. At the town’s 6 primary schools, nearly three in five pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denfield Park Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 444 | C |
| Rushden AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 961 | C− |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
There were 22.4 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both Northamptonshire’s towns (9.5) and England’s towns (7.8). Burglary and damage come to 15.4 per 1,000 residents a year. Reported offences in Rushden came to 2,643 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 741. Violence and sexual offences accounted for nearly two fifths 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 nearest A&E to Rushden is Kettering General Hospital, 10 miles away. 3 GP practices serve the town; 64% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Women here live to 82.5 on average and men to 79 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Rushden | Northamptonshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.8% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For its size, Rushden has the second fewest listed buildings of the towns in Northamptonshire. Its listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. Of the town’s land, 2% lies in conservation areas, below both Northamptonshire’s towns (6%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
14% live in social housing, lower than 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, £240,000, comes from 1,279 standard sales inside Rushden’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £348,750 | 346 |
| Semi-detached | £245,000 | 418 |
| Terraced | £200,000 | 369 |
| Flat or maisonette | £116,500 | 146 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
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.
Short trips to work, under 5 km: 34%, below both Northamptonshire’s towns (43%) and England’s towns (45%), and 14% of commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census. Of the commuters living in Rushden, 27% work in the town itself. Before tax, the average household brings in £50K a year.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Rushden. Best known first.
Historic houseColworth House3.7 km outside town, to the south
MuseumIrchester Railway Museum2.9 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumRushden Hall and Museumin townMuseumMuseumRushden Historical Transport Societyin townMuseumMuseumWellingborough Museum3.8 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
17 listed buildings in Rushden, 1 of them Grade I.
Rushden Hall: Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · War Memorial Approximately 30 Metres West of Church of St Mary: Photo: Jim 21 · Public domain
11 notable people were born in Rushden.
Thomas Britton: John Wollaston the Elder, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushden | 31,689 | — | C− | B− | C− | C |
| Wymington | 1,000 | 1.2 | — | B+ | D− | A− |
| Higham Ferrers | 8,825 | 1.6 | C+ | C+ | C+ | B− |
| Irchester | 4,543 | 2 | C+ | B− | B | C+ |
| Irthlingborough | 9,308 | 2.8 | C− | B− | C+ | C− |
| Stanwick | 1,891 | 3.5 | — | C− | B+ | C+ |
| Wollaston | 3,564 | 3.9 | C+ | C | B | B− |
| Finedon | 4,554 | 4.1 | D | C+ | C | C+ |
Wymington and Stanwick have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
About the middle for its size: 65% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C−.
Large town in Northamptonshire, England
Rushden is a built-up area of 31,689 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.