Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
On the way to work, 12% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. The town, home to 7,239 people, lies in Northamptonshire, East Midlands.
Thrapston’s grades pull in different directions. Its overall grade is B−, better than half of UK towns. That places it #12 of 31 in Northamptonshire. Jobs & income is its strong suit: households earn a mean £61,055 a year, and 1.6% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The weak point is schools: primary results beat 18% of towns in England. Buying in is costly (C+): a typical home costs £277,000 and rent runs £992 a month. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for safety, B for health, C+ for walkability and C+ for hazard risk.
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 · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The thing Thrapston 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 Thrapston is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 31 buildings inside Thrapston’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
9% 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 Thrapston.
54% of pupils at the 5 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The town has one school, shown below. 468 pupils attend Thrapston’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thrapston Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 468 | D |
2 GP practices serve the town; 75% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 86% of Thrapston’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above Northamptonshire’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. Disability touches 14% of the town’s population. The nearest A&E to Thrapston is Kettering General Hospital, 8.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Thrapston | Northamptonshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
10% live in social housing, below both Northamptonshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Private tenants account for 16% of households. Behind the median of £277,000: 355 standard sales inside Thrapston’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £375,000 | 131 |
| Semi-detached | £265,000 | 119 |
| Terraced | £213,750 | 82 |
| Flat or maisonette | £184,000 | 23 |
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 28% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
86% of commuters drove, above Northamptonshire’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Jobs per working resident: 0.7. Also worth knowing: the census counted 28% of workers working mainly from home.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Just over half of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Thrapston logged 263 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 70 complaints of anti-social conduct. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Thrapston has less crime per resident than 62% 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Nearly a tenth of its homes were built before 1919, below both Northamptonshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (16%). Grade II* covers 1 of them. Scaled to its population, that is 43 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in Thrapston.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Residents of Thrapston have a median age of 40.8. A tenth of the population is aged 15 to 24, below Northamptonshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Degrees are held by 31% of adults.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Thrapston | Northamptonshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 21% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Northamptonshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
31 listed buildings in Thrapston.
Kings Arms Public House and Attached Outbuildings to Rear: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Oakleigh House: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Belmont: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Thrapston House: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0
6 notable people were born in Thrapston.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thrapston | 7,239 | — | B− | C+ | B | B |
| Ringstead | 1,369 | 2.1 | — | C+ | C+ | C+ |
| Woodford | 1,472 | 2.2 | — | B− | B− | C+ |
| Raunds | 10,231 | 3.6 | C− | C+ | C+ | C |
| Stanwick | 1,891 | 4.4 | — | C− | B+ | C+ |
| Brigstock | 1,436 | 5.3 | — | C− | B− | B |
| Irthlingborough | 9,308 | 5.9 | C− | B− | C+ | C− |
| Higham Ferrers | 8,825 | 6.4 | C+ | C+ | C+ | B− |
Ringstead, Woodford, Stanwick and Brigstock have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Primary results trail 82% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by North Northamptonshire council.
Band D council tax in Thrapston is £2,535 for 2026–27, more than in 72% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
About the middle for its size: 38% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades B.
Town in Northamptonshire, England
Thrapston is a built-up area of 7,239 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.